This New Internet Thing, Chapter 26

The Watch Party

I wrote a book. The publication date is May 29, 2024 (if you’d rather not deal with Amazon, your bookstore can also order it from the distributor Ingram Spark, or print-on-demand if they have the equipment). You can read it for free here, although it’ll be in serial form. My fond hope is that you’ll find it so compelling that you just buy the book instead of waiting 8 months to see what happens. There will be a chapter each week, 33 in all.

In Chapter 25 (notes) we saw Len and Dan go on TV to talk about their big embezzling bust. Their real agenda was to land Len a big Silicon Valley job by pushing “Internet investing.” In this chapter we’ll see what the TV show did with it.

Cassie is also deep into the Palm product that became the Pilot. She’s loving it.

Grant Avery, whom you’ll remember from Inventing the Future (you did read that, right?) is back from Japan, and working for HP now!

Reading in serial form has a long and honorable history. My cover artist sent me this “Read Like a Victorian” website. Enjoy.

============== The Watch Party =================

Len drove back home the day after the taping. They said it would air in three weeks, so he had a long time to wait before there were any public reactions. His life settled back to normal up in the mountains: the local people still hated him. He kept busy watching his investments.

One Tuesday afternoon three weeks later, Janet’s phone at work rang. That voice sounded so familiar! It was her old friend Grant Avery. The last time she’d seen him, he was living in Japan, married, and expecting his first kid, and she wasn’t even dating Walt yet, let alone married to him. 

Then, he was still at Xerox, and in California on business. But now, he was back living here, and he was divorced! He also had a new job.

“My God, you do have a lot of news!” she said.

“Yeah, you’re married and I’m not. At least you haven’t changed jobs, right?”

“Yes and no. I’m not managing anymore. I’m back to slinging code now.”

“Good grief, how did that happen?” he said.

“Long story. I got tired of being the punching bag for everyone, for one thing.”

“I can sympathize with that.”

Then she had a thought.

“Hey, we’re having a little watch party at my house on Thursday night. My father and Dan Markunas (you remember him?) were on Computers This Week, and we’re going to watch it together. Why don’t you come over?”

Grant agreed immediately and got directions to their house. He was back in Silicon Valley and divorced, so he needed to get back in circulation.

Janet’s father was on television on a computer show? How the hell did that happen? He’d never even met the guy. Dan, he remembered vaguely from the Xerox Star days. She said she’d tell him all about it on Thursday.

Back in the day, he’d entertained fantasies of marrying her, but she didn’t have much interest in him that way, and they became just friends. In 1981 he took an assignment with Fuji Xerox in Tokyo, and since he knew all about Xerox’s new generation of laser printers, he filled a big need for them. Then he married Jun, who had gone to college in America, and her English was excellent. 

They had two kids, she quit her job even though she didn’t particularly want to, and he settled into the life of a sararīman, a salaried worker who takes the train to the office, goes out drinking with his co-workers after work, and generally devotes his entire career to one company. Jun’s parents were as welcoming to him as he could possibly wish for, and they loved being grandparents.

In the 80’s, life in Tokyo was frantic. The stock market was booming, property prices were skyrocketing, and it seemed like it would never end. His Japanese was getting better and better, or at least he thought it was. People always seemed surprised when he started speaking Japanese, and it seemed like he had to repeat himself no matter how clearly he spoke. He always wondered if it was him, or if they just couldn’t handle a white guy speaking their language.

The bursting of the bubble at the beginning of 1992 was a big shock to everyone. The Nikkei stock market index had been in the tank for a year or more, but when the prices of land started plummeting too, it hurt. They’d gotten used to checking the value of their house and marveling at how rich they were getting, and now the wealth was evaporating.

It took him a long time to realize that he didn’t really feel at home there, the way he eventually would in the States when he moved somewhere. He didn’t grow up in Japan, didn’t have family except for Jun’s, and would never be Japanese no matter how well he spoke the language.

He’s always assumed, even though they never talked about it, that Jun would be happy to move back to America some day. After all, she’d lived there for many years and always spoke happily about it. A few years in Japan, a few years in the US, maybe some in Europe — they could be a global family! But whenever he brought it up, she seemed to change the subject, and she’d speak of moving as a distant possibility. He might be a global citizen, but she was Japanese.

