HLnovel Chapter 358 Easter Egg Triggered
Chapter 358 Easter Egg Triggered
November 2, 2000, 8:00 AM.
Ling Yun had just finished breakfast when Fiona called.
"President Ling, something's happened."
Ling Yun switched the phone to her other ear. "Okay, tell me, what happened? Why are you in such a panic?"
"Microsoft just released a new version, which should have been released at 8 o'clock sharp. At the same time, they launched a multi-media 'GG bombardment,' with GG everywhere—on TV, websites, and outdoor GG billboards. This is all in response to our new version release."
"Oh? What kind of 'GG' words did they use?"
Fiona was stunned for a moment. What was wrong with President Ling's thinking? Shouldn't his first reaction be that a spy had leaked the release date of Starry Sky and how should he deal with it?
She obediently replied, "They mention 'real innovation,' 'original technology,' and 'not stolen' in all their articles. Although they don't name names directly, everyone knows they're talking about us."
"In the TV show, they even made a comparison. On the left was a blurry interface with question marks, and on the right was the Microsoft logo. The narration said: 'Some companies are busy stealing, we're busy creating.'"
Lingyun walked to the window. The sky outside was not yet fully bright, and it was still gray and hazy.
"I see, that's all the tricks they have."
"Mr. Ling, are we still releasing our version?"
"Release it as planned, officially at 9:00 AM. Don't worry about them, let things play out for a while."
Fiona was silent for two seconds. What did she mean by "let the bullets fly for a while"? But she still answered, "Okay, Mr. Ling."
Lingyun arrived at the company at 8:30.
Fiona approached, her face pale, holding a laptop in her hand. "Mr. Ling, look."
She handed me the computer; the screen showed a news website with the headline announcing the release of Microsoft's new version. Below that was a long string of comments.
"Microsoft is practically insulting us."
"Starry Sky is finished this time."
"Thieves who steal things deserve it."
Lingyun handed the computer back to her. "The new version will be released at nine o'clock. Is the publicity preparation complete?"
Fiona paused for a moment, "I'm ready, but..."
"No buts."
Fiona looked at him, opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.
Ling Yun walked towards the office. As he passed the technical area, he saw several people gathered around a computer, with Microsoft's Google Play page on the screen. They quickly dispersed when they saw him approaching.
Ling Yun didn't stop and went straight into the office.
At 9:00 AM sharp, the new version of Starry Sky was officially released.
Lingyun opened the official website; the page had been updated. A large title read: "Star System 3.0: Faster, More Stable, More Secure."
Below is the download link, next to which are the technical white paper, performance comparison charts, and user reviews.
He clicked the download link, and the progress bar moved very quickly, finishing the download in just a few seconds.
Install, restart, log in.
The interface is similar to before, but it feels faster.
He opened the news website and refreshed it.
The first news item was from Microsoft. The second was from StarCraft, with a rather bland headline: "StarCraft Technology Releases Version 3.0, with a 30% Performance Improvement."
There are already dozens of comments below.
"They still dare to release a new version at this point; their courage is commendable."
"What's the use of performance improvement? It's still stolen."
"Microsoft just released GG today, and they released their version right away. They're going head-to-head with this."
"Just wait and see, the stock price will continue to fall."
Lingyun closed the page.
At 9:15, the phone rang. It was Li Mo. "President Ling, the Easter egg in that Microsoft version... has been triggered."
Ling Yun's hand tightened slightly. "Are you sure?"
"OK. I ran it three times, and it popped up every time."
What triggering mechanism is used?
"The Easter egg activation is triggered by today's timestamp, and the pop-up is triggered by high load. Microsoft's tests cannot detect this because the Easter egg will not be activated until today."
"When the Microsoft version went live today, about half an hour later someone posted a screenshot on the forum saying that the new version of Microsoft had a strange pop-up window that read, 'Exclusive to Star Code, those who steal it are utterly shameless!' At first, everyone thought it was a bug, but later someone discovered that it would trigger after running for a short time under high load."
Ling Yun stood up. "Is the screenshot still there?"
"Yes, it's gone viral on the forums."
Lingyun hung up the phone and opened her browser.
The Yahoo Finance forum homepage is flooded with this topic.
"A 'Starry Night' Easter egg has appeared in the new Microsoft version!"
"What kind of tactic is this? First they sue someone for patent theft, then they use their code?"
"Screenshot here, see for yourself."
"It took me an hour of stress testing for it to pop up. Microsoft is really hiding this."
"So who stole from whom?"
"Hilarious, this plot twist is hilarious!"
Ling Yun clicked on the post. Inside was a screenshot with a dialog box on a white background with only one line of text: "Exclusive to Star Code, those who steal it are utterly shameless!"
There are already over two thousand comments below.
"Microsoft really got a slap in the face."
"Suing someone for copyright infringement, only to end up using their code yourself."
"How is that pop-up triggered? Can a tech expert explain?"
"It needs to run under high load for a period of time; it won't pop up at all during normal use. That's how deeply hidden it is."
"So Microsoft stole code from StarCraft and then turned around and sued them?"
"Not necessarily, it could be a trap deliberately set by Xingchen."
"Regardless of who buried it, Microsoft used it anyway."
"Starry Sky's stock price is about to go up, brothers, let's go!"
Lingyun shut down the forum, walked out of the office, and came to the R&D office area. The gloom of the past few days was swept away, and the office area was filled with laughter and joy. Everyone was very happy and celebrating in various ways. Since the board of directors started to have disagreements, the atmosphere in the company had become oppressive. With Microsoft suing Xingchen, everyone was even more uneasy.
If it weren't for Lingyun's prestige, leading everyone from one victory to another, and everyone's blind faith in Lingyun, Xingchen would probably have fallen apart long ago, disintegrating under the pressure of the behemoth Microsoft.
Once again, they followed Lingyun to successfully thwart Microsoft's conspiracy, all the pressure vanished, leaving only laughter and joy.
Nasdaq opened at 9:30 a.m.
Star Technology's stock price: $28.7, up $2.4 from yesterday's closing price.
Fiona pushed open the door and came in, her eyes bright and alert. "President Ling, take a look at our stock price."
Ling Yun nodded. "I see, the stock price rebound has only just begun."
Fiona continued, "That post on the forum has already received a million views. Some people are saying that we deliberately set a trap, some are saying that Microsoft deserved it, and others are saying that no matter what, Microsoft used our code, so they can't win the lawsuit."
Ling Yun nodded. "I can finally get my revenge for the grievances I suffered recently."