I am Hollywood

[Chapter 944: Only Losers Get Mocked]

Eric watched his daughter stare at the Sudoku grid in Steve Mitnick's hands for about half a minute. He thought the problem was a bit difficult and was about to hint to the little one that the sum of three connected numbers should be 15 when Hawaii pointed to the center of the grid and said, "The middle is 5."

Far away in Boston, Steve Mitnick, Ian Gurney, and Tina Brown exchanged surprised glances. This problem was much harder than the previous simple addition.

Steve Mitnick filled in the number 5 in the center of the grid. Soon, Hawaii filled in the rest of the grid, ensuring that any three numbers in a straight line added up accurately to 15.

After examining the Sudoku grid and looking at the little one in front of him, it took Steve Mitnick a moment to shake off his surprise. He smiled and said, "Eric, remember Men in Black? I never did think of you as some sort of extraterrestrial, but your daughter might just be one."

No father could resist taking pride in their child's smarts, and Eric said proudly, "Even if she were an extraterrestrial, she's still my daughter, and that's a fact."

As they joked, Hawaii interjected seriously, "I'm not an extraterrestrial! Mom said that's just a joke from a movie. You should tell me how Yahoo search works!"

"Of course," Steve Mitnick nodded. Seeing Eric had no objections, he began explaining search engine algorithms to the little one in simple terms, while Ian Gurney and Tina Brown chimed in with interest.

Having just tackled those two questions, Steve Mitnick no longer treated the little one as a child under five. He detailed how a search engine requires information gathering, data processing, and retrieval capabilities. Under his guidance, Hawaii's mind unexpectedly wandered into the realm of artificial intelligence.

After a solid half-hour of discussion, Steve Mitnick summarized, "So, Hawaii, if you can create an intelligent algorithm that mimics human thought in the future, then machines with such algorithms can operate like humans -- even better."

Eric didn't notice that his daughter had turned to him, her eyes sparkling with excitement. He was unaware of the vast possibilities that Steve Mitnick's words had opened up in her mind.

Once Steve Mitnick finished speaking, Eric asked, "Steve, aren't you worried my daughter might create a system that destroys the world?"

Steve Mitnick eagerly nodded, a hint of madness in his eyes. "If Hawaii can actually pull that off, I'd be happy to be killed by a T-800."

"You might be willing, but I'm not! I don't want my daughter chasing those chaotic goals. She should just enjoy being a little princess. Other rich kids might buy one Hermes bag at a time; my Hawaii would buy a whole shipment."

Steve Mitnick rolled his eyes dramatically and looked at Hawaii. "Hey, Hawaii, does it feel like your dad is super mundane?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding seriously, but then she immediately turned to Eric and asked, "Dad, can I use the computer in the future?"

Eric replied, "Sweetheart, we agreed you'd have to wait until you're at least six."

When Steve Mitnick heard their conversation, he chimed in, "Eric, with Hawaii's intelligence, not to mention she's smarter than kids sixteen years old, waiting until six is just holding her back."

Eric looked at the camera, "I don't want Hawaii to resent me for not giving her a childhood."

"How do you know what kind of childhood she wants?" Steve Mitnick countered. Then, addressing Hawaii, he said, "Hawaii, don't listen to your dad. You can use the computer sneakily when he's not around."

The little girl looked disappointed but shook her head. "No, if Dad doesn't agree, then Mom won't either. If I used it secretly, Mom would be sad, and I don't want to upset her."

The three men were indifferent, but Tina Brown, already a mother, felt overwhelmed with affection and was almost teary-eyed. She chastised Eric, saying, "Eric, listen! Could an ordinary four or five-year-old say something so sensible? I suddenly think you're just terrible."

"Eric, as long as it's done reasonably, letting kids use computers isn't a bad thing," Ian Gurney, often quiet, finally spoke up.

Feeling touched, Eric quickly "surrendered" and told his daughter, "Alright, but when you use the computer, Mommy has to be with you."

Seeing the little girl nod in delight, Steve Mitnick added, "Eric, I think we should hire Hawaii a math tutor -- start with middle school math."

"I think we should stick to business," Eric disregarded Steve Mitnick's suggestion and told Hawaii, "Okay, sweetheart, I've promised you. Now you can go out and play."

"Dad, can I listen here? I'll be very good," the little girl blinked her big eyes and said.

