Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 948
……

After the richest man testified in court, the monopoly case of the United States of America v. Zheru Software Company began to enter the stage of real drama; and the follow-up reports of various media naturally became intensive all of a sudden.

According to the gossip media, there are currently two major public figures in the United States who have attracted much attention due to their involvement in the whirlpool: one is US President Bill Clinton, and the other is Tang Huan, the world's richest man.

The former is suspected of obstructing justice because of the "zipper door" lying; the latter is suspected of monopolizing the industry because his company is too powerful.

Whether these two major dramas are political struggles or power games, there is always a difference between them.

As for the reasoning behind it, it seems almost human.

For the United States, which has always regarded itself as a conservative society, the dignified president of the world's most powerful country has become the talk of the whole world because of the disgraceful "zipper door", which must have hindered its external image.

But factional disputes are like this. Once they are pinched, they can't be stopped, and even some national interests can't be taken care of.

Anyway, I am the world's number one, even if I make a fool of myself, who would dare to make irresponsible remarks to my face?
In contrast, the United States of America v. Zheru Software Company monopoly case is extremely grandiose.Anyone can discuss openly at any time and any place without any unspeakable concerns.

Look, only the world's most powerful country like us is qualified to play such a high-level anti-monopoly professional game.

Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that the opening of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on July [-] is like a festival for the media, with their eyes wide open and ears pricked up, reluctant to miss any details .

The reality did not disappoint the spectators. The duel between Zheru Software Company and the Ministry of Justice in court was fierce and exciting!Especially when the richest man appeared in court to testify, the scene suddenly became spectacular.

Judging from the content of this debate, the Ministry of Justice has collected some evidence worthy of a big fuss through a series of methods including forcing Zheru Software to keep any paper documents, and today faced Tang IT, the ultimate boss, All released.

However, as the richest man gave more and more answers such as "I don't know" and "I can't remember", Joel Klein's careful preparations seemed to have hit the cotton with a punch, and he couldn't find it at all. to the point of focus.

The innocent look on the former's face and the constipated expression on the latter's face formed a sharp contrast, which made the reporters chuckle inwardly, and they all drafted the titles of their reports in advance.

It has to be said that David Boyce, the chief lawyer of Zheru Software's legal team, formulated Tang Huan's avoidance strategy very effectively, and Joel Klein was about to suffer internal injuries.

After the day's lawsuit was over, except for some refreshing "fresh materials" that broke out in the court, no practical progress was made.

But such a result, for the eager media, there will be no disappointment at all.

……

That night, some well-known TV talk shows couldn't wait to use the latest material to make up a joke, and the center of it was Mr. Rich's vague answers of "I don't know" and "I can't remember".

The funny thing here is that Tang Huan's public image of being quick-thinking and wise has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people; but his "muddleheaded" behavior during the day can only be described as "cheating".

The screenwriters summed up three so-called "confused" settings for the richest man:
How much money do you have?have no idea!

How much did you donate?do not know either!

How many actresses have you dated?Still don't know!
For example, the scene surrounding the first article:

The host imitated Tang Huan, looked at a magazine, nodded frequently and said: "Yes, yes, they have helped calculate that I now have a net worth of 1000 to [-] billion US dollars."

The person imitating the secretary reminded: "Boss, the rich list in this magazine you read is from last year."

The host nodded suddenly, picked up another magazine, looked at the date, and said to himself: "This is the latest issue. It turns out that my net worth has reached 500 billion U.S. dollars. But , Why do you feel strange when you look at the names behind me on the leaderboard?"

The person who imitated the secretary reminded again: "Boss, what you are looking at is the rich list compiled around the world. Here is the rich list in the United States."

……

For another example, the scene surrounding the second article:
The person who imitated the charity said gratefully to the host who imitated Tang Huan: "Tang, thank you for your donation."

The host asked indifferently: "How about that donation of 100 million US dollars, is it enough?"

The person who imitated the charity organization nodded repeatedly and replied: "Counting the 500 million US dollars you donated later, it is enough."

……

That night, after National Entertainment finished Mr. Richest Man's "Cuteness", mainstream newspapers launched their own serious reports on the monopoly case of the United States of America against Zheru Software Company. This is the truly authoritative observation from the outside world.

First of all, these media almost unanimously believe that Zheru Software Company has hired the right person, that is, it has spared no expense to hire David Boyce as the chief lawyer of Zheru Software Company’s legal team.

You know, David Boyce used to provide antitrust legal services for the federal government, and his qualifications can even be traced back to the end of the 70s, when the Ministry of Justice sued IBM for monopoly.

It is not difficult to imagine that David Boyce knows the way of thinking, mental state, behavioral inertia and other characteristics of the federal government when it conducts antitrust investigations. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as an "inner ghost". During the service process of Zheru Software Company, the most direct and effective countermeasures are taken tit for tat.

Take yesterday's Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit of the District of Columbia as an example. The Ministry of Justice frequently made big moves, but they couldn't effectively hit the target, making Joel Klein's performance look a bit naive and ridiculous.

Secondly, another point that the media lamented in unison is: Tang Huan, the BOSS, has enough trust in David Boyce, and even accepts the "avoidance strategy" suggested by the other party, pretending to Stupidly asked three questions.

Such a shrewd client and a seasoned lawyer cooperated tacitly, and the defense was almost impenetrable.

After commenting on the strategies, methods, etc. during the game between the two sides, it was time to express their opinions and talk about the monopoly case of the United States of America v. Zheru Software Company.

Naturally, the views of the elites should not be superficial to watch the excitement, but should grasp the essence through the phenomenon.

