Capítulo Sessenta: Provocação

A report by the New York Times caused a massive reaction in Silicon Valley. Compared to WT, Microsoft was essentially an outsider.

"It is obvious to anyone with eyes that MSN is copying QQ; this is outright plagiarism. We must resist this kind of behavior from Microsoft."

"Microsoft's plagiarism is glaringly obvious. Over the past decade, the courts cannot afford to favor Microsoft just because they are a giant."

"Microsoft should face the judgment they deserve, just like Paperbay Software International and Mosaic Software Inc."

This was a reference to a lawsuit ruled on last year, where Lotus Software sued Paperbay Software International and Mosaic Software Inc., claiming that these two companies had copied the user interface of their 1-2-3 spreadsheet program.

Judge Robert Keeton delivered a 110-page ruling, determining that their copyright had been infringed.

This case greatly encouraged startups in Silicon Valley, who believed that the boundaries of copyright protection in the software industry were expanding.

However, Apple's lawsuit against Microsoft had stalled repeatedly. Court sessions were held over and over again, leaving Apple and other small businesses feeling only disappointed.

It even led people to believe this was a case of double standards: small businesses were swiftly convicted for plagiarism, while a giant's plagiarism was dragged out indefinitely through delaying tactics.

That's right, the mainstream view in Silicon Valley was still that Microsoft would lose the lawsuit and have to compensate Apple for its losses; people simply felt that Microsoft was trying to push that milestone as far into the future as possible.

Because Apple's cash flow was extremely tight, Microsoft hoped to hold onto the compensation until Apple was worn down.

No one believed Microsoft could be found not guilty.

Of course, this matter was also widely discussed in Seattle, because most software industry workers in Seattle were either Microsoft employees or Microsoft suppliers.

All these people had financial ties to Microsoft, so emotionally they tended to support the company.

Their logic was that there was probably only one reasonable design for software, and you couldn't prevent others from thinking along those lines just because you thought of that reasonable scheme first.

Supporters from both sides argued back and forth on specialized BBS forums.

Wang Chi felt it wasn't enough; it hadn't broken out of the industry bubble, and the heat of the entire event remained confined within professional circles.

For people outside the computer-related industry, even with analogies like houses that were easy to understand, they would still think: what does this have to do with me?

Wang Chi hoped for a more entertaining way to spark a nationwide debate.

"Are we really going to do this?" Hoffman felt there were risks involved.

Because he felt there were risks in doing so.

"We are just providing a tutorial without any insulting intent. As for what others do, that's their business," Wang Chi said.

The method Wang Chi came up with was to gamify and commercialize the whole affair.

The previous cash-shooting pistol was designed specifically for US dollars, serving as an ultimate flex for the wealthy.

After Nike released the cash pistol across the United States, this gadget became a trump card in bars. When the wealthy sprayed it around in a club, the entire venue would become electrified, and the difficulty of picking up girls plummeted by ninety percent.

As for most ordinary people who bought one, they would choose to buy some novelty fake bills at a convenience store—fake money was still money.

It provided emotional value at parties among friends.

Of course, there were also players who claimed to use fake cash only for it to turn out to be real, playing the pig to eat the tiger.

In short, previously, the market only had two options: fake money or real money.

Now, Wang Chi wanted to give everyone a third option: the freedom to DIY whatever image they wanted onto the paper.

WT first contacted the largest chain of stores across California, commissioning them to sell a cutting machine.

This cutting machine could trim printing paper into the exact format required by the cash pistol.

Next, they taught netizens on major BBS forums how to DIY their desired images.

Immediately after, they used conspiracy theories on the forums to stigmatize Bill Gates.

Finally, at a banquet held in Silicon Valley, they used the cash pistols to spray green paper printed to look like US dollars—except the portrait wasn't Benjamin Franklin, but Bill Gates, marked with a giant red "X".

"None of this involves us directly, right? Besides, even if he wants to sue me, it's at most a civil dispute; we can just post bail with cash," Wang Chi said nonchalantly. Since they were going head-to-head, they had to use every trick in the book.

If this still couldn't force Bill Gates to speak out, they would think of other tactics.

"Fine, I just think we might still have a chance at a settlement in the future. Once we pull a stunt like this, this lawsuit will have to be fought to the bitter end. Even if Microsoft wants to settle out of court with us, Bill Gates won't agree," Hoffman said.

"The operating system is Microsoft's foundation, so they will never compromise with Apple; they will fight to the death and use every possible means to drag it out.

"But chatting software isn't. Chatting software is at best a tiny piece of Microsoft's massive empire, something they can abandon at any moment.

"We have a strong hope of reaching an out-of-court settlement, or at least making Microsoft bleed heavily. Once we do this, the chance of a settlement with Microsoft becomes vanishingly slim. Even if we claim we didn't do it, Microsoft won't believe us," Hoffman warned once more.

Wang Chi didn't see it that way. Looking at the matter from a higher dimension, one would understand a simple truth: a showdown with Microsoft was inevitable sooner or later.

You couldn't pin your hopes on Microsoft's mercy; instead, you had to rely on this sensational ripple effect to break through the bubble, attract as many users to QQ as possible, and let the general public know QQ existed.

An out-of-court settlement by Microsoft was just Hoffman's wishful thinking; Wang Chi was eager to keep the initiative firmly in his own hands.

"Bill Gates built Microsoft into a giant, which proves he is a sufficiently mature entrepreneur. This isn't a severe humiliation; at best, it's a slightly malicious joke. If the other party would have originally compromised, but refuses to do so solely because of this, then such a compromise wasn't sincere to begin with, and I believe there would have been a high probability of them going back on their word anyway," Wang Chi explained.

"Alright, I respect your opinion."

At a party organized by Hoffman—attended by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, prominent programmers, and veteran reporters—a certain open-source community programmer who had a grudge against Microsoft picked up a Nike-branded cash pistol and went wild.

Except what he sprayed wasn't cash, but green paper printed with Bill Gates' face. As he blasted the paper into the air, he roared:

"F**k Microsoft!"

Every time he yelled, the others echoed the sentiment.

Wang Chi sat nearby, watching, clapping, and laughing heartily, thoroughly enjoying himself.

This scene was captured by a local Silicon Valley reporter, published in the newspaper the next day, and quickly sparked a massive uproar.

This time, it truly broke out of the bubble. Almost everyone was discussing the incident.

The outside world unanimously agreed that this was a provocation against Microsoft orchestrated by David.