Chapter 48 Microsoft's Two Brothers

This model sounded extremely familiar to Carter; wasn't this what later generations referred to as internet thinking?

First, offer it for free, let people get used to it, and then start harvesting! Whether it's ride-hailing, food delivery, or community group buying, they all follow this pattern. It's surprising that the young Gates would play this card?

Carter could only say, a bigwig is a bigwig. Their thinking was truly ahead of its time.

But overly forward-thinking also brought a big problem, which was the issue of payment in this era. Nowadays, there was no mobile payment, and it wasn't the so-called Internet of Things. Although microcomputers had emerged, they hadn't penetrated every household; they were still positioned as professional tools.

During this time, software downloads and dissemination were mostly offline. It typically involved someone bringing a disk with software to a computer enthusiasts' gathering or club, sharing it with others, who would then install the software on their own computers. This purely physical method of downloading and disseminating made charging a big problem, and there was also the issue of user mentality.

As mentioned earlier, computers during this time were just professional tools. So, those who could access and play with computers were mostly professionals. After software was developed, sharing it along with the source code for mutual help and improvement became a mainstream atmosphere in the computer community.

Carter had heard of this; it was called free software or "open source"! In the future, there was even a famous open-source community called GitHub, specifically for programmers with a sharing spirit to share their own code or improvements. But wait, wasn't GitHub acquired by Microsoft?

So, after slaying the dragon, did the hero turn into a dragon again?

Carter didn't quite understand this operation, and he didn't even realize that he had been subtly deceived by Gates and Paul. Gates didn't start charging for his compiler only after MITS went bankrupt; he had begun this three years ago, completely betraying the Alliance of Open Source Developers.

Of course, if he knew this, Carter would probably be even happier. Because doing so, although somewhat morally questionable, was true business material. When it comes to making money, why be ashamed?

"So, Bill is sending collection letters now, actually, it's a bluff! If he meets someone timid, who's afraid of lawsuits after receiving the letter and worries about being sued, they'll obediently pay up. But if he encounters a tough nut, there's nothing they can do, they just won't pay, and you can't do anything about it, right?"

After roughly understanding the situation at Microsoft and the reasons for the two brothers' distress, Carter smiled and summarized the problem.

"Well, we can really sue them, it's just..."

Paul was somewhat unconvinced but was quickly silenced by Carter's words.

"That's because you don't have enough money and resources to sue each and every one of them. And, once you go too hard, it might lead to a collective boycott from the users. After all, your product is useful, but without your Microsoft interpreter, they still have other interpreters to use!"

Given Microsoft's problem, Carter thought for a moment before continuing:

"I can think of two ways to solve the problem now. The first is to approach it from a professional perspective. For example, can you add a password lock or similar program to your interpreter software? Essentially, cut off the functions of the free version. If they want to continue using it, they'll have to get the password from you. This password generator also needs to be designed as a dynamic one, randomly generating and issuing passwords based on the terminal software ID, binding it to the software terminal. This way, each interpreter has a unique password, preventing one person from buying a password and spreading it for free to others."

Adding restrictions in software was a very common revenue model that Carter had seen in the future. Whether it was cloud storage or office software, they all did it. What was even more irritating was that the Chinese-made ones took this trick to the extreme!

Every time it got exciting and tense, an activation window would pop up, prompting you to pay for an activation code before you could continue playing. In the past, Carter had been driven to the point of frustration and cursed the authors for being unable to play without paying.

But now, when it happened to his own company, or rather the company he intended to invest in, everything changed. The ones who paid were the good friends, and those who didn't pay were just freeloaders! The logic of the boy who slew the dragon eventually becoming the dragon himself applied everywhere.

"That's a very good idea! But with the current technological conditions, it might be difficult to implement, especially since our software has already been released."

When this method was proposed, Gates' eyes lit up. He keenly sensed the commercial value in this simple method. But unfortunately, after thinking about it, he found it unsuitable for the current situation.

"Then there's only the second method left, take down those troublemakers! Make an example out of them! Sue the ones who owe fees the longest, sue them until they're bankrupt. If others are afraid, they'll have to obediently pay up. But this method undoubtedly hurts the enemy and yourself. Doing this may make it difficult to promote your software in the future."

If they couldn't implement restrictions in the software, Carter didn't have any other good ideas. After giving his advice, it was up to them to weigh the options.

Both Gates and Paul understood the risks implied by Carter's aggressive suggestion. The computer community was still small, and there weren't many related service providers. If they were too ruthless, they would undoubtedly tarnish their reputation. While people might be scared to face a lawsuit now and pay up, if they wanted to use their product in the future, it would be another story.

But they both admitted that Carter's method could indeed solve the company's financial difficulties in the short term. It was just the cost.

"Let's do it, Bill! If we don't have money now, we won't have a future."

"Are you sure? This is too risky; it could easily lead to public outrage. Our current income can sustain us for a few more months. Why don't we wait a bit longer?"

Compared to Paul, who gritted his teeth and prepared to act, Gates seemed much more hesitant. Of course, one could also say that he had a longer-term vision; compared to the small gains now, he cared more about the company's future.

As Carter quietly observed all this, he roughly understood the personality traits of these two brothers. Paul, who was two years older than Gates, was much stronger in decisiveness. Just like how Gates dropped out of school at his instigation, although he looked chubby and cute, he was truly ruthless. Faced with a major fork in the road, he was the kind of person who dared to take a step forward!

Gates, who looked shrewd and commercial, seemed more like a qualified businessman. Even though he seemed indecisive now, Carter knew how much thick skin and psychological endurance were needed for someone to deviate from the mainstream environment.

When Gates first came into contact with computers, when he learned about computers, he grew up from the knowledge and code shared selflessly by those open source developers! But when he grew up, instead of inheriting this selfless sharing, he began to lean towards commercial software and implemented a charging system.

Thick-skinned wasn't exactly a compliment, but it was an essential quality for a successful businessman! Coupled with his keen sense and forward-thinking Internet mindset.

Carter didn't know if this situation was intentionally created by Gates or if it happened by chance. Anyway, judging from what he saw before him, Carter was quite sure that this was the future of Microsoft! After all, Microsoft's future was consistently thick-skinned.

After the release of Windows 98, Microsoft said, "This is our last generation of operating software!" Then they released Windows ME; when Windows 10 was released, Microsoft said, "This is our last version of Windows operating software!" Then they released Windows 11.

More importantly, the current Microsoft was at its weakest! This wasn't just a golden egg; it was a golden dragon egg! To protect the interests of this first golden dragon egg they had found, Carter spoke up:

"I agree with Gates, Paul, there's no need to rush. The second method, the blow to our reputation would be too great, and it would be detrimental to our future development. If it's just a matter of funding difficulties, I can lend you some money to tide you over!"