American History 1988
Chapter 321 - 311 Revenge’s Fury

Chapter 321: Chapter 311 Revenge’s Fury

"Mosaic was a remarkable piece of work," Clark said as he took a sip from his hot coffee.

"Though it might sound self-praising, it, just like Explorer, is a unique creation of this era.

They were the first to open the door of the internet to the general public, making the web accessible to all.

They spread like wildfire across the world, causing the number of internet users to grow exponentially.

Since the birth of Mosaic and Explorer, it seems as though everything changed overnight, changed completely..."

Anderson felt his blood boil with excitement, this was exactly what he had been working on before.

Though Mosaic and Explorer were competitors, their ideas came about almost simultaneously, with no concept of one copying the other.

Therefore, Anderson felt a kindred spirit towards Jim Clark, the pioneer of Explorer.

Moreover, the latter was a celebrity, and Anderson had heard many stories about his entrepreneurial ventures.

He was a forerunner, a fellow traveler, because they shared the same understanding about browsers.

"Come on, let me show you a set of data." Clark pulled out a document from the bag he was carrying.

"Look, this is the traffic statistics for the NSFNET backbone since the release of the browser."

Clark pointed at the data, "In the first month after Mosaic and Explorer were released, web traffic accounted for 0.1% of the total traffic.

Then after six months, that number was 2%—a twentyfold increase.

Do you know how much web traffic accounts for the NSFNET backbone traffic today, as of now?"

Before Anderson could respond, Clark smiled slightly.

"10%. Our created browsers account for one-tenth of the total network traffic!

From the day of their launch to today, just barely one year, the figure has nearly increased a hundredfold!"

Every word of Clark’s struck deeply in Anderson’s heart, making him feel an overwhelming surge of excitement.

He had never imagined that the browser he had developed could have such a significant impact on the internet.

These statistics had never been shared with him before; he was completely unaware.

The irony was that such praise came from his former competitor.

And the NCSA, which was supposed to be his teammate, only put obstacles in his way, and eventually kicked him out of the game.

"So..." Clark spread his hands, "this is a venture with far-reaching prospects, isn’t it?"

"Mr. Clark..." Anderson hesitated, "are you inviting me to join the Explorer development team?"

"Of course! Our ideas align perfectly!" Clark waved his arms excitedly, "Even our experiences are strikingly similar."

"Huh?" Anderson looked puzzled.

"Did you see the news out there?" Clark pointed at himself, "I’m about to resign from SGI."

"Yeah~" Anderson nodded cautiously, as the news had been buzzing all over Silicon Valley recently.

The newspapers claimed Clark had been ousted from the board of the company he founded.

"That’s right, exactly as you’re thinking, they took away the company I founded."

Clark clenched his fist tightly, "Just like what NCSA did to you."

Whoosh! Anger flared up in Anderson’s heart.

"Those people, the major shareholders or those in power, we thought they were our partners.

But the fact is they betrayed us, they usurped control of the product.

They used our sweat and inspiration to amass wealth but excluded us!"

Clark’s voice was filled with anger and provocation, "We must take revenge! We must do something truly great!

We’ll show them who the real winners are! Now we’ve found our direction!"

Clark’s words turned Anderson red-faced with emotion, reminding him of how NCSA had treated him, one of its founders.

Mr. Clark is right, our plights are similar.

We both have a broad vision, we’ve both been betrayed by partners, and we both harbor a burning desire for revenge.

"I’ll never touch that damn Mosaic again!" Anderson downed his cup of coffee in one gulp.

"Because we have a better replacement, Explorer," Clark offered at the right moment, extending the olive branch.

Finally, the moment had come, and Anderson geared up mentally.

He needed to prove to NCSA that he could make a better browser and replace them.

But before doing so, Anderson needed to confirm some information.

"Mr. Clark, what’s the business model for Explorer going to be?"

Anderson felt conflicted. He was a semi-idealist who believed in the spirit of sharing on the internet.

But at the same time, he believed that a company must have its own business model to survive, didn’t it?

He might be somewhat naive, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant.

Clark smiled slightly, he had a well-prepared answer to this question.

He and Dean had clearly seen the divide between the original Mosaic Development Team and NCSA, after all, there were discussion threads about it on websites.

So before swinging the hoe, Clark and Dean had already prepared their pitch.

"Mark, can I be blunt?"

"Of course," Anderson shrugged.