Finally one day in early 1993, the subject of divorce came up. He was never sure afterwards if she was the first to say the word or if she’d artfully gotten him to say it, but there it was. On his next business trip to California, he spoke to a few people at Xerox and arranged a transfer back to the States. He told them Jun would not be coming. There was no question of his getting custody of the kids; he knew that was never going to happen. Their grandparents were there, the kids could barely speak English, and they could come and visit with him sometimes. That was the hardest part. Coming back to America was the easy part.

After six months back in Silicon Valley with Xerox, he got the feeling that that story was coming to an end, too. Xerox had moved all of the Workstation people up to Sunnyvale and seemed to be ready to throw in the sponge on the whole experiment. He worked on printers now, not on workstations, but still, it was depressing. Back in the 70’s, he thought Xerox was going to rule the world with their brand-new graphical user interface, the mouse, the laser printer, and the Ethernet. The copier people back in Rochester and Stamford never seemed to quite get it, and he had the particular job of explaining it all to those people. Still, he thought maybe they’d come around eventually. The lure of all that money — that would have to work its magic, wouldn’t it? It didn’t.

He thought, “OK, new home, new country, new marital status, why not a new job as well?” He knew that Apple and IBM had a joint venture to develop a new operating system, or something. Now it was called Taligent. 

For years, Grant had been following the confused saga of “Apple after Jobs left” and “IBM after Microsoft split off from them,” or trying to follow it in the trade press. In a way, it reminded him of his early years in Xerox, where he was constantly trying to mediate between the forward-thinking California technical people and the conservative East Coast people. He thought this must be similar, and maybe he could do a better job of it now. 

Some of the Xerox people he knew had formed Metaphor Computer Systems, which got acquired by IBM in 1991, so he was able to use those contacts with IBM. He had some serious credibility as a high-level manager now, so the IBM guys thought he was just the person for that project! He’d have good relations with Apple, they hoped. He said goodbye to Xerox.

Taligent had some serious big-company politics every day. He loved it. He felt like he was making a difference.

He got to Janet’s house a half hour before the show was coming on. It wasn’t impressive by Dallas standards, but for Northern California it was pretty nice. For Tokyo it was unattainable.

Janet greeted him at the door with a hug. Len and Walt were standing there, too. The dogs were excited. He handed her a bottle of sake as his gift.

“Grant! Welcome to our house. You haven’t changed a bit! Let me introduce my husband, Walt and my dad, Len. And the dogs: Bernie, Mickey, and Gretchen.”

They all shook hands and Walt offered to get him a drink. No one else had arrived yet, and they sat down in the living room.

Grant said, “Very nice house here, Walt and Janet! It’s at least double the size of the one I had in Tokyo.”

Janet said, “Oh, thanks, I give Walt the credit for that. He built at least half of it. Anyway, tell us about you! You moved back to the States. So are you back here to stay?”

“Yeah, it looks that way. I got divorced, as I told you on the phone, and I finally realized you can’t become Japanese the way you can become American.”

“Well, our life is pretty boring here, compared to yours. I’m writing code, Walt is building houses. Same old, same old.”

“Sounds pretty good to me. Len, we haven’t met before! I’m dying to hear about why you were on TV! Was it about that street fight up in the Sierras?”

Len laughed, took a deep breath, and was about to start, but just then, Dan arrived. He and Grant remembered each other from Xerox days, so they exchanged pleasantries. He said,

“I guess you came to see Len and me on TV! My fifteen minutes of fame, or I guess actually, thirty. Don’t believe everything you hear on TV.”

Grant said, “Now I’m really eager to hear about this. When did Computers This Week turn into Jerry Springer?”

They all laughed. Matt and Cassie arrived together. Janet and Dan exchanged quick glances.

Cassie said, “So, guys! You’re famous. Can we still talk to you?”

Len said, “Our PR agent will get in touch with you.”

Everyone there knew most of the story except for Grant. They filled him in on the details. 

Walt said, “Don’t forget to tell him about your hero dog, Gretchen, who almost tore the guy’s arm off!” 

At the mention of her name and everyone suddenly looking at her, Gretchen struggled to her feet and wagged her tail. Len patted her on the shoulder.

