"Sir, if IBM had said it wanted to acquire Microsoft, would you have agreed?"
Zhou Xin looked directly at the other party, and Bill Gates smiled and said: "Well, it seems you don't know much about the history of Microsoft.
I wanted to sell DOS to IBM in 1980, which is the earliest version of the current office series.
The price I quoted was about $70,000.
Later, in 1986, Microsoft had launched its first Windows system. At that time, I proposed to sell 10% of Microsoft's shares to IBM.
I have never refused to cooperate with IBM. In the early stages of development, I even hoped to be deeply tied to IBM. "
Zhou Xin does not know much about this history. He only knows that Microsoft and IBM had a falling out.
But he quickly found a counterargument: "Sir, even if you want to cooperate with IBM.
It is also on the premise that you have the initiative, rather than completely joining IBM and becoming an IBM executive.
Even if you sold DOS to IBM back then, it would not affect your ability to develop better personal software in the future.
Similarly, I also hope to freely express my own ideas, rather than working within Microsoft's system and according to Microsoft's strategy.
The most important spirit of Silicon Valley is innovation. I think joining Microsoft will make me lose the spirit of innovation and innovative ideas. "
There are many Chinese people working at Microsoft, and there are also many Chinese people working at Microsoft.
As early as 1992, Microsoft established an office in Yanjing. So far, they have hundreds of employees in China.
Bill Gates even plans to upgrade the Yanjing office to a Chinese R&D center and become an Asian R&D center in the future.
But he feels that Zhou Xin is a very special Chinese. He has a kind of self-confidence that is rare for Chinese people in this era. It is a self-confidence that truly comes from the heart.
Bill Gates didn't believe that the other party didn't know the status and treatment of the head of Microsoft's gaming sector because the other party had interned at Microsoft.
"Okay, you can try it out, but it may be difficult to have similar opportunities in front of you again in the future.
If you change your mind in the short term and are willing to work at Microsoft, feel free to email my secretary.
She will arrange it. "
"Thank you. Although this possibility is very small, if this possibility occurs, I will definitely send her an email as soon as possible."
“The other thing is that Microsoft wants to buy your payment system.
This complete set of code. "
"price?"
"Half a million dollars, Microsoft is willing to pay half a million dollars for this payment system.
Microsoft is willing to pay $10 million for the entire set of patents, including the solution. "
The patent registration for SMS verification codes is already in the process of applying for Americen patents and international patents.
In later generations, text message verification codes can be seen everywhere, and ten million dollars is already a lot.
Zhou Xin shook his head and said: "I am willing to sell the payment system to Microsoft.
But patents don’t work.
The value of this patent cannot be measured by $10 million. "
Bill Gates looked at the other person in confusion: "Why?"
Zhou Xin admired Bill Gates' acting skills very much. He knew why but still asked him, but Zhou Xin didn't mind explaining it again:
“The concept of SMS verification code is very simple, but the idea behind it is not that simple.
It symbolizes online confirmation of ownership, locking your ownership of a certain virtual commodity on the Internet through a SMS verification code.
This is obviously not something that can be measured by just $10 million. "
Bill Gates originally thought that the other party was so young and lacked a clear understanding of the value of SMS verification codes. As a result, the other party summarized the value of SMS verification codes in just a few words.
He knew that the other party knew far more in this field than he imagined.
“You’re much smarter than I was back then.
When I made DOS, I thought the software was only worth $70,000, and I wanted to sell it to IBM for $70,000.
Now it's worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
And I offered you a price tag of 10 million US dollars, but you were not moved by it.
Very good, young man, if you want to start a business in the future, come to me anytime.
I'll invest in you.
Let’s not talk about work next. "
Zhou Xin interrupted: "Sir, I still need your help with something.
But this is not just about my family. "
"you say."
“Pirated links to “Angry Birds” are now appearing on the Internet.
Most of them are done by game publishers in order not to prove to us that this path is feasible.
They promote piracy in various ways.
We hope that Microsoft will provide us with legal help, and at the same time assist some media resources to condemn this behavior from public opinion. "
"Why should I help you?
Microsoft is also a game publisher. "
"Because I am willing to sell this game payment system to Microsoft. In the future, Microsoft will obviously use online sales to make game hardware and sell games.
In the future, if you need to make game hardware similar to NS, selling games directly through the Internet can save a lot of costs.
Therefore piracy is our common enemy. "
“Piracy cannot be eradicated.
Microsoft will use technical means to avoid this problem.
But I'm still willing to help you with this.
I will tell the secretary and ask him to coordinate the media reporting on this matter.
But for legal matters, you have to find a lawyer yourself.
Microsoft is not a law firm. "
"That's enough, thank you very much."
"Angry Birds is very fun. My wife likes this game very much. She thinks it is very interesting."
"We will launch the Christmas DLC at Christmas time.
That is, the Christmas special will have richer content through some Christmas-themed decorations and some Christmas-themed levels.
Of course this requires an additional fee. "
"Paying for a game multiple times is a great model, a bit like subscribing to a magazine."
“No, it cannot be released as a standalone game, we serve it as an expansion pack for the previous game.
If there is enough content, 2 will be launched.
Instead, you can think of it as a system upgrade.
For example, between 1 and 2 there will be 1.1, 1.2 and so on. "
So far, Zhou Xin has accumulated his first pot of gold, but he has not yet bought a car, so after the dinner, Bill Gates specially arranged a car to take him back.
The next day, Hu Zhengming called him to the Berkeley laboratory to ask what he and Bill Gates had talked about.
"That's about it."
"You made the right decision.
If it were me, I would make a similar choice.
TSMC has wanted me to be the chief technical expert there for several years.
As a mature chip manufacturer, TSMC offers me more benefits than I can earn by starting a business.
For the integrated circuit field, the early stage of entrepreneurship is a purely investment activity.
You could invest millions of dollars and see nothing in return.
But I still didn’t agree to TSMC.
This is true for a middle-aged man like me, let alone you who are only twenty years old. "
