Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 76 Planning
As the saying goes, a dog will jump over the wall when it's cornered, and a rabbit will bite when it's cornered. As long as you are a normal person, you will more or less hold grudges.

Ethan is no exception.

Don Valentine and Nolan Bushnell both put knives to his neck. If he could still pretend nothing happened, then there must be something wrong with the way he traveled through time. He should not appear in San Francisco, but in Manhattan; he should not live in Big Hous, but in the sewer.

There's nothing I can do about it, these are the Ninja Turtles.

So, when the infringement lawsuit was settled, Ethan did not enjoy his life as before. Instead, he went into the study of his new home, sat at the table, spread out a piece of paper, held a pen, and wrote and drew.

Although it has not been a year since he traveled through time, Ethan has already made career plans for himself three times.

The first two times were a bit superficial, because at that time he just wanted to make money, and he would get into any industry that could make him financially free. But now... he has a new goal, he wants to get back the place he lost!
Because of this, a few more lines of text suddenly appeared on the paper:

1. Don Valentine – Sequoia Capital

2. Nolan Bushnell – Atari (Warner Bros.)

3. Miluohua.

Don Valentine was put first because Ethan felt that this guy was the most dangerous and was a target that needed special attention.

Although in Ethan's memory, this guy is unremarkable, because his history of making a fortune is the growth history of Silicon Valley.

But after Ethan asked the fat man Steve Wozniak to help him find out some information about Don Valentine, he realized that he knew too little about Don Valentine.

After graduating from college, Don Valentine joined Raytheon. Although he didn't stay there for a long time, it was already a very impressive starting point. After that, he transferred to Fairchild and worked there for seven years. Then, he went to National Semiconductor as a marketing director.

Before, Ethan thought that Don Valentine's success was just a necessity due to riding the tide of the times, but now it seems that he still has certain connections. Although they cannot be called top-notch, compared with ordinary people, they are more than one level higher.

However, although this guy is dangerous, it is relatively easy to target him.

Venture capital, venture capital, what is emphasized is actually the project!

If venture capital cannot invest in projects, then what is the point of its existence?
Therefore, as long as I can invest in all the companies in Silicon Valley before Don Valentine...

Hey! Sequoia Capital can’t even see his taillights!

Thinking of this, Ethan immediately wrote the phrase "investment company" after Sequoia Capital.

He wants to enter the same track as Sequoia Capital and crush them in the same field!
"Apple is just the beginning, and there are EA, Cisco, Nvidia?"

"Cisco came out of Stanford, Nvidia was founded by Huang, who sold gas stoves, and EA..."

"Who is the founder of EA?"

"Damn, why can't I remember it?"

"Never mind, it's not important. If it happens, it will definitely be heard."

"Fuck it~ I'm going to buy all these companies for you~ Let's see what you invest in~"

Of course, if you want to invest, you must first have money.

Although Ethan already has millions of funds in his hands, it is far from enough.

And when it comes to money...

Ethan lowered his eyes again and looked at Nolan Bushnell and Milowa.

To be honest, the combination of this person and this company gave him a headache.

Because Milova, which owns the patent for video games and training devices, and Atari, which owns the patent license, are simply the ultimate evil dragons in the field of video games. After Ethan was cheated by them, he finally understood why North American game companies in their previous lives were so deeply involved in computer games. When they couldn't get around the patent licenses, they had to find another way and hand over the cash cow of video games to others.

As for why Nintendo and Sega can do it?
Ethan figured this out.

Although they do not have a long-term license for the patent for video games and training devices, this patent is only valid in North America. As a Japanese company, they only need to pay patent fees for North American products.

And what about North American companies?
Because of the nature of the company, they need to pay patent fees to Milova when selling products in North America. They also have to pay patent fees when selling in other countries, because their overseas distribution is the company's external exports!

When this ridiculous fact came out, no one in North America would make video games anymore!

Although Nintendo's later royalty system was also a scam, it was still very kind compared to the big scam of Milova.

In his previous life, the computer games chosen by North American companies...

“This field is not easy to work in…”

Ethan's eyes flickered, and he held his chin with one hand, feeling a little emotional.

Because this is an area he doesn't want to touch for the time being.

The reason is very simple. "The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears" has already been released on PC!

Computer games, or computer software, are so easy to pirate!

Moreover, the speed of piracy in this era is actually not much slower than in the Internet era.

In Ethan's memory, in this era, there was an unlucky guy who was deeply harmed by piracy, Microsoft.

Although Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the predecessor of Microsoft by porting BASIC to Altair 8800, this software did not make them much money. When the BASIC they wrote entered the market, it was quickly cracked by engineers of that era.

If it was just a matter of cracking, it wouldn't matter. What's really a headache is that engineers of this era are full of sharing spirit.

