America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 418 Prestige

1998 7 Month 17 Day.

As dawn breaks through the mist of California's redwood forests, the 8000 permanent seats at Redwood Bowl Stadium are covered in blue velvet covers, transforming the venue, originally used for Humboldt State University's Lumberjacks, into a sea of ​​romance.

Inside the stadium, the 400-meter running track has been completely covered with flowers, forming colorful flower strips that extend from every corner of the stadium to the stage in the center of the lawn, and the air is filled with a rich and fresh floral fragrance.

A long floral corridor has been erected, stretching from the stadium entrance to the stage in the center of the lawn.

On the flower racks on both sides of the corridor, vines and flowers of various colors are entwined, and the hanging flower spikes sway gently in the wind, like a group of lively elves.

On the floor of the long corridor, a bright red carpet stretched from the entrance all the way to the center of the stage, as if it were a road leading to happiness.

After the wedding begins, the newlyweds will walk slowly down this romantic floral corridor to the stage in the center of the lawn, under the watchful eyes of more than 8000 guests.

Carl's wedding left Ernst Station deeply moved, finally making him understand what true prestige really meant.

It's not the physical facilities on site, but the visiting guests.

Just after nine o'clock, the police in Redwood City temporarily dispatched 12 motorcycles to direct traffic. These officers patrolled the major intersections, directing vehicles to pass in an orderly manner.

It's not that we don't want to send more police officers, but Redwood City only has so many police resources.

A city with only 80,000 people doesn't need so many police officers to maintain order, and never imagined that one day it would see such a massive operation in its own city.

As time went on, planes began to land one after another at the airport near Redwood City.

Immediately afterwards, buses drove out of the airport and headed towards the Redwood Bowl Stadium.

The first to arrive was the Harvard delegation, led by Harvard University President Andrew, which included more than forty renowned scholars in the fields of education and technology.

Following the Harvard delegation, delegations from other renowned universities such as MIT, Stanford University, and the University of Chicago also arrived.

Basically, all the Ivy League universities in the United States came, which left Ernst completely stunned. He hadn't expected that the head of Bell Labs had such a significant influence in the education sector.

No wonder John McCarthy said that once he acquired Bell Labs, he would never have to worry about finding talent again.

With such connections, it's no exaggeration at all.

He couldn't help but joke, "If a missile were to hit right now, wouldn't the American education system be completely paralyzed?"

Hamilton, standing to the side, looked at Ernst with a strange expression upon hearing this, utterly bewildered by the man's thought process.

On such a joyous day, when everyone is immersed in an atmosphere of happiness and blessings, you can't help but think of something like a missile attack.

Hamilton did not respond to Ernst's teasing, but simply followed him silently into the stadium.

As soon as they entered, their eyes were drawn to the long tables set up around the lawn.

What attracted them was not the long table itself, but the monitors placed on it.

Ernst was filled with doubt. He casually pulled over a person wearing a work vest and asked curiously, "What's this?"

The staff member was taken aback for a moment before replying somewhat slowly, "The dining table."

Ernst rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Don't I know this is a dining table?"

American weddings are usually similar to banquets, both being buffet style, which allows guests more freedom to choose their favorite foods.

To meet the dining needs of more than 8000 people on site, 220 dining tables were set up to ensure that guests would not be crowded when getting their food and could have a comfortable dining experience.

Ernst pointed to the monitor on the long table and asked again, "I mean this."

"Oh," the other person suddenly understood, but their eyes revealed a hint of resentment, as if they were blaming Ernst for not speaking clearly. "This is a touch screen, and it contains a food ordering system that we developed."

After saying that, he gave a demonstration on the spot, tapping a few times on the touch screen with his finger. "If any dish is missing from the table, the staff only need to click the corresponding option on the touch screen, and the kitchen will immediately know which table is missing which dish, and then they will immediately send someone to replenish the dish."

The other party said somewhat helplessly, "This wedding is too big, and there are too many guests. It's impossible for the service staff to keep up with the food at each table by manually checking it. So we specially developed this ordering system."

Upon hearing this, Ernst frowned and asked doubtfully, "Bell Labs has touch technology?"

He knew that apart from catering and waiter services, all other aspects of the wedding, including stage setup, MC arrangements, and lighting adjustments, were organized by Bell Labs personnel.

Anyone wearing the same uniform as the staff member in front of you is an employee of Bell Labs.

