Simon stayed on the East Coast for a week, spent a weekend, and returned to San Francisco on the West Coast on January 25.
As Ygritte failed to reach a cooperation agreement with Microsoft on the pre-installation of IE browser, Ygritte recently contacted PC manufacturers such as Apple, HP, and Compaq.
Compared to service providers installing browser software for users, pre-installation directly on the operating system can significantly increase IE browser software revenue.
Due to population limits, once the number of internet access users reaches a certain scale, it will no longer be possible to continue rapid growth. However, personal computers, as consumables, need continuous upgrades and replacements, and sales will continue to increase over the next decade or so.
Moreover, adopting the software pre-installation model can completely solidify the market position of IE browser software, which is essentially a monopoly, preventing any opportunities for competitors.
Microsoft, in the past, used this very tactic to defeat dozens of browser patent licensing manufacturers, including Netscape.
Ygritte Corporation holds most of the core patents for World Wide Web technology, so logically, there should be no need to worry about the monopolistic position of IE browser. However, it still has to take precautions.
Mainly, it's about antitrust.
If the federal government conducts an antitrust investigation into IE browser, a sentiment that already emerged last year, then Ygritte Corporation might have to license this technology out.
By then, as long as the pre-installation model of IE browser has become a fait accompli, even if competitors emerge, the threat will not be too great.
Therefore, Ygritte Corporation attaches great importance to this plan.
"Apple and IBM both rejected our cooperation proposal. Apple believes that doing so would increase the cost of purchasing a machine for users, and IBM thinks that since we are pre-installing software on their machines, we should be paying them, not charging them. Other companies like HP, Compaq, and Dell are still in negotiations and can basically reach a cooperation agreement, but they haven't agreed on the pre-installation price. I think these manufacturers might have secretly contacted each other and formed an alliance to advance and retreat together."
In the conference room, Jeff Bezos was introducing the general progress of the pre-installation plan.
Simon actually valued the market advantage that the pre-installation plan would bring to IE browser software more, ensuring its absolute position as an internet portal was the most important. As for the software pre-installation revenue, he had already planned to gradually promote the free use of IE browser, making it a free 'service' of Ygritte Corporation to reduce the possibility of antitrust accusations. Therefore, even if the price was lowered, it wouldn't matter.
Of course, free in the short term is also not very likely.
Ygritte Corporation is still very reliant on the hundreds of millions of dollars that IE browser effortlessly brings in each year.
Simon was actually very resistant to this reliance, but he had to admit that the revenue from IE browser could not only reduce Ygritte Corporation's large demand for capital but also boost the confidence of Ygritte Corporation and even the entire new technology sector in the future development of the internet industry.
For emerging industries, being able to gain actual benefits is what attracts more people to participate.
Simon listened to Bezos's introduction while flipping through a more detailed document in his hand. A moment later, he looked up and asked, "Is there still a possibility of continuing negotiations with Apple?"
Jeff Bezos shook his head and said, "I personally spoke with John Sculley three times, and he refused each time. Apple's performance in recent years has been excellent, and their operating system has not been widely licensed externally, so they are not worried about competitors and therefore do not want to bear additional software pre-installation costs."
After the Gulf War, the U.S. stock market recovered, and the PC market grew rapidly. Both in terms of capital and actual performance, Apple has been quite comfortable in recent years. Not only has its market value continued to climb, currently remaining at a high of over $7 billion, but its market share has also stabilized at over 20%.
Moreover, unlike the Microsoft camp, Apple's Macintosh system is not licensed externally, so there are no compatible machine competitors.
John Sculley probably assumed that Ygritte Corporation could not abandon the 20% PC market share held by Apple, and therefore had no intention of bearing additional software procurement costs.
Ygritte Corporation could not abandon the Apple computer market.
Otherwise, Simon wouldn't have specifically asked if there was still a possibility of negotiation.
However, Apple CEO John Sculley had clearly forgotten that while Ygritte Corporation couldn't abandon the Apple computer market, it could slow down the development of the Macintosh version of the IE browser.
In the coming years, the internet will only become more and more important to PC users.
If the web browser software on Apple's Macintosh operating system platform is always inferior to that on the Microsoft platform, the accumulation of negative word-of-mouth over time would be enough to make Apple uncomfortable.
What's more, there's the pre-installation plan.
Unlike Apple's complacency and IBM's arrogance, manufacturers like HP and Compaq are willing to cooperate, clearly recognizing the benefits this plan offers them.
When users access the World Wide Web, they can indeed get software installation from service providers, but this fee is actually clearly priced.
If the software later encounters problems or requires a computer replacement, reinstalling IE browser would certainly not be suitable for bothering the operator again.
As is well known, labor in the United States is very expensive.
For a $10 IE browser software, if someone comes to install it, the service fee might be more than that number.
IE browser also has retail versions, including those sold in online software stores, but doing so will ultimately bring various inconveniences.
At this point, if a machine already has IE browser pre-installed, users will unconsciously show a preference. The machine can be used directly after purchase, and if a fault occurs, it might only require restoring the factory system, which is clearly much more convenient than computers without a pre-installed browser.
Business competition, many times, is this kind of detail-oriented competition that accumulates little by little.
Apple's unwillingness to cooperate will only result in their own loss.
Simon also didn't spend too much thought on tripping up the other party. In a long-distance race, if someone stops to try and trip a competitor, the result will only be to slow down their own progress.
As for the future.
Thinking about Apple's rapid decline after the release of Windows 95, if they want to recover then, it certainly won't happen without paying a price.
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After further discussing the pre-installation plan, this agenda item concluded, and Carol Bartz then proposed another project.
Regarding a brand new computer operating system.