“Oh, you’re exaggerating, isn’t he, Gretchen? You just wanted to hold his sleeve until the police arrived!”

Dan said, “That’s right. And Mickey was helping out, too!”

Now it was Mickey’s turn for attention. Bernie felt left out.

The show came on, and they went silent.

It started with Jerry Althouse standing in front of the Wall Street bull. He said,

“You’ve heard of the Internet, but did you realize it can help you invest in the stock market? We have two guests today, one to tell us how he tracks investments on his PC, and another who’s actually running an investment fund for the Internet! Today, on Computers This Week!”

Dan said, “Uh-oh. They didn’t tell us about the other guy.”

Then there was a brief commercial: “This program comes to you through the generosity of Intel Corporation” with a picture featuring the ‘Intel inside’ sticker,” and then another Public Television sponsor video. Finally the camera showed some guy Rick van Beek whom they didn’t know, with some investment software on the screen. Jerry and Rick went over what the software did, and how Rick was able to compare thousands of investments in a few seconds, something that would have been impossible before computers. They took a break for another sponsor video.

Grant said, “Well, so far I’m impressed with you two! They sure can work magic with makeup these days.”

Len said, “Yeah, don’t know what to tell you. They didn’t say they were doing this.”

The show returned. Len and Dan sitting at a table with computers in front of them, and Jerry holding the mic.

Everyone applauded and hooted. Janet said, “Who’s that handsome man there?”

Len said, “Oh, that’s Dan Markunas.”

Jerry said, ““I have with me Len Saunders and Dan Markunas, who were in the news lately for an altercation with an embezzler that they caught, using computers and the Internet. We can’t talk about that too much here, but Len, I understand you run a mutual fund! Are you using the Internet to manage it?”

In the living room, Len looked at Dan. “Is that what he said at the taping?”

Dan said, “Sort of. I think.”

On the TV, Len said, “That’s right, Jerry. I live up in the Sierras and Dan here is my daughter Janet’s friend from way back.”

“I’m going to interrupt you here for a second, Len. Janet is an engineer working on the Internet at 3Com, isn’t that right?”

“That’s right, Jerry, sorry. Janet and her husband Walt own this cabin in the mountains and they let me retire there.“

In the living room, Janet said, “Woo-hoo!”

On TV, Len said, “Here on the screen is the ‘MetaStock’ program, which is one of the things I use. You can see here I can analyze the performance of Dell Computers, using data that I downloaded from the Net.”

The camera zoomed in on the screen, and Jerry said, “Our previous guest Rick van Beek showed us some investing software, but it actually helps you run your fund?”

“It sure does.”

He turned to Dan. “And you used the Internet in that embezzling case you were involved with?”

Dan said, “What we’re looking at here is Mosaic, which I think you’ve featured on this show before. In one window here I have an interface to a database of Internet email addresses, and ways to search it. This isn’t exactly what I did, but Mosaic is easy enough to use that you can imagine a person who doesn’t know much about computers using it to follow a criminal’s tracks!”

“So there will be no place to hide on the Internet!”

Dan laughed. “That’s right, Jerry. Anyone can find you!”

“We’ve had Mosaic on the show before. Do you think this is going to revolutionize the Internet, like some people are predicting?”

Len said, “Absolutely, Jerry. Dan and my daughter Janet worked on the first graphical user interface, fifteen years ago, and I think this is going to be bigger than that!” 

“And you have a mutual fund! How did that come about”

“Well, I’m pretty active in the online investing forums, and a few people trusted me to invest their money for them.”

“And you said you were already investing in the Internet? How is that even possible?”

“We’re looking for companies that are going to benefit from the Internet, rather than being put out of business by it. Also, being private, we can buy some things that the general public can’t.”

“Wow. This isn’t ‘Wall Street Week’ so I won’t ask you to name them! But I guess you’ve found a few?”

“More than a few!”

Jerry turned to Dan.

“And you’ve met a few people who want to put pornography on the Internet, I understand! I guess there’s no avoiding it, is there?”

Dan and Len both laughed. Dan said, “They’re working on it. I think they might actually be the first people to make money off the Internet!”

Molly signaled Jerry again.

“That’s about all we have time for this week. I want to thank Len Saunders and Dan Markunas for some fascinating thoughts on investing in the Web!”

