Extraordinary GeniusExtraordinary Genius
“Yang, you must give Microsoft an explanation for this incident. Why is Yahoo attacking us? We had an agreement!” Ballmer questioned Yang Zhiyuan over the phone.
“Mr. Ballmer, this is a misunderstanding. We did not attack Microsoft.” Yahoo’s CEO Yang Zhiyuan explained.
“Fine. Why is the news all reporting about this? Are you telling me that all the reporters had misunderstood this?”
“Ballmer, you can watch the video footage of that day or ask others what happened. It’s Kameda Masao who had made that statement, and he is Wind and Rain Holding’s President. You should know what that means.” Yang Zhiyuan reminded.
“Hmph! He is also Softbank’s new Director. I might believe he made that statement because of Wind and Rain Holdings if he praised Google’s browser. But he is praising your Yahoo browser. He can’t be helping to promote Yahoo for no reason.” Ballmer shouted.
“That’s their plot. Can’t you see it? This is a simple plot to make us turn against each other and let Google browser develop quickly.” Yang Zhiyuan explained.
“A plot? Who will use such a lousy plot? I would believe you if Softbank removed his director status.”
“First, I cannot represent Softbank to give you any answer. I am not Sun Zhengyi. Secondly, even if you look for Sun Zhengyi, he will not kick him out of the board of directors. This will affect Softbank’s listed companies.”
Kameda Masao had just joined as Softbank’s Director. It will affect their listed subsidiaries’ share prices if they fire him now. Softbank’s shareholders will suffer losses, and they will never agree to it.
Furthermore, Yang Zhiyuan knows the reasons why Softbank got Kameda Masao on board. It is to raise their share price and use their connections to enter the Chinese market.
Kameda Masao’s status will not change until Softbank’s plan succeed. Also, Softbank wants to invest in Wind and Rain Holdings’ IT-related companies through him.
“Yang, I will offer an alternative. Yahoo will issue a statement saying Kameda Masao is wrong.”
Yang Zhiyuan rejected again.
Are you kidding me? If I issue a statement saying Kameda Masao is wrong, our browser is inferior to IE. As Yahoo CEO, Yang Zhiyuan will never do this.
Ballmer slams down the phone.
There are too many news reports about Kameda Masao’s statement because Baidu’s new browser launch happened. IT reporters from all over the world were watching this.
That Microsoft engineer did not retort at the product launch, and a rumor appears on the internet. They felt that the Microsoft engineer had agreed with Kameda Masao that IE is not as good as Yahoo’s browser.
IE users start to fall, and Yahoo’s browser’s downloads increased.
Browsers are free software, but they can profit from other areas. For example, advertisements. They can also use their back-end data to profit from it.
Many companies develop their browsers to promote their brand and technologies.
Yahoo’s previous browser is based on IE, but they had developed their technologies.
This is equivalent to Yahoo moving away from Microsoft’s standard and created their standard. They had become competitors.
Microsoft and Yahoo had cooperated well, especially in the Chinese market, and Yahoo is strong in working with major corporations. After all, Yahoo is the world’s No. 1 web portal.
Yahoo is the best platform for advertising, website links, interactions, etc.
Microsoft was negotiating with Yahoo to develop Chinese version software in China to snatch Lenovo Kingsoft’s market. They even planned to develop a smartphone operating system together.
Microsoft will be leading, and Yahoo will assist in developing the smartphone operating system. The bigger share of profits will go to Microsoft, and it will be named one of their brand.
But now, all these are impossible.
The Board of Directors decided Ballmer’s terms to Yang Zhiyuan, and Yahoo’s rejection means no longer on their side.
Microsoft is wary of Yahoo because it has Softbank and its IT companies’ support. Who knows if they can develop a product to challenge them in the future?
Is Softbank supporting Yahoo to snatch Microsoft’s browser market share?
If Microsoft gives in on this matter, Softbank might demand more the next time. One of Softbank’s subsidiaries is also developing a PC operating system and trying to overtake Microsoft.
Video player is another software product Softbank is working on. Softbank has the most IT products in the world because it had invested in many IT companies.
Microsoft stopped their smartphone operating system negotiations and other cooperation with Yahoo suddenly.
When Softbank was asking Yahoo what happened, Microsoft’s cooperation with Softbank’s subsidiaries was also canceled.
Microsoft is taking action against Softbank.
Microsoft’s confidence comes from its status as the World’s No. 1 software company, and all its partners will be noticed. If it is a listed company, its share price will rise. This is due to the profitability of Microsoft’s products.
That’s why Microsoft dares to impose sanction measures against Softbank. Many companies are queuing to work with Microsoft, and Softbank’s subsidiaries are not the only ones.
Those small companies will surely suffer massive losses once they leave Microsoft, and Microsoft’s losses are minimal. Based on their overbearing contract terms, most of the research data will go to them.
Microsoft’s actions had put Softbank in a terrible spot.
Sun Zhengyi must do something now.