The other person didn't seem very interested in talking to Ernst, and a look of disdain appeared on their face. Ping felt that it was somewhat insulting to his intelligence for Ernst, the actual owner of Bell Labs, to ask such a question.

He replied somewhat impatiently, "Bell Labs developed touchscreen technology that allows for two-handed operation as early as 1984. The PDAs commonly found on the market today, and IBM's first touchscreen smartphone launched in 1993, are examples."

Simon uses technology from Bell Labs; I think the whole world knows that, right?

Ernst wanted to ask in return: Does your "world" include me? Does it include ordinary people like us who don't usually pay much attention to technology?

After shaking his head and waving his hand to let the other party leave, Ernst was in a good mood. At least he had discovered another technology with huge commercial potential and a business opportunity.

Let's not even talk about touchscreen technology; it's definitely going to be an indispensable technology in consumer electronics in the future.

This ordering system seems like it could be promoted.

While it's impossible to equip every table with a computer for self-service ordering, wouldn't equipping each waiter with a small handheld device like a PDA instantly boost the sense of technology and convenience?

What do upscale restaurants sell?

High-class.

With this equipment, what kind of men wouldn't come to eat here?

Turning around, he wanted to discuss his thoughts with Hamilton, but saw Hamilton standing there dumbfounded, staring intently at the stage in the middle of the lawn, as if he were deeply attracted by something.

Seeing this, Ernst couldn't help but tease, "What? Seeing this scene makes you want to have another wedding?"

Hamilton has been married for many years and has three children.

However, Ernst remembered that the other party said that when he got married, he had nothing but a vow in a church and invited a few relatives and friends to witness it.

Ernst thought Hamilton was moved by the romantic and grand wedding before him and wanted to hold a similar one for his wife.

However, Hamilton came to his senses, shook his head, smiled wryly, and said, "We're all getting old, and our kids are almost in college."

He pointed to the huge video wall in the center of the stage and explained, "I'm looking at those photos."

"Photos?" Ernst looked up in the direction Hamilton was pointing and saw that the couple's wedding photos were being played on a loop on a huge splicing screen in the center of the stage.

Isn't showing the newlyweds' wedding photos a common part of weddings? What's so strange about that?

"Don't you think we could integrate this feature into Google Messenger? Make it a feature for a commemorative photo album."

Users can upload important photos from their lives, such as wedding photos, birthday photos, and travel photos, to this commemorative album. They can also add captions and share their wonderful moments with family and friends. Isn't that cool?

"This will not only increase the functionality of Google Connect, but also improve user engagement."

QQ space?

Ernst suddenly understood why Hamilton had been staring blankly at the photos on the video wall.

It's not unusual to show the newlyweds' wedding photos on a big screen, but the timing is wrong.

Because such a scene doesn't exist at weddings nowadays.

Clearly, this is another creative element meticulously designed by Bell Labs engineers, leveraging their technological expertise.

Hamilton envisioned integrating this feature into Google Messenger to enhance the product's competitiveness, while Ernst considered turning the photo display system into software and selling it to wedding companies.

If we charge monthly, earning tens of millions of dollars a year shouldn't be a problem, right?

Wedding planning companies can't possibly miss the benefits of this software; they'll definitely buy it. After all, they don't have to pay for it themselves; someone else will foot the bill. This is a unique market.

No wonder they're from Bell Labs; they know how to handle this wedding.

Ernst had heard it said that science students are good at wasting time and energy, leaving no room for anyone else.

Sure enough.

Everyone thought it was over, but at 11 a.m., the wedding officially began. The moment the lights came on, most of the people present gasped in surprise.

It's so high-tech.

Above the stadium's dome, beams of laser light shot down to the ground. These lasers, of various colors, intertwined and weaved through the air before striking the red carpet with pinpoint accuracy.

As the newlyweds walked hand in hand down the red carpet to the stage, it was as if they were in a sci-fi world, a dreamlike and breathtaking spectacle.

Ernst subconsciously looked up at the sky. Although there were quite a few clouds today, the sky was still relatively clear.

The fact that such clearly visible laser beams could be emitted under such conditions demonstrates the profound technical expertise and formidable technological strength that Bell Labs has accumulated in the field of laser research and development.

"Well, now they even have a complete wedding lighting system," he muttered to himself.

"What?" Hamilton was also drawn to the stage and didn't hear Ernst's words.

Ernst shook his head, indicating that he was fine and that Ernst could continue watching the wedding.

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