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Chapter 316 Let's find some more fun for Bill

While the tech world was still engrossed in discussions about Google's breakthrough, a sudden clarification announcement instantly disrupted the flow of public opinion.

Microsoft issued a high-profile statement, its words sincere yet tinged with innocence, claiming that it had never asked PC manufacturers to bundle MSN, and that it had not even considered the alleged unfair competition of embedding Windows into MSN.

This kind of statement is as if to say, "This has nothing to do with me; I just found out about it myself," which makes people laugh.

In its announcement, Microsoft also emphasized that since its inception, it has always upheld the lofty goal of promoting the development of the technology industry and its social responsibility, and has absolutely no intention of suppressing companies in the same industry.

This righteous statement, attempting to cultivate an image of someone dedicated to the industry and selfless, seems, to those familiar with the tech world and Microsoft, somewhat like a blatant attempt to cover something up.

Following this, Microsoft announced that it would change MSN's operating model, no longer embedding it in the Windows system, but offering it as a standalone software option for users.

This decision was interpreted by outsiders as a helpless compromise by Microsoft under pressure from public opinion and Google, but Microsoft has packaged it as a proactive measure to meet market demands and respect user choices.

As expected, public opinion shifted as soon as the clarification announcement was released.

Many media outlets seemed to have found the standard answer, publishing articles describing Microsoft as a good child who admitted its mistakes and corrected them. Their articles were full of praise, as if previous criticisms of Microsoft had never existed.

It's clear to everyone that this is backed by a huge public relations budget. Microsoft must have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on public relations to reverse the public opinion situation.

This astronomical expenditure was less about clarifying the facts and more about buying reputation.

It must be said that the heavily funded reporting did have some effect, especially among the elite and the judiciary.

However, the situation is quite the opposite among the general public, especially within schools.

The mockery of Bill Gates did not diminish with the announcement; on the contrary, it reached a new level.

The reason for this is simply that the Bill Gates meme on Google Connect is extremely popular, spreading at an astonishing speed and almost sweeping across major campuses.

Harvard University's student dining halls, usually quiet places on campus, have now been transformed into a Bill Gates meme exhibition.

When lunchtime arrived, the cafeteria became bustling with activity. Even though these students were considered the cream of the crop by everyone, they couldn't resist the fun of teasing the world's richest man.

Despite the long-standing and close collaboration between Harvard University and Microsoft, with their joint efforts in research, talent development, and other areas, Harvard University and Microsoft have a long history of cooperation.

Even so, Harvard students are not at all fond of Microsoft, and many even consider Microsoft a disgrace to Harvard.

Microsoft's legal team, which is known in the industry as invincible, has a core team entirely composed of graduates from Harvard Law School, and its leader, Malcolm, is a renowned star alumnus of Harvard.

Microsoft was once the dream workplace for countless Harvard students, because Microsoft has indeed profoundly changed the way people live, and working for such an influential company is a dream for many.

However, as time went on, Microsoft became embroiled in more and more plagiarism controversies and lawsuits. Whenever faced with these troubles, Microsoft's legal team always managed to resolve them one by one with their professional expertise.

This legal team, which they were once so proud of, is no longer a source of pride for Harvard, but has become an accomplice of the evil dragon, helping Microsoft cover up its mistakes and evade responsibility.

Of course, if Microsoft were to send them Office, the Harvard students would still go for it, but that doesn't stop them from secretly despising Microsoft and Bill Gates.

In the Harvard University student cafeteria, some talented individual printed out Bill Gates emojis from Google Play and meticulously crafted them into masks.

In particular, the Japanese-style meme featuring Bill Gates, paired with Microsoft's clarification announcement, is a perfect match, perfectly capturing the scenario of saying one thing and meaning another, and feigning innocence.

Everyone who saw it couldn't help but burst into laughter, and some even made loud jokes.

"Mr. Gates, your apology is so insincere! A bow won't do; don't the Japanese prefer to kneel?"

Compared to Harvard University, Stanford University's mockery is even more exaggerated.

Stanford students fully utilized their creativity, re-editing existing meme materials from Google Messenger, instantly multiplying the number of Bill Gates memes several times over.

Moreover, the captions for these new emojis are simple, direct, and varied, each one hitting the nail on the head.

"Does lying plus evasion equal the world's richest person?"

"Can you gain 50 billion in assets by abandoning morality?"

