The antitrust lawsuit that had lasted for more than half a year not only damaged Microsoft's reputation but also tore apart the public image that Gates had carefully crafted.
Due to these consecutive events, the growth rate of Microsoft's stock price had slowed down recently.
In 1997, the internet wave continued to climb to higher peaks, and the whole of Silicon Valley was advancing rapidly.
Almost all computer-related stocks, whether software or hardware companies, were surging.
For instance, Yahoo's market value had tripled in less than a year since it went public.
From an initial 1.5 billion US Dollars to today's 5 billion US Dollars, it took only 10 months.
The stock prices of Intel and Cisco were stepping up every day.
"In the past few decades, I have never seen the electronic boards in the trading hall completely green, without even a speck of red,"
stated a Nasdaq trader during an interview with a journalist.
