On the morning of the 29th, Song Ya was restless, not exactly Motura was still alive, the fucking 1996 was about to pass, he had been fighting and suffering in various different types of confrontations for too long, divorced, two children were born, sued, accused, and did big business, and his emotions had been tempered to the point that it was difficult to go up and down.

The main thing that annoys him is the two-percent stake in Netscape that he still holds......

Because Apple suddenly announced before Christmas that it would use more than 400 million in cash and stock to acquire NeXT, the new computer company of the original founder Jobs, who was ousted by them that year, Jobs returned, and at the same time announced that it would replace its original Mac OS with NeXT's NeXTSTEP operating system.

The news shocked the tech industry, because no one would have thought that Steve Jobs, who had always been arrogant, would be willing to eat back, and the purchase price of more than 400 million yuan was too much for NeXT Computer Company, whose market share was already so low that it had no choice but to gradually abandon the hardware business.

If it's because Apple's new operating system developed by itself is too unusable, then there are cheaper options, and the BeOS operating system developed by Louis Gasser, which is also Apple's abandonment, is much cheaper.

But after Christmas, more amazing news came out, NeXTSTEP operating system has completed the adaptation work with Apple's new MAC host, and will not delay the launch of new products at the beginning of next year, then it shows that Jobs and Apple have already quietly carried out a merger plan, and the most important thing is that Jobs not only made a 180-degree turn and shook hands with his old club, but even the original sworn enemy Microsoft has privately negotiated, and the new MAC computer will also be pre-installed with Microsoft's free browser IE.

Apple's shareholders, who were crying and shouting for Jobs to come back, are now generally skeptical that the company, which is already in a very difficult period, spending so much money to solve the operating system problem, at least they don't think it's much better, and Apple's stock price fell slightly.

But this news is miserable for Netscape, in addition to Microsoft, another major software and hardware ecology clearly stands in line, Netscape was stunned, almost nothing was reflected, naturally can't stop the momentum of falling endlessly, yesterday, that is, the first day after the Christmas holiday, the stock price continued to plummet, each share fell all the way back to a hundred dollars, and it was a nine-digit head when it opened today.

This also means that the value of the stocks in his hand has shrunk by half from a high of 170 dollars, and his net worth of more than 100 million yuan has evaporated out of thin air......

He had long forgotten in his mind that the venture capital had only cost two million, and he felt heartache.

"Ho ......"

After the first real big fight with Jim Clark on the phone, he leaned on the command frame and got to himself.

“APLUS？ APLUS？ ”

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Woken up by the principal violinist, he looked up at the musicians and the excited choir members, as well as at Leah Salonga and South African singers, and realized that he was in the most ornate concert hall at the Chicago Symphony Center, where Baba Yetu was taking place.

Don't want this, don't want this, "Okay, let's get started......"

In the center of everyone's attention, he stood up straight, raised his baton, and after confirming with the various voices and choir conductors, he silently counted the beats and shook his wrists.

'Woo, woo......'

With precise accompaniment, Lea Salonga's humming echoed through the concert hall like the first rays of the dawn of civilization.

"Alas!"

It was really painful, and in the afternoon, he dragged his tired body back to Highland Park.

"'97 is very important to us, we will sue them for monopoly and unfair competition, and we will compete with them on every front."

Jim Clark rarely took the initiative to call to ease the relationship, and he said with great confidence: "Our browser's market share is still as high as 80 percent. ”

"But we've lost all the pre-installed browsers, Windows, MacOS, and the user login page of Mi Guo Online...... Song Ya said.

"I don't want to continue our quarrel this morning, it's war, kid, take the stock in your hand, don't let my backyard catch fire, and don't forget who brought you rich." Jim Clark said, "I still have cards in my hand." ”

"Okay."

Song Ya didn't know what to do now, and the stockbroker O'Grady also said that he couldn't see clearly, and even asked him what he thought in turn......

Forget it, wait until you are busy with several major business contracts and New Year's concerts at the beginning of the month.

"Really?"

"Really, I trust you Jim."

Anyway, I was in the pocket before, and I felt better when I thought about it this way, "Stocks, it's normal to go up and down, it's just a number." ”

"Excellent! Do you know what I admire most about your APLUS? Patience! "Jim Clark is scrappy.

"What is this?"

Hung up the phone, just in time to see Xue Linfen directing the bodyguards to put a large box in the living room.

"3DFX sent it to you, and they said you know." Xue Linfen said.

"Oh, open it."

It is a Compaq computer equipped with the latest 3DFX chip Voodoo Rush, it should be a prototype, and the official commercial product will be on sale at the beginning of next year, which looks very good, and this chip makes up for the original Voodoo's 2D shortcomings, Song Ya let people move into the study, install it by themselves, and it feels okay to use, but the random pre-installed IE browser is a little dazzling.