US President Bill Clinton's "zipper door", which has caused a lot of noise around the world, is only talked about by soy sauce insiders and moral trials, but the actual battlefield is whether there is lying to obstruct justice.

Similarly, for the United States of America v. Zheru Software Company monopoly case, the people who eat melons are just bluffing. Zheru Software has used its monopoly position to do so many heinous crimes, but I can only watch it with envy and hatred. level of things.

It is no exaggeration to say that the monopoly case of the United States of America v. Zheru Software Company is equivalent to a philosophical question. Even if the outcome has not been determined, it is still thought-provoking and worthy of discussion.

First of all, the basis for the U.S. Department of Justice and 20 federal states to sue Zheru Software for monopoly is the "Sherman Antitrust Act" passed in 1990.

And the essential spirit of this thing is to stop monopolists from harming consumers' rights and interests.

On this basic point, Zheru Software Company resolutely refuses to admit that it has violated the rights and interests of consumers.

For example, regarding a crime identified by the Ministry of Justice, Zheru Software Company crushed its competitors by integrating a series of free programs including browsers and media players in the operating system. Zheru Software Company argued that: This is to bring affordable product function enhancements to consumers, and a detailed table is listed to compare the cost gap between consumers directly using the functions that come with the operating system and purchasing an additional third-party program separately.

For another example, regarding the common problems of monopolists who are most hated by people, such as not thinking about progress, not innovating, and only focusing on making huge profits, etc., Zheru Software even refuted with confidence: it is the most innovative technology company. As for the operating system, more and more ordinary people have been able to use the computer without hindrance by striving for perfection in the humanized operation interface.

There are too many focal points of debate like this.

Compared with the monopoly and non-monopoly determination of the Ministry of Justice and Zheru Software Company, the outside world generally believes that Zheru Software Company is only a "natural monopoly" even if it constitutes a monopoly, and it is not the same as Standard Oil in [-]. There are many important differences between the energy sector and AT&T's "traditional monopoly" in telecommunications in [-] and should not be treated as general.

This kind of controversy is especially heated in universities where Zheru software company has launched a special discount program for students and teachers with a product sales price of only a few dollars to tens of dollars.

Take the two expert witnesses hired by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, both of whom are opposing views from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

To the surprise of the outside world, in this heated discussion, US Vice President Al Gore suddenly joined in.

What made the media even more cheered up and secretly called "the good show is coming" was that his point of view was on the side of the Ministry of Justice.

Al Gore believes that the reason why Zheru Software Company does not show the common problems of monopolies, including not being enterprising, not innovative, and only focusing on making huge profits, is because high-tech progress and development have special characteristics that change with each passing day. Attributes.

The fact is: Zheru Software has severely damaged the market operating environment, especially because it has occupied a vast majority of the market share, causing great obstacles to new market entrants and violating the principles of freedom and equal opportunity. Jing company is a living example.

At the same time, it seems that instead of being squeezed by Zheru software company's domineering style, consumers have also obtained benefits from the other party, but at the cost of losing their most important "consumer sovereignty".

From a long-term perspective, perhaps Zheru Software is very "noble" now, but no one can guarantee that it will not be able to withstand the temptation of huge profits in the future, in order to continue to maintain its monopoly position. , and restrict competition, hinder innovation, and even affect the entire industry, and even the sustainable development of the United States.

Al Gore fired it like that, and it was a big deal.It would not be an exaggeration to say that the reaction from all walks of life was an uproar.

Generally speaking, the vice president of the United States is a position that is far more symbolic than substantive.It also has two statutory responsibilities.

First of all, the vice president of the United States is the first successor to the president of the United States.When the incumbent president of the United States is vacant, such as death, resignation or impeachment while in office, the vice president will succeed and become the new president of the United States.

But this is an extreme situation after all, although since World War II, Franklin Roosevelt died during his term and was succeeded by Harry Truman; John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Lyndon Johnson succeeded; Richard Nixon resigned due to the Watergate incident , the succession of Gerald Ford and other precedents, but looking at the history of more than 200 years since the founding of the United States, there are only a few American vice presidents who can be so "lucky".

Secondly, the Vice President of the United States also serves as the President of the United States Senate.But under normal circumstances, he does not have the right to vote in the Senate. Only when the 100 members of the Senate vote in a tie, the vice president's vote has the actual decision-making power, that is, it becomes the critical vote.

But the actual situation is that in the U.S. Senate, which is extremely experienced in gaming, there will hardly be such a deadlocked scene, and it is necessary to labor the president of the Senate, who usually does not show up, to vote for the decision.

Therefore, according to the U.S. Constitution, the vice president is not allowed to have administrative power. In reality, how much power he can have depends on how much trust the U.S. president appoints.

Take Reagan and Bo Shi, the partners of the President and Vice President of the United States, because after Reagan was assassinated, Bo Shi acted very calmly with extremely high political wisdom, and did not rush to the White House to ask about the succession, so Reagan trusted Old Bushi very much and gave him a lot of power, and even asked him to perform duties on his behalf during his operation.

In comparison, Al Gore is very different.

Before he became the vice president of the United States, he once proposed and passed the "1991 Gore Act" aimed at vigorously developing the US IT industry.

After Bill Clinton came to power in [-], he launched the US "Information Highway" construction plan, and Al Gore actively participated in it.

In other words, the vice president of the United States was born with a high-tech aura, and he had always had a good relationship with Tang IT; but now he suddenly launched an attack, and in the monopoly case of the United States of America v. What about the opposite?

(End of this chapter)