"Microsoft's legal team: They've been professionally helping bosses get rid of debts for 30 years, and they're trustworthy."

Even more extreme, some have created a kneeling statue of Bill Gates, with a huge Google logo placed in front of it.

In the eyes of Stanford students, Microsoft's compromise this time is not only a victory for Google, but also a victory for Stanford.

Who doesn't know that Google's core team mostly comes from Stanford University? Although Google's key figure, Ernst, came from USC, the early Google employees, those who are now the pillars of various departments in Google, all have their academic foundation at Stanford.

In the minds of Stanford students, if Ernst was a wise leader who guided the development of the industry, then Stanford University was his most valiant army, expanding its territory and conquering all in the vast field of the Internet.

"Trash Microsoft, trash Bill Gates, your time is running out. Cherish your title as the world's most valuable company, because soon you will be pulled down from your pedestal by the real king."

I don't know which chuunibyou boy shouted it out, but it instantly triggered a cheer from the surrounding students. Everyone waved their arms, as if they could already see the day when Google would surpass Microsoft.

Many people outside the university are unaware that Stanford University has long held some prejudice against Microsoft.

More accurately, Stanford students believe that Microsoft has a prejudice against Stanford.

Microsoft is headquartered in Seattle, and Washington state, which is on the same west coast of the United States as California, is geographically close. Logically, Microsoft should give more consideration to Stanford students when recruiting.

However, the reality is quite different. Among Microsoft employees, those from MIT, Harvard, Georgia, Carnegie Mellon, and UC Berkeley occupy the top five positions, while Stanford University barely makes the top ten, let alone the top five.

Stanford University's computer science program is among the best in the world. As a company whose core business is software development, Microsoft's differential treatment of Stanford students has caused great dissatisfaction among Stanford students.

What they found even more unacceptable was that Microsoft would hold recruitment events at MIT, Harvard, and other universities at least twice a year, while at Stanford University, Microsoft could only occasionally be seen with a faint recruitment sign during the summer recruitment season, and the number of positions and openings was pitifully small.

So when Google rose to prominence, Stanford students saw it as blatant proof of Microsoft's short-sightedness.

Especially recently, more and more media outlets have begun publishing analytical articles discussing whether Google can surpass Microsoft to become the world's most valuable company, which has turned Stanford students into absolute supporters of Google.

It's no wonder that Silicon Valley companies are complaining that Stanford University and USC have become Google's talent hubs.

Unless they choose to start their own businesses, most graduates from these two schools will choose Google or other companies under Ernst as their first choice.

As for other companies, they can only get the scraps after Ernst's companies have finished selecting their talent.

In Google's office, Ernst couldn't help but sigh and say, "What a pity."

Hamilton, standing nearby, looked surprised and asked in bewilderment, "What's so regrettable about that? Microsoft unbundled MSN, and we at Google won this competition. Isn't that a resounding victory?"

In Hamilton's view, Microsoft has suffered heavy losses this time. The huge public relations costs, the patent infringement damages demanded by Google in its appeal, and the joint appeal by the Department of Justice and twenty states are not things that Microsoft can easily resolve with a clarification announcement.

He roughly estimated that Microsoft's financial losses this time were at least 800 million to 1 billion. Wasn't this result enough to satisfy Ernst?

Ernst was certainly not satisfied; he had originally hoped that Bill Gates would continue to stand his ground.

By making a fatal mistake, Microsoft dealt Bill Gates a fatal blow, completely disrupting Microsoft's plans. However, in the end, it only received a slight compromise from Microsoft, which left him somewhat disappointed.

Google is not the Netscape of yesteryear. In this antitrust action against Microsoft, Ernst's goal is far more than simply getting Microsoft to untie him; he aims to dismantle Microsoft.

If Microsoft can be successfully broken up into two independent companies, it will be much easier for Google to challenge Microsoft in the operating system field in the future.

He knew his idea was difficult to realize, but as long as Bill Gates continued to push forward, he had a sliver of hope.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be all bark and no bite; Bill Gates did not lose his temper.

Although Bill Gates backed down this time and made a compromise, Ernst had no intention of letting him off the hook.

If I can't hit you, can't I at least make you feel disgusted?

His eyes darted around, and he turned to Hamilton, saying, "What do you think? Should we capitalize on this hype and give Bill Gates some more laughs?"

"Fun?" A hint of wariness flashed in Hamilton's eyes.

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