Chapter 115: The Inertia of History

Lies are most persuasive when they are half true and half false. Claiming a rice yield of one ton per acre might be barely believable, but a hundred thousand jin is excessive. Such a quantity might not even be physically stackable, let alone cultivated.

News about the Checkers project had already leaked out. Although many expressed skepticism, William White knew that Blue Giant had officially entered the microcomputer realm.

As for why they remained so low-key, only heaven knew. Blue Giant was a massive machine; it could not easily change its pace. Internally, microcomputers were not regarded as significant.

Computers becoming common in ordinary households? They thought it was a joke. Game consoles might have that potential, but anything else was just unrealistic.

One could only wonder if Atari was weeping silently, for Blue Giant held them in high regard. As for the arcade game "Legendary World," they did not believe it would ever enter homes.

They were well aware of the price of Motorola’s 6800 CPU. A single CPU was so expensive that, of course, arcades could afford it, but who in a household could?

Soon, Intel’s 8080 series chips caught their attention. Although not as powerful as Motorola’s, the price was very reasonable.

There was another crucial factor: the IT industry valued heritage. The founders of Intel were all prodigies from Fairchild Semiconductor. Motorola, on the other hand, was considered provincial.

Texas Instruments? Those rude cowboys were only good at messing things up.

At that time, Intel was already in a difficult position. Their main business was not CPUs; dynamic memory was their focus.

This was what later became known as memory. As long as you had enough dollars, anyone could enter the industry.

In manufacturing, Intel was essentially outmatched. Memory factories could not compete with European companies, nor even with some domestic American firms.

More frighteningly, Japanese firms had already entered the field. The future looked bleak for Intel.

Amid this awkward period, Blue Giant extended an olive branch.

William White could not help but marvel at the inertia of history. Motorola was still being ignored—there was nothing to say about that. The best course was to go with the flow of history and not attempt to change anything.

Office software finally faced a challenger. Lotus, leading the charge with some aggressive momentum, intended to give White Software a hard time.

“68 dollars? Fine, Tom. Don’t worry about them; proceed according to plan.” Such a large slice of the pie was bound to attract predators. Unfortunately, they were thinking too simply; it wouldn’t be so easy to turn the tables.

“Suzuki, have the legal department initiate litigation procedures. Don’t worry about winning or losing; just tie them up. If you can restrict their sales, even at some cost, that’s acceptable.”

“Understood, boss. I’ll arrange it immediately.”

Patent disputes were often a case of the strong bullying the weak. Your software might be forced off the shelves, and your company’s accounts partially frozen.

Because the opponent had applied for asset protection, there was nothing you could do, no matter how dissatisfied you were. It was simply unreasonable.

Lotus, being the weaker party, could only rely on antitrust laws, but the chances of success were slim.

You try suing a company less than a year old? The Department of Justice wasn’t that shameless. If the other side was weak, a warning might suffice.

William White? He was a nightmare for many.

If you weren’t afraid of his caustic tongue, you could try, but be prepared to be humiliated.

Just as Lotus was in dire straits, White Software released a new version. Though the improvements were modest, they were impressive enough. Most dauntingly, the price of the old software dropped straight to 299.

What an exasperating price! Lotus’s software was still inferior, and now this blow left them at a complete loss.

Such ruthless tactics against competitors were brutal and domineering. Without a short-term solution, the only likely outcome was closing shop.

The biggest controversy over patents centered on file formats—this was the most frustrating issue for all competitors.

If you used it, you infringed; if you didn’t, you couldn’t print, unless you abandoned Apple’s printing adapter.

Other computers were fine, but users would never accept such inconsistent formats. Did they need to install two sets of software and produce two copies of the same spreadsheet?

There was no such user in the world; they would vote with their feet. Now it was even worse, since your price was twice as high.

Lotus? Merely a joke.

The tactics of strangling competitors through upstream and downstream relationships were not unique to William White; everyone did this, just to varying degrees.

William White’s concern over Lotus was understandable. It was puzzling how they had arrived prematurely; the guy should have had two more years of leisure.

Sometimes, foresight isn’t a blessing. He had lost his mind. Such a lucrative industry would never allow Lotus or any other to enjoy a free ride for two years.

The IT ecosystem was bloodthirsty. No one refrained from pouncing and tearing into rivals.

The fierce battles now made many wary. Despite Lotus’s youth, they handled matters with cunning and were far from easy marks.

These Silicon Valley companies typically had venture capital involvement—people who pursued profit above all. If the risk was too great, they would not invest.

Clearly, Lotus’s investors had backed down. Pouring more money into a fight was foolish. The best outcome was for someone to acquire them, allowing investors to exit gracefully.

For companies of this era, such harsh suppression was uncommon. Lotus was truly shaken, while others simply capitulated.

White Software’s brutal tactics naturally provoked backlash, the loudest coming from their old rival, Larry Ellison.

“We welcome competition, provided you don’t plagiarize. We have a hundred million dollars on the books to deal with thieves. You even copied erroneous code and still try to deny it. As for the malicious accusations, sorry, mind your own business. I hear your accounts are already empty. God bless you.”

White Software’s sharp retorts remained as cutting as ever. Exposed documents made plagiarism a consensus.

Plagiarism was not unheard of in this era, but the real disappointment was that these thieves couldn’t even copy properly.

“What the hell? There are blank instructions in here?”

This bastard was truly despicable. No so-called accidents—this was a trap dug long ago.

Even the restless Department of Justice hesitated. You’re not worthy of sympathy, being caught red-handed. Winning the lawsuit wouldn’t mean much.

Though Americans encouraged competition, plagiarism was absolutely forbidden. If everyone did that, what would become of America’s spirit of innovation? It was truly terrifying.