[Chapter 469: An Anxious Bill]
Windows 2.11 had been released, and the difference from 2.0 was simply countless patches. Don't even mention new features; the size had only increased.
It wasn't easy for Bill Gates. That DOS he bought was a defective product; if anyone could make it run smoothly, they really had some skill.
To be honest, if this thing was really amazing, it would be impossible for someone to buy it out for one million US dollars.
With the right time, place, and people all in his favor, Bill Gates had it all; otherwise, he wouldn't have become a billionaire.
William White was quite harsh in his evaluation of 2.11. Bill, although annoyed, couldn't argue back; they were all in the software game, so no one could claim much superiority.
"Alright, William, you're a real pain, but you're not wrong. As a Microsoft shareholder, you should at least offer some constructive criticism."
"Damn, you're the major shareholder here. Of course, I have constructive criticism! Your 3.0 version needs to be launched within the year!"
Bill Gates shook his head with a bitter smile. "Our engineers are working hard; at best, it'll be ready early next year."
"That's just not enough. I think there should be stock incentives -- at least put 2% into the incentive pool."
Bill Gates was left speechless; his employees loathed him. If it weren't for decent pay, he believed at least a third of them would leave.
"Alright, alright, William. How about your office suite? Will it affect the timeline?"
"Take a look for yourself. Although it's a beta version, I'm already using it."
Now it was Bill Gates's turn to be dumbfounded.
"Quit staring off into space. Isn't every DOS system the same? Once your 3.0 is out, we'll have the port done within a month."
Bill Gates claimed it was different; that guy had patched quite a bit. Though it seemed bloated, it had improved stability.
"Your speed seems a bit off. How'd you manage that?"
"Just an 80486 and a video acceleration card, with eight megabytes of memory and four megabytes of video memory. Handling your Windows 2.11? You think it'll be a problem?"
Bill Gates was at a loss for words; even graphic processors didn't boast this configuration, and here he was using it for gaming.
"Alright, you've really done well. When will Intel release the 80486?"
"Not sure. If their production capacity holds up, probably before summer; it should be in the next few months. 1.2 million transistors -- wow, they've jumped several levels."
Bill Gates was genuinely concerned. If the hardware was released and he couldn't keep up, the Windows system might face real challenges.
He had come with the intention of acquiring the office suite. Securing it before the 3.0 release would have been ideal.
With the current situation, he couldn't even think about acquisitions; he needed to focus on his own work. There simply wasn't time to consider taking over.
What Bill Gates didn't know was that William White's office software was also a subpar product. Bringing it out now was merely a bluff.
The competition in the software industry was fierce. While White Systems had a dominant office suite, numerous competitors were also entering the field.
For some, a decrease in software valuation wasn't a bad thing. If acquiring the office suite were possible, Bill Gates believed it would boost Microsoft's development.
After acquiring Oracle, William White had set his sights on enterprise-level software services, and this publicly available office software was like a beautiful maiden waiting for suitors.
Bill was understandably anxious; if another competitor snatched it up, it would be quite the headache.
Although this trip to Los Angeles didn't fulfill his objective, he had gained something. It was clear that William White was very interested in Microsoft shares. If he was willing to make a trade, the acquisition wouldn't be too difficult.
As for cash -- better to save that for now. Comparing his office building to theirs was just embarrassing.
...
Expanding through acquisitions was a classic Wall Street game. Everyone knew monopolistic companies faced scrutiny, but every entrepreneur wanted to dominate.
The stock values illustrated this well. Legendary World, Viking Comics, NBC -- these companies under William White were all industry leaders.
Despite not being traditional industries, all these companies had market values exceeding ten billion. If it weren't for that guy splitting the company, hitting 20 billion wouldn't have been impossible.
In contrast, Tesla's valuation was considerably lower, with minimal premiums. The think tank wasn't keen on the automotive project, and that was the reason.
It wasn't that the auto industry had a low price-to-earnings ratio -- it was that they lacked an edge. Even though the Big Three automakers were subpar, their stock prices weren't cheap. If they could beat the Japanese, their future still looked bright.
Now they had another option. Even though Tesla wasn't produced in the U.S., they still identified as an American car company. The little flags in their dealerships made that quite clear.
The design was done in the U.S., and you can't deny that. The boss was American -- do you disagree? Most importantly, the company was registered in the U.S. With a peculiar case like that, it was hard to argue.
William White's forced justification of being an American brand was merely to expand his target customer base. Some folks were disappointed with American cars yet didn't particularly like the Japanese ones; this demographic was significant in the U.S.
The Big Three's inability to critique his shamelessness stemmed from the fact that their brands weren't entirely American corporations either. Arguing over such matters seemed a bit pointless.
"Dad, I can't believe how popular Tesla's cars have become. I just don't get it." Now that he was the First Son, things felt different, but he still needed to keep an eye on his buddy's business.
"Ha, it's hard to see just yet. The sheer volume of advertising is just insane."
Hearing his father's words, Junior shrugged. The TV stations were his, after all; it was just a matter of shifting money from one pocket to the other -- what was the big deal?
...
William White had no clue about the confusion of his friend. If he did, he'd blow a gasket. Just to clarify, NBC was a publicly traded company; their newspapers and miscellaneous assets were accounted separately. He may be the biggest boss, but he certainly wasn't the only one.
Besides, the investments from media companies outside News Corp were substantial. Without those contributions, the current scene wouldn't exist.
In the short term, Tesla's enormous losses were already a certainty. This endless money-burning game would inevitably come to an end.
Heads of the auto industry were eagerly awaiting a show. They expected Tesla to crash. To them, if the advertising density was lowered, Tesla would be finished -- it would be a joke.
However, this sales model was indeed working. If the government's subsidies were a bit more generous, perhaps they'd think about giving it a shot themselves.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.