When the first cracked version appeared, the trend of sharing emerged, and the subsequent development made Bill Gates crazy.

Altair 8800 was shipping at a rate of one thousand units per month, but what about Bill Gates’ BASIC?
The total sales volume is only over a hundred copies!
This obviously unreasonable growth rate made him extremely angry!
This is actually a true reflection of the market environment of this era.

Of course, the story is not over yet. When Bill Gates found out that his software had been stolen, the young and energetic man did something very cool. He bought space in a magazine and sent an open letter to computer enthusiasts.

Although the wording did not reach the level of swearing, Bill Gates called the sharing behavior plagiarism.

For those guys who have received higher education, this kind of words is a huge shame. Many people even angrily exposed Bill Gates' past, saying that he and Paul Allen are thieves!

Because the BASIC language was invented by John Kemeny, president of Dartmouth College, and Thomas Katz, a teacher in the mathematics department. When they released the language, they stated that it was shared for free for the purpose of computer education and popularization, and they had no intention of making money!

But Bill Gates and Paul Allen started charging for it after making some simple changes!
This kind of behavior is called plagiarism!
When this kind of verbal abuse occurred, no one bought BASIC sold through Altair.

When MITS, the manufacturer of Altair, paid Bill Gates the bill, Bill Gates was even more furious.

Because in one year, he only earned 20,000 US dollars.

This damn amount is not even as much as the pocket money his dad gives him!
Who are you insulting?

What happens next is even more interesting.

At the beginning, in order to better sell BASIC software, Bill Gates established the company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where MITS, the manufacturer of Altair, was located. After the revenue was extremely poor, Bill Gates took Paul Allen home, moved the company to Seattle, and made a harsh statement - "Even if I starve to death! Die outside! Jump from here! I will no longer provide personal services!"

Then, this tough guy remained silent for two years and received an order from IBM in a way that he knew everything. Later, he came up with a business model of directly authorizing hardware manufacturers to use his operating system. It was not until his business conflicted with other companies that he had no choice but to embrace personal services and exclaimed, "Ah! It's so good!"

When someone with a prominent family background like Bill Gates can't deal with piracy, it is even less likely that Ethan will use technology to challenge human nature.

So, if possible, he didn't want to make computer games before the advent of the Internet era.

In this case, if you want to make money in the gaming industry and strangle Atari and MILOVA at the same time, you have to use some magic.

"I still have to contact Ralph Bell first."

"Show him 6502, show him your sincerity in making video games."

"Get a patent?"

Now that he had decided on the idea, Ethan went straight to the kitchen with the paper in his hand, turned on the gas stove, and burned it.

Then the cat went to the supermarket and went on a shopping spree.

After returning home, he cooked a big meal himself.

As the roar of a car appeared, he also came out of the house and asked his sister, who had just finished school and wanted to go home, to come over.

"Wow~ Are you treating me to dinner?"

"Why is it so rich?"

Looking at the pasta pizza and steak, French fries, salad and mushroom soup on the dining table, Evelin hummed a few times.

"You don't want to ask me for anything, do you?"

"But why do I remember that a few days ago, someone said that he couldn't listen to anything?"

Ethan's face froze when he heard the sarcastic words. He actively filtered out the second half of the words that were unfavorable to him, and began to act with a painful expression.

"Oh Evelyn~ Am I such a utilitarian person in your heart?"

These words made Evelin shake her head decisively.

"How is that possible? In my heart, you are a very kind person!"

Ethan smiled happily.

However, he heard Evelin say again: “So you just simply want to treat me to dinner tonight, right?”

"We're not going to talk about anything else?"

"Hmm?" Evelyn winked at Ethan.

It seems like I won’t eat unless you agree.

Ethan decisively admitted defeat after hearing these words that blocked his retreat. He quickly spoke up and stopped pretending.

"Oh Evelyn, you're right. I just need to see you for something tonight."

"I was bloated that day, okay?"

“Goose, goose, goose…” The quick change of expression made Evelin laugh.

She raised her eyebrows to show her control, and served a bowl of mushroom soup. The milky aroma made her shiver.

"Okay, tell me, what do you want me to do for you?"

Since Evelin had already asked the question, Ethan, who didn’t even want to lose face, would naturally not be shy and would express his needs.

He asked Evelyn if she could help him ask Vinton Cerf if he knew Professor Ralph Bell.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know him/her, you can ask someone you know to help you make the connection.

That's right, Ethan is not going to go straight to the door.

After all, the effect of going to someone’s door yourself is not as good as word of mouth from friends!

When he came to the door, he could only introduce himself like this -

'Hello, Professor Bell, I am the inventor of Snake Game, nice to meet you.'

