The next day, Billy Cates continued his activities.
He made a point of visiting a domestic PC manufacturer in front of Lee Hyun-woo and mentioned installing the web browser ‘Internet X Cross’ from 【Macro Soft】.
In this world, how mandatory something is depends on who says it.
【Macro Soft】, which monopolizes the operating system, is actually the absolute power in the market.
Since systems cannot operate without Windows, Billy Cates is naturally in a superior position, and PC manufacturers are inevitably in a subordinate position.
However, there was something that Kim Tae-hyun, the executive director of 【Guseong Electronics】, did not mention to Billy Cates, which was the installation of 【Jungle】’s web browser ‘Forest’.
After meeting with Billy Cates, he had a meeting with the top executives and said:
“We will install both Internet X Cross and Forest.”
“What?”
“Wouldn’t that be breaking our promise with 【Macro Soft】?”
“They will definitely protest immediately.”
“There’s no way. 【Macro Soft】 only mentioned installing ‘Internet X Cross’ with Windows 97; they never said not to install ‘Forest’.”
Listening to Kim Tae-hyun, it was indeed true.
However, the management still felt uneasy about the absolute power of 【Macro Soft】 in the market.
Someone spoke on behalf of the group.
“Executive Director, you know why Windows holds the top position in the market. Without it, software cannot run.”
“Yes, CEO Lee Hyun-woo refers to it as a foundational platform. He says that such a foundational platform not only controls the running of software but can also serve as a development tool.”
“Ah, yes, that’s true. Although I’ve never heard the term ‘foundational platform’ before, Windows itself is both the installation and execution base for software.”
“That’s why I think our company needs to align itself well. It would be better if we could create our own foundational platform, but if that’s difficult, it is very risky to focus solely on one area.”
“There aren’t many companies that create what you call a foundational platform. Moreover, 【Macro Soft】 holds an absolute market share with Windows.”
“This is repetitive, but it’s the same point. The confusion arises because the foundational platform you’re talking about is a computer operating system.”
“That’s because there is only the computer operating system now…”
“That’s true for now.”
“What do you mean by ‘for now’?”
“Soon, another form of ‘foundation’ will emerge, not related to computers. For example, mobile phones.”
People’s eyes gleamed.
In fact, 【Guseong Electronics】’s share in the computer market had been declining recently.
Instead, sales of servers and mobile phones were rapidly increasing.
The person driving this was none other than Executive Director Kim Tae-hyun.
People thought,
‘It seems they’re planning to focus more on mobile phones rather than computers.’
‘If we reduce the focus on computers immediately, we won’t be swayed by 【Macro Soft】’s influence.’
‘A good choice.’
Of course, in their minds, mobile phones had not yet established themselves as a ‘foundation.’
Their lives had been centered around manufacturing.
Although this was still the case, South Korea was gradually changing.
No matter how much of an elite group 【Guseong Electronics】 was, their imagination couldn’t stretch that far.
On the other hand, Kim Tae-hyun had been steadily communicating and working with Lee Hyun-woo since last year, preparing for the new era.
In some ways, he was quite fortunate.
He was the chaebol heir who benefited the most from Lee Hyun-woo’s rebirth.
“Understood. Then we will proceed with installing Forest as well.”
“But how about announcing it after Billy Cates leaves for Japan?”
“I think that’s a good idea too. If we proceed while he’s still in Korea, it would be like provoking him. Although we don’t want to be overly cautious of him, doing so might cause discord in the distribution of Windows 97.”
“We also need to consider server operating systems. Although not as much as PCs, 【Macro Soft】’s server operating system is becoming increasingly dominant. It’s hard for us to escape its influence.”
As an elite and a veteran, Kim Tae-hyun still had much to learn from them.
Realizing that he had to consider server operating systems as well, Kim Tae-hyun nodded, thinking it would be difficult to easily escape from 【Macro Soft】’s grasp.
“Understood. I wasn’t aware of that. But if we are dependent on 【Macro Soft】 for both PC and server operating systems, we will perpetually be at their mercy. Both need alternatives, so let’s continue discussing this issue until the end of the year.”
This was a compromise.
Kim Tae-hyun ended the meeting and informed Lee Hyun-woo of the situation.
Unprompted, Kim Tae-hyun called and delivered good news to Lee Hyun-woo’s ears.
(Once Billy Cates leaves Korea, we will announce to the media that we will install your web browser. Then maybe 【GB Electronics】 will follow suit?)
The two business rivals always kept each other in check.
Their method was to enter the same fields as the other or to match the products and content developed or adopted by the other with equivalent technology and policies.
Naturally, Lee Hyun-woo agreed with Kim Tae-hyun’s prediction.
“Not just them, but other major domestic PC manufacturers will follow. I don’t know how I should repay you, hyung.”
(What else could it be? The success of the PDA phone.)
“Understood.”
