In Chapter 11, we got all the main characters together so they could interact! This is a standard novelist technique, like the “weekend at an English country house” trope so beloved by British writers.
Matt and Len talk about Microsoft’s bullying of the computer industry. This was common knowledge in the Valley, although most of the country didn’t know about it until the 1998 antitrust trial, where Gates was eviscerated by David Boies. Here he is explaining that he doesn’t know what the world “definition” means:
At this point in history, GO Corp. was creating a handheld computer that would recognize handwriting. Microsoft had made a show of “partnering” with GO, and then stabbing them in the back by announcing that they would support pen computing. This was an old, old story by then.
They then turned to AT&T. Dan explains, ‘No one makes money working with AT&T. Matt should know that by now!” This was based on my own experiences at 3Com, where the engineers also had the saying,
“Strategic” means you don’t make any money.
Trying to make it (and calling it “strategic”) by partnering with a giant company is SO seductive for a startup. “They have so much money! They can introduce us to so many customers!” the execs always say.
They can also just string you along and use you, while wasting prodigious amounts of your time, and then discard you when it’s convenient. Even if it’s not convenient: a new VP gets the job and decides to review everything the previous VP did. Too bad! You’re not aligned with their direction anymore.
Anyhow, GO Corp., as outlined in Jerry Kaplan’s book, fell into all of these traps. Matt wisely bails out shortly after this trip.
Len also uses the trip to find out about this “Internet” thing. He’s gotten into Usenet, with some help from Cassie, and he queries Janet about it. Here we see what the computing establishment really thought about the Internet back then: it was just for the nerds and defense types. No real corporation would use it, let alone consumers.
We also prefigure the later controversy with Netscape that led to the antitrust trial. Janet tells Dad the facts of Valley life.
Finally, on the adoption thing: I want to acknowledge Heidi Buelow, who died in the middle of my writing this. Heidi actually did adopt two kids as a single mom, and she helped me get the details right on the process. She’s not the model for Cassie, I should add: Heidi was an engineer from the beginning, and worked on the Xerox Star with me. Rest in peace, Heidi.