Dry and without highlights!
When my friend introduced it to me, it was this style of painting——

"Ralph, look at what you have done! How many game developers have been killed by your patent? Every guy who wants to make a video game has to go through this! This is Ethan Jones, the inventor of the Snake Game. His game just brought happiness to people, but Milova sued him, forcing him to pay compensation and ban sales. Now, he can't even make new games..."

Hey! This is very smooth!

The main point of this kind of appearance is to be sincere!
After Evelin finished listening to Ethan’s words, the girl who understood the meaning agreed directly.

After all, she also tasted the sweetness of the game.

The revenue from the Snake Game project was split in half between the two of them.

In less than half a year, she received a total of 1.3 million.

This speed is really faster than robbery.

While agreeing, the girl asked, "Are you planning to start your own game company?"

"Of course!"

"You got another idea?"

"Uh... sort of..."

"Are you short of money?"

“What do you mean?” Ethan looked at Evelin strangely, “You want to invest?”

"Yeah~" the girl said with a smile, "I think the game market is quite interesting. Besides, investing in it can avoid taxes."

Although Ethan had never thought about attracting foreign investment, could Evelyn's money be called foreign investment?

It’s obviously domestic capital!
Moreover, after participating in Atari's sales operations, Ethan discovered that in this era of making games, the more money the better.

If they could build a production site on the East Coast and the West Coast, they wouldn't have to go through the pain of finding distribution.

"Of course!" Ethan agreed immediately. "It just so happens that I haven't named the company yet. How about you give me a name?"

"Wow~Give me all the naming rights?" Evelyn asked with a smile.

"Yeah~" Ethan gave a thumbs up, "You are the boss!"

Evelyn said, “Then give me the positions of chairman and CEO as well. I’ll appoint you as president, and you just do the work.”

"Sure!" Ethan's smile widened.

"Really?"

"real!"

The brisk repartee made Evelin chuckle.

He shook his head and said, "Okay, Oaky, I'm not kidding you anymore. You can come up with the name yourself."

"Tell me when you've made up your mind. I'll apply for a startup subsidy from the school in the form of a student startup."

"Then ask Vinton to be your instructor. This way... maybe there will be less trouble."

“And after you put the Stanford name on it, when you talk to Professor Ralph Bell about collaboration, he will definitely be affected.”

That's right!

This is the real reason why Evelin wants to invest!
After being beaten by Mi Luohua with his unreasonable legal iron fist, the girl also realized that if you don’t use your connections, you’re a big idiot!
Why did Don Valentine and Nolan Bushnell dare to target them so brazenly?
Isn’t it because they haven’t really put up the big banner?

How can verbal preaching be as strong as real benefits?

“Hmm~” Ethan, who had already heard what was going on, smiled like a crescent moon, “Thank you.”

However, these dry words made Evelin roll her eyes, “Oh Ethan, you are so insincere.”

"Not sincere? Oh, I get it. Do you still want Barbra Streisand's album? I'll buy you a set of vinyl collection!"

Ethan is so proud now!
Hey! I have money!
Evelin gave him a hammer and said, “You’re even less sincere.”

Then, he added, "Forget about shopping. Do you have time tonight? Go to the movies with me?"

"There's a new Michael Corleone movie out. It's called Dog Day Afternoon. Let's go see it together?"

"Oh! My classmate said that Mike was so handsome and funny in that movie!"

This invitation made Ethan stunned.

After thinking for a few seconds, he realized that the Michael Corleone Evelyn was talking about was Al Pacino.

The name of the movie is "Dog Day Afternoon".

Ethan had heard of this movie but had never seen it, so it would be nice to go and join in the fun.

"No problem, we'll eat for a long time." Ethan agreed.

At the same time, he also sighed in his heart that the translators in his previous life were really awesome.

It perfectly captures the elegance of fidelity, expressiveness and elegance.

A literal translation of Dog Day Afternoon, but it doesn’t sound as good as a hot afternoon!
It would be even funnier if it was translated word by word!

Note: ① North American game companies did not make TV games because of the lawsuit filed by Milova. The victim mentioned in the article who had to pay patent fees for selling games overseas was CBS. They did not sell games in North America at first, and wanted to see how other companies fought lawsuits, so they distributed them in Europe. When Milova found out about this, Milova directly sued them for evading patent fees by exporting intellectual property rights, causing CBS to stop making games. ② After Sega was acquired by Nakayama Hayao, it changed the nature of the company and moved its headquarters from California to Japan. Before the move, the SG-83 in 1000 was only sold in Australia and New Zealand, and not in North America at all. It was only after the change that it was sold in North America. ③ What happened to Bill Gates was actually a microcosm of personal software in that era. Those big players were all sharing software for free, which made this young master very angry.

PS, I have started a new volume, and my state is not right. It is not smooth to write. I will make adjustments by updating it at noon today and tomorrow. I apologize if it causes any discomfort to you.



(End of this chapter)