Continue to do it yourself, download the Netscape browser installation package online, and make a personal meager contribution.

3DFX's situation is very good, the graphics card manufacturers equipped with Voodoo chips with the Edo memory price diving profit margins have become abundant, the company turned losses into wins, and now the Voodoo Rush chip, which makes up for the 2D shortcomings, has been included in the mass procurement plan of high-end brand machines by first-line PC manufacturers, and it is almost certain that it will be listed next year.

DeLay's A+ audio company didn't pay a penny in dividends this year, but it didn't spend a penny of its own money, and its Amerika music website will go public next year if there is no big surprise with the lawsuit with its rival all-music website.

A+ Pedal Company and A+ Liquor managed by Riser were dirty by the French tricolor vodka this year, but because the production capacity of the distillery in China has risen, it has taken the initiative to reduce prices and withdraw from the mid-to-high-end brand image, and the business strategy has changed to small profits but quick turnover...... In fact, the profit is not thin, and the price is still higher than those cheap vodka on the market, and it has begun to contribute to profits.

Scott's A+ clothing has taken the low-price route at the beginning, and the pace of sales expansion is very stable, and this year due to getting rid of the blood transfusion to A+ wine industry in China, the dividend is more than 10 million dollars.

Wine and clothes also have a lot of soft girl coin income growth.

Other equity investments and venture capital continued to outperform the broader market.

Palm's new PDA products have sold more than one million, and most of the new and old investment projects such as DTS are gaining momentum (I won't write down the specific numbers in detail in the future, it's too brain-burning, and there are omissions to remind book friends to help remind you).

In terms of the record industry, 21 albums ranked fifth in '96 in terms of sales, and the first to fourth places were Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, Ex-Wife's Daydream, Celine Dion's Falling Into You, and Whitney Houston's Waiting To Exhale Soundtrack.

Many singles hit the top 50 of the B chart in 95 and 96.

Coupled with the sales of singles, music videos and other singers under A+ Records, the settlement income with Sony Columbia Records at the beginning of next year will be a very staggering number, but the new president over there, Rick Rubin, heard that he is still busy divesting his personal record business, and has not answered his own calls, and the two sides have a quarrel like this, and there may be some twists and turns at that time.

While waiting to download and install the browser while looking at the reports sent by its various businesses, Song Ya's mood finally improved a lot, pressed the page of A+ clothing on his chest, and let out a satisfied moan, at least tonight will not be so painful that he can't sleep because of the netscape.

"Huh?" The computer suddenly had a blue screen, "Broken operating system, always ......like this" He had to restart it and answer the phone casually.

"Boss, have you heard?" It was Yeremov's voice.

"What did you hear? Don't spread Hollywood rumors. Song Ya became vigilant.

"Marvel is officially bankrupt and liquidated." It turned out that what Yeremov said was not the same thing as what he thought.

"Those unlucky people who draw comics, won't they have the energy to settle the Blade Warrior project with us next year?" Song Ya grinned, hehe, Yile.

"Yes, yes, hehe, I think so too." Yeremov's laughter was even more obscene.

"That's good......"

Song Ya breathed a long sigh of relief.

At the same time, Bronfman Jr., the boss of Universal, was watching TV in his office, "Regarding your performance at this hearing, many media outlets unanimously gave a very high evaluation. His men presented newspapers and magazines to his desk.

"Hmm." Bronfman Jr. picked a few influential ones and glanced at them, "The new helmsman of the Bronfman family made his first congressional appearance, and his personal charm successfully resolved the crisis of Universal Music'" "The first time that the noble son took charge of Universal and Seagram in person, this newspaper thinks it can be scored 90 points" The headlines are probably like this.

He nodded slightly, pressed the remote control casually, and it happened that the financial column of FOX5 was also discussing the hearing, "What do you think of Bronfman's performance?" The moderator asked.

'Great! His sympathy for the bereaved father ...... the guest immediately began to blow.

The subordinate took the opportunity to suggest, "Marilyn Manson ......"

"No, if you don't cancel the contract, if you don't compromise, I can handle it." He waved his hand domineeringly.

"Good...... Good. ”

"Huh?" He was suddenly stunned, because the host of FOX5 changed his words, "How does it compare with the performance of APLUS, which will become a singer under Universal next year, at the earlier hearing?" ’

"Honestly?"

"Of course."

"APLUS's performance at that time was actually a little better than him, a little bit ......," the guest replied with a smile, and the TV screen also cut to the video of Song Ya pretending to be stupid at the hearing.

Little Bronfman pursed his lips and casually turned off the TV.