(You don’t even try to give a different answer. Instead of saying you’ll do your best, you just say ‘understood.’)
“The PDA phone is just the beginning. Based on the PDA phone, a new type of mobile phone will hit it big.”
(Hit it big? That’s a nice word to hear. Okay, great. I’ll keep expecting more from now on.)
“Yes, hahaha.”
After this conversation, Lee Hyun-woo hung up the phone.
He immediately called for Woo Sang-won.
“Did you call for me?”
There must have been several tense moments since Billy Cates arrived in Korea.
Woo Sang-won’s eyes looked quite bloodshot.
It’s the fate of someone leading a company.
In such a situation, Lee Hyun-woo couldn’t emphasize work-life balance any further, so he had no choice but to dive into business talk.
“I just spoke with Executive Director Kim Tae-hyun. It seems they will install our Forest together with Windows 97 and Internet X Cross on their computers.”
“Really?”
“Yes, that’s correct. But are there any technical issues? Compatibility or potential software conflicts?”
“There aren’t any. We’ve tested all of that before releasing it. And this web browser is something that some team leaders and I started planning and developing while we were with 【Hai】.”
It wasn’t software that was whipped up overnight.
Lee Hyun-woo, who was somewhat aware of this, nodded.
“We used Windows as a development tool, so it’s like we’re taking something from 【Macro Soft】.”
“Yes, haha…”
“Anyway, once 【Guseong Electronics】 announces this, other PC manufacturers will easily follow suit in installing Forest. Naturally, we need to be ready by the time Windows 97 is released.”
“Of course. We’ll proceed without any issues.”
Although Billy Cates came to promote Windows 97, the Korean version had not yet been released.
It was scheduled for next month.
By then, if we distribute it on CDs to each manufacturer, we could have a proper web browser war.
“Additionally, Executive Director Kim Tae-hyun has high expectations for the PDA phone operating system.”
“We’re putting a lot of effort into that as well.”
With Woo Sang-won’s firm response, Lee Hyun-woo nodded.
Seeing this, Woo Sang-won steered the conversation back to the web browser.
“By the way, it worked in our country, but we don’t know if overseas PC manufacturers will install Forest.”
“That’s true. Let’s not expect that. It would be great if it happens, but if not, that’s that.”
“Yes, CEO.”
No matter how much Lee Hyun-woo expected a smooth path in this life, even to the point of being bored of previous success, 【Macro Soft】 wouldn’t be an easy company to deal with.
With the absence of 【Single】 and the diminished presence of 【Pineapple】 in this life, the biggest rival would still be Billy Cates’ 【Macro Soft】.
‘I should enjoy this confrontation as much as possible.’
A hopeful smile spread across Lee Hyun-woo’s lips.
After his short stay in Korea, Billy Cates visited Japan, where he once again negotiated with PC manufacturers to ensure the mandatory installation of ‘Internet X Cross.’
From 【Macro Soft】’s perspective, the newly emerging information technology powerhouse Korea was important, but Japan, with its population of over 100 million and established concept of intellectual property, could not be neglected.
Thus, he promised to release the Japanese version of Windows 97 first, securing the cooperation of Japanese PC manufacturers.
After completing all these tasks, Billy Cates arrived in Seattle.
He immediately summoned Steven Job.
“What’s this? Calling a busy person here and there?”
“You, you’re in big trouble.”
The reason was to provoke him.
“Why?”
“I just came back from meeting Hyun-woo Lee in Korea.”
“I saw the news. But why is that my problem?”
“From what I saw, he’s at least better than you. At his age, he wasn’t intimidated in front of me. He said everything he wanted to say.”
As expected by Lee Hyun-woo, Billy Cates was someone who felt bored with success.
Finally, seeing the rapidly growing Lee Hyun-woo, he found a new source of excitement. If Steven Job could show the same spirited abilities as before, it would add another layer of interest to his middle-aged life.
Unaware of this, Steven Job frowned and replied.
“He has no reason to be intimidated by you. But it’s satisfying. He broke your pride instead of mine.”
“That wasn’t even enough to make me snort. The problem is you. 【Pineapple】 will have a hard time fending off 【Jungle】’s aggressive moves.”
“Why are you putting a damper on things before they even start? Just wait a bit. With the killer portal site, 【Jungle】 and 【Macro Soft】 will be left in shock.”
As always, Steven Job was never fazed by such remarks.
He was confident.
He believed that the portal site he had painstakingly developed would surpass the current leaders like 【Yaho】 and 【Jungle】.
‘By the way, it seems like meeting Hyun-woo Lee was fun. I should go see him too.’
He made a sudden decision.
After launching the portal site, he planned to schedule a visit to Korea for market penetration in Asia.
It seemed that Lee Hyun-woo was destined to meet the IT giants of America throughout the year.
Billy Cates, Jamie Wang, and now Steven Job.