Then he talked about the next show, and there was an announcement about Computers This Week and which corporations brought it to you. Walt turned the TV off.

Grant said, “So, Dan, you’re going to be the Porno King of the Internet?”

Dan said, “Not me, but I can put you in touch with the guy who is, if you want!”

Len said, “Wow, I had no idea they were going to change it all around like that! I thought the show was just about us.”

Janet said, “Yeah, they barely mentioned the bingo ladies!”

Dan laughed, “And they made me look like Len’s tech assistant!”

Len said, “And you were a darned good one, too!” Everyone laughed.

Grant said, “Well, I’m glad I got to hear the real story from you all first. We sure didn’t hear it on TV!”

Walt said, “Yeah, two bingo ladies doesn’t make for good TV, I guess.”

Everyone took one of the little glasses Grant had put on the coffee table, and he poured them all some sake. He explained how this was a rare brand of sake and he’d brought it over from Japan himself. They all murmured appreciation even though no one knew much about sake.

Grant said, “So, Len, you’re investing in the Internet? How is that even possible?”

Janet took his arm. “He’s smart, my Dad!”

Len smiled and said, “Grant, the market anticipates things, so you just have to watch for stocks that are going up more than the public information would explain. Then, you ask yourself, ‘If there were to be an Internet boom, would these companies benefit?’ “

“Hmm,” said Grant. “What if it’s for some random reason you don’t know about?”

“Well, if this were easy, everyone would be doing it!”

“So you don’t start from the other end and figure out who is going to benefit. “What are some of these pre-boom stocks?”

“We got Louis Rukeyser here!” Len laughed. “Dan works for one of them: Oracle. I’ve been following them for a couple of years now. I figure, if everyone’s going to be starting a website, they’ll all need a database.”

Then he added quickly, “And, of course, America Online!”

At that, everyone groaned. Walt threw one of their CD-ROMs at him.

“You laugh, but when Joe Average says, ‘hey, how do I try out this Internet thing?’ AOL is what he’s going to try!”

Dan said, “Anyway, on databases: that’s what Matt and I hope.”

Grant explained what Taligent did, although Dan and Matt were constantly reading about it in the trade press, so they already knew most of it.. Then he said, “But won’t there be a lot of companies that don’t even exist yet?”

Len smiled. “Yep. I’m depending on you folks to tell me all about those.”

“So your fund isn’t public, huh?”

“No, it’s called a Private Placement. I can only have 50 investors, and they all have to be ‘sophisticated investors’ which means they’re rich and know what they’re doing.”

Cassie said, “That leaves me out, in a couple of ways!” They all agreed with her.

Grant said, “There are some people here I don’t know: Matt, Cassie, what do you do?”

They explained what their connection with Janet was, and how they’d all conspired to bring Janet and Walt together. This was a well-worn tale by now, but everyone loved to relive it. Grant recounted how he suggested it to Janet before any of this happened and she just dismissed the idea. Janet didn’t remember that at all. He didn’t press the point.

Dan and Matt helped themselves to a little more sake. Janet asked if anyone needed anything from the kitchen.

Grant wasn’t quite done picking Len’s brain.

“So, Len, are there any companies that you’re just waiting to spring into existence?”

“Oh, God, I’m not a computer guy. You all should tell me that!”

Dan said, “But how about from a business perspective? We’re all too deep in the details.”

“Well, that Mosaic program Janet showed me sure looks like a good thing. I don’t know how you make money off it, though, if it’s free.”

Matt added, “And Microsoft would drive them out of business anyway, like they did with GO Corp.”

Grant looked quizzical at that mention, and Matt said, “I used to work there. They’re building a pen-based handheld computer.”

Len thought everyone might, for a change, be willing to listen to one of his “In the old days” stories.

“When automobiles were just getting big in the 20’s and 30’s, it was the giant companies who made all the money. It was just too big a market for little players. They either sold out to the big guys or they went out of business.”

Walt said, “General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and then everyone else, right?”

“And American Motors, I guess. Later Packard and Studebaker, but they’re gone now.”

No one else had ever heard of those last two. Matt and Cassie got up and thanked Janet and Walt for having them over again. Grant said it was nice meeting them all. They exchanged more conversation on where they might be likely to see each other again.