"We’ve given a lot of thought to the business model for Explorer," Clark began persuasively.

"First of all, a completely free browser is not viable because Netscape is a company, and it needs revenue to sustain itself."

"Do you agree with that?" Clark asked gently.

"I understand," Anderson nodded, ready to hear more.

"But at the same time, we think that charging indiscriminately for the browser would hinder the development of the internet.

"People are used to surfing the web with it, and if every click required a payment, it would discourage everyone’s enthusiasm for going online.

"The richness of the internet comes from the participation of more and more users," he continued.

"Exactly!" Anderson agreed wholeheartedly, as this was exactly his point.

"So, we’ve come up with a compromise," Clark said with a smile, gesturing with his fingers. "Tiered pricing for the browser."

"Tiered pricing?" Anderson heard this term for the first time.

"Simply put, ordinary users can still use it for free, but enterprise users will need to pay a commercial license fee.

"We’ll offer two different versions, a Home edition and a Professional edition.

"Their core is the same, it’s just that they differ in features," Clark explained.

Since Netscape was going to charge a commercial license fee, of course, it had to offer a more powerful browser to enterprise users.

In fact, Netscape had already been conducting surveys with some companies, and many enterprise users expressed

that they were willing to pay if Explorer could provide the features they wanted.

This was the confidence behind Clark’s adoption of this model; naturally, a business company has to conduct market research before launching a product.

This pricing model also impressed Anderson, as it seemed to perfectly balance the spirit of internet sharing with the operations of a business.

He had always believed that only something free could achieve viral spread and attract loads of users.

Only if the Explorer browser became ubiquitous could Netscape grow rapidly and then erase Mosaic from the internet.

Meanwhile, the existence of enterprise users ensured the company’s profits.

And Anderson could draw a considerable compensation from this—a perfect solution.

"Mr. Clark, perhaps this is the most suitable approach."

"Of course," Clark said with a smile, offering his business card. "Mark, welcome to Netscape."

Anderson took the elegantly printed business card, hesitant to speak.

He was only wearing a shabby thin coat, his jeans were faded, and on his feet were only a pair of slippers.

He hadn’t even dared to order a decent steak, having been idle in California for over half a month.

"Oh right, regarding the salary, please take a look at this," Clark offered considerately, passing over a drafted contract.

"2% in stock options and an annual salary of at least 100,000 US dollars. After signing the contract, you can get an advance on three months’ salary," he added.

Every word from Clark hit the mark for Anderson!

The contract seemed tailor-made for him. With stock options, he would no longer be an outsider like at NCSA.

The annual salary of 100,000 US dollars was twice what Smar had initially promised him, which is usually what highly experienced tech personnel would earn.

Of course, the most important part was the last one: he could get an advance on three months’ salary.

Anderson had previously been just an intern, without a formal job or any savings.

The contract couldn’t have come at a better time; he could move to a better apartment and get a set of clean, respectable clothes.

Without much thought, Anderson signed his name on the contract.

"Good!" Clark said with satisfaction, collecting the contract. "Our goal is to launch the next generation of the Explorer browser before the summer.

"As far as I know, NCSA has already licensed Mosaic to a commercial company, Spyglass.

"So, to avoid Spyglass using this project to support more competitors, we cannot delay our planned date," he elaborated.

"I knew it! Damn Smar couldn’t wait a moment longer," Anderson cursed angrily.

The commercialization of Mosaic was moving faster than he had anticipated.

It was almost as if the moment he left NCSA, Smar had eagerly begun the negotiation process.

"So, to ensure that Explorer is foolproof, we need more hands," Clark said, his eyes meaningful.

Anderson paused, "Mr. Clark, do you mean...?"

"Call me Jim," Clark said with a smile, leaning back in his chair, "We are entrepreneurial partners."

"Okay, Jim. Explorer now needs more hands, so..."

"So of course we invite more entrepreneurial partners to join us, like the friends from your previous team.

"Are they happy working at NCSA? Are they valued? Will the commercialization of Mosaic bring them a generous salary?" Clark asked a series of questions.

These questions made Anderson reflect.

"We can offer them more now; they shouldn’t be buried within NCSA’s bureaucracy.

"Of course, the most important thing is that Explorer needs them, we need to bring this great idea to market as soon as possible.

"Then make a profit, acquire more users, and finally go public!" Clark urged, his words raising Anderson’s excitement.

Going public! What a wonderful phrase.