Linux.
"This is an open-source operating system kernel released last year by a Finnish programmer named Linus Torvalds. After being released on the World Wide Web platform, many programmers around the world are voluntarily developing this system further. We believe this system is very suitable to replace the Unix system currently used in the company's data centers, so we plan to establish a team specifically responsible for this project."
Carol Bartz only gave a general introduction. Simon had actually read the detailed plan for this project in advance on the plane to San Francisco.
Ygritte Corporation's data center still uses the Unix system, and the licensing fees for the Unix system are very expensive. Moreover, the openness of this system is ultimately not enough for Ygritte's technical team to modify it at the lowest level according to their own needs.
The completely open-source and free Linux undoubtedly solves this problem.
In Simon's memory, due to its free and open-source nature, the Linux system later achieved a market share of over 90% in the server market.
Of course, developing an operating system is by no means an easy task.
Microsoft was founded in 1975, and it has been almost 20 years now. The latest Windows 3.1 system still has various problems.
Simon greatly appreciated Carol Bartz and others for recognizing the potential value of the Linux system shortly after its inception, but if they were to truly invest in its development, it would be a protracted engineering effort.
If a completely new operating system is to be developed, the technical team alone would need at least one or two hundred people, and they would have to be top-tier software engineers.
At the same time, expecting an operating system to be completed in one or two years is also unrealistic.
Finally, when the project is completed, replacing the existing Unix system will still not be an easy task.
Ygritte Corporation's cloud computing technology is currently being developed based on the Unix system.
However, no matter how many difficulties there are, Simon understands one thing: the path of replacing the closed and paid Unix with the free and open-source Linux system is absolutely correct.
Since it is confirmed to be on the right path, no matter how much is invested in the process, it is worth it.
Everyone discussed for more than half an hour. Although Jeff Bezos had some reservations about this plan, which might occupy a large amount of Ygritte Corporation's funds and resources, he did not object, and so it was quickly finalized.
Unbeknownst to them, it was already noon.
After everyone had lunch together, they returned to the company and then held a conference call with Steve Case, who was still in New York, to discuss some upcoming cooperation issues between Ygritte Corporation and America Online.
America Online's headquarters were originally moved to San Francisco, but because the company's subsequent business scale on the East Coast far exceeded that on the West Coast, Steve Case spent much more time at the New York headquarters on the East Coast than on the West Coast, and the operations team gradually shifted eastward. The West Coast headquarters now focuses more on technology research and development.
The ADSL technology was finalized and tested on the West Coast.
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After finishing his schedule at Ygritte Corporation, Simon also took some time to visit Tinkerbell Company, founded by C-girl Claire Gain.
With the rise of the internet, demand for iCam digital cameras has also been increasing.
Shipments of the iCam-1 have quietly grown to about 50,000 units per month, with annual shipments reaching 610,000 units and sales approaching $300 million.
For a startup electronics company, and in a situation where a large number of established manufacturers with strong technology are entering the market and attacking, this is already an innovation.
Because it closely follows the rapidly rising internet concept, Wall Street's recent valuation of iCam has reached a high of $1 billion.
After another round of financing, Westeros's stake in Tinkerbell rose to 70%, and the two founders' stakes were compressed from 25% to 15%.
However, based on the recent valuation of $1 billion, just this 15% stake is worth $150 million.
Claire Gain thus became another billionaire to emerge from the Westeros system. Moreover, compared to the executives of the Westeros system, the identity of C-girl is even more intriguing: Simon Westeros's maid.
More and more people outside are also aware of the information about Simon Westeros's 'ABCD' four ladies, filled with all sorts of ambiguous curiosity.
The third generation iCam-30 will still be released at Easter.
Meanwhile, Tinkerbell Company has quietly begun developing a digital music player, with the trademark "iPlayer" already registered.
This player will be primarily based on the MP3 audio format and micro-hard drive storage technology provided by Ygritte Corporation.
This is also a product that appeared almost ten years ahead of its time. However, because relevant technologies have accumulated over many years, product development also does not face major obstacles.
As long as the upcoming USB standard is completed and widely adopted, and America Online's ADSL network deployment is finished, digital music players can build a complete online music ecosystem.
After a day's work, Simon spent the night with his assistant, who had quietly arrived, at a mountain villa in Woodside, and only returned to Los Angeles the next day.
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This year's Golden Globe Awards for American Film and Television will be held on Thursday, January 28th.
The location is still the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Daenerys Entertainment has many nominated projects in both film and television, and as usual, it is a hot topic tonight.
The company also started preparing for the Golden Globes celebration party a week in advance.
Regardless of whether they win awards, with over 30 nominations in film and television combined, it's enough for Daenerys Entertainment to celebrate lively.
Simon had no interest in sitting in the Hilton Hotel ballroom for several hours. He continued to work until six o'clock in the afternoon, returned to Dume Point Estate to have dinner with Janet, and then the two arrived early at the activity center on the second floor of Daenerys Studios.
Tonight's celebration party is still being held here.
Many company executives and some celebrities who are not attending the awards ceremony have arrived early, and after the awards ceremony, it will be even livelier here.
The Golden Globes live broadcast was playing on the projection screen in the activity center hall. Simon greeted Amy Pascal and others, then discussed the 'Conjuring Universe' plan with Danny Morris.
"The Warrens collaborated with a writer in 1980 to publish a biography called *The Demonologists: The Warrens*, and at that time, they also signed an exclusive licensing agreement, stating that the Warrens could no longer license related experiences to others. This is the most troublesome point. We contacted that writer, and they quoted $5 million, which is simply a joke. However, the news has recently spread, and now several other film companies in Hollywood are interested in the adaptation rights to that book."