[Chapter 756: Great Conversation]
Looking at the array of cameras and microphones, Bill Clinton felt quite pleased. The welcome he received was quite grand, and it seemed that Al was right. That William White was quite the character, just an old pro at this.
"Mr. President, we warmly welcome you to the White Venture Park. Here, you'll meet many great companies. Admittedly, they're still quite small and only have a desk, but that shouldn't matter. This is America, the land where all dreams begin."
Ahem, Clinton felt a bit downhearted; it appeared that he needed to adjust his speech. Promoting the American dream sounded much better. What was all this about supporting high-tech enterprises? They were already doing well, wasn't he just rehashing old news?
"This place is indeed impressive. We must increase our support for these high-tech companies."
"That's great! The young folks will be thrilled. Come, let me introduce you to our team."
Once Clinton entered the park, he immediately felt a surreal sensation. Goodness, everything here seemed connected to computers.
If it weren't for the access card in his hand, he wouldn't be able to go anywhere.
With so many high-tech elements, could he really make money here?
"Make money? There's no rush for that. What you see now doesn't make money, but if their projects succeed, they'll certainly need larger spaces, and then we can profit."
"Of course, if they manage to go public, my earnings will be even greater. You know, I've invested in numerous enterprises."
Listening to William White's overview, Clinton felt a bit dizzy. There wasn't just one venture capital company here; in fact, the big firms from Wall Street had their foot in the door as well.
"Mr. President, the lab's equipment here is the finest in California. Many university professors come to rent out our labs."
"Haha, even better than Bell Labs?"
"Not quite. Bell Labs focuses on telecommunications. Here, we specialize in semiconductors and software, and we have some networking companies as well."
"Networking? They told me that as long as you have a network cable, you can conduct video calls?"
"Haha, that's still in testing. I recommend you to try it; the results might not be satisfactory. The network bandwidth isn't sufficient, and our software isn't fully optimized."
Clinton was certainly willing to give it a go, and indeed, the connection to Bell Labs worked out remarkably well. However, the call to NBC struggled a bit.
Nevertheless, the big shots watching the TV were left speechless.
...
The first to speak up was naturally Bill Gates. This software needed to be discussed with William White. If he waited too long, he could end up being blackmailed by him.
"Steve, you don't seem very curious?" For the general public, the destinations of the president were irrelevant. Of course, that didn't apply to those IT moguls.
"Michael, I'm not at Apple anymore, so I obviously don't care about these things. However, Dell should keep an eye on this. I noticed that camera isn't very big."
"Wow, a computer and a network cable could actually enable video conferencing? Is that really possible?"
"Michael, you shouldn't doubt it. In fact, William White's company already has the capability to do this internally; what you see on TV is just the beginning."
Michael Dell was a bit taken aback; he knew that Jobs and William White had a good relationship. If Steve Jobs thought that way, it certainly meant he had seen the technology firsthand.
Clearly, the White system was empowering computers to do much more. This was no longer the typewriter of old.
...
"William, if that's the case, someday we will achieve a paperless office."
"Yes, Mr. President, there's a lot more it can do. In fact, over 90% of computing power hasn't even been tapped yet. We still have much work to do. The bigger your dreams, the larger your world can be. One day, our world will become flat. With computers and the internet, human communication will no longer face barriers. We are fortunate to live in this era because we are all witnesses."
William White and the president had a great conversation. Watching two guys on television speak confidently left the group of big shots baffled.
Weren't they supposed to be at odds with each other?
What were we witnessing here?
Well, no one becomes successful by mere chance. Without a doubt, William White's vision and eloquence were not just talk.
As for his technical skills, the way he fiddled with the computer was abnormally proficient.
...
"Steve, does true genius really exist? I never believed it, but look at how he taps away at that computer."
"Genius my foot, that's gaming practice. He hasn't written code in ages. According to him, programmers aren't that important; this stuff can be mass-produced. What's crucial is creativity. Michael, I believe the same. Hey, you dropped out of college too. Haven't you achieved more than a dentist?"
"Gaming? Okay, Command & Conquer was indeed cool. How did this guy figure that out? However, the more uses computers have, the greater our development potential. Steve, are you really not planning to return to Apple?"
"Haha, I've made my way into Hollywood. I find that making money in Hollywood is easier than in Silicon Valley."
Easier to make money?
Michael Dell was skeptical. Sure, it was easy to follow in William White's footsteps, but if you could get a script out of him, he'd be willing to invest. As for others, they might just want to take it easier.
...
Clinton was in a great mood today. He even had a decent lunch here.
Of course, there was some showmanship involved. Don't expect fine French cuisine; it was more like McDonald's with fries and burgers.
Generally, that was par for the course. In such circumstances, serving a lobster wouldn't have been appropriate.
To be honest, being president is quite exhausting. You film a movie, and when the director says cut, it's over. But for a president, the performance lasts at least four years, plus the previous election cycle -- it's about five years in total. If re-elected, it could be nine years.
Regardless of which president it was, if you asked them to survive in Hollywood, they'd definitely have the acting chops. If there was a decent script, an Oscar wouldn't be out of reach.
Just think about it for a moment: nine years, almost entirely in the public eye. You have to love your family, your country, and your dog.
That's really something else.
To be frank, love isn't the issue; it's making the public believe you truly love. That's definitely a challenge.
If someone catches a whiff of your shortcomings, you better perform. Look, Clinton managed to maintain appearances quite well even during his troubles.
"Look, I just made a mistake any man could make. I truly apologize."
He couldn't remember all the details, but after Clinton's scandal broke, the public's tolerance for presidential private lives noticeably increased.
Even if it won't reach the absurd heights of the French, they no longer expected presidents to be puritans either. If someone were caught up in a scandal involving an intern, impeachment would be nearly impossible.
After touring HP and Intel, Clinton finally understood. Forget about traditional enterprises; even these two representatives of high-tech firms couldn't match the level of the White Venture Park.
These two sold products, while William White sold concepts.
*****
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