Eric felt her expression reminded him of Emma when she was being adorable, but he brushed it off, thinking kids were all like that. He nodded and gently said, "Actually, Hawaii, you don't really need to know so many things. The knowledge in this world is endless. Even the smartest person could never acquire even a fraction of all the knowledge out there in a lifetime. Sometimes, you just need to know how to find the information you want when necessary."

As Eric spoke, a thought crossed his mind. He looked up at the camera addressing the three people on the other side. "Ian, Steve, and Tina, do you know about 10 to the power of 100? There seems to be a special term for that. I remember someone used that term to describe endless data. I've been thinking about spinning off our search engine into a fully independent brand. I believe our search engine should have the ambition to gather and organize all the data in this world. So, let's name this search engine after that term: Google. What do you think?"

As he spoke, Eric casually wrote 'Google' on a blank section of a document and held it up for the three on the other side to see.

Tina Brown and Ian Gurney had no objections and were about to nod when Steve Mitnick interrupted, "Eric, the pronunciation is correct, but you spelled it wrong. The professional term for 10 to the power of 100 should be 'Googol,' not 'Google.'"

Steve Mitnick quickly wrote down the correct spelling on his notebook.

Eric's expression didn't change. He smiled as he showed Ian Gurney and Tina Brown the word in his hands, then gestured towards the word Steve Mitnick had written. "Although spelled incorrectly, I think 'Google' looks better than 'Googol,' doesn't it?"

Tina Brown and Ian Gurney both chuckled and nodded. Steve Mitnick compared the two words and somewhat agreed with Eric's viewpoint but still said, "But that's too careless. If someone finds out our search engine's name came from your misspelling, they'll surely mock us."

Eric dismissed it, saying, "Only losers get mocked. Once our 'Google' becomes the biggest search engine in the world, everyone will just see this misspelling as a humorous anecdote. Besides, since I thought of it, the correct domain name 'Googol' may have already been taken. So, you'd better have someone secure the 'Google' domain for us today.

In the next year, I hope you all can fully develop this search engine sub-brand. I have said before that Yahoo as I envision it should not simply be a media company. It should be a tech company that provides internet users with tools to browse the online world rather than just content. Regardless of Yahoo's size, we cannot meet the billions of internet users' diverse content needs.

A portal website is destined to be a product of the early stages of the internet. As people's understanding of the internet deepens, they'll want to move away from the media content we provide and seek out what interests them. Therefore, search engines are the future of the internet."

Ian Gurney and Steve Mitnick nodded in agreement, but they couldn't help glancing at Tina Brown.

Tina Brown had always been in charge of Yahoo's media content division. If Eric planned to downplay Yahoo's image as an internet media company, Tina would likely find herself increasingly sidelined.

Although she agreed with Eric's viewpoint, she couldn't help but feel a bit let down.

Eric understood the thoughts of the three facing him and smiled, "Tina, don't worry, you won't be sidelined. I remember talking to you about Yahoo's other business focus, I wonder if you still remember it?"

Tina Brown considered for a moment and replied, "You mean social networks."

Eric nodded, "Correct, social networks. The reason I believe Yahoo can't satisfy all internet users' content needs, regardless of its size, is that our staff is limited and can't provide what every user desires. Additionally, as the internet grows, other media companies will create their own media content platforms.

However, there is a group of users strong enough in content production to rival any media company wanting to develop an internet content platform -- this is the vast user base of the internet.

Just like with search engines, if we build a robust social network, we can capture this massive user base. Eventually, our social network will become the largest media platform in the world.

So while ensuring the portals are well managed, I hope you place more emphasis on managing Yahoo personal pages. Though I don't think this is the ultimate form of a social network, managing Yahoo personal pages well will help us gather experience for further developing the social network in the future."

Tina Brown no longer appeared as disappointed as before. After listening to Eric, she pondered and said, "In that case, Eric, why don't we treat the Yahoo personal page like the search engine and establish it as a separate subsidiary?"

"I've thought about that, but the timing isn't quite right yet," Eric shook his head. "The speed of internet development is much faster than I imagined. Now is an excellent time to invest in the search engine business, but I still prefer to wait until people can access the internet anytime, anywhere before promoting social networking."

Ian Gurney suddenly interjected, "Eric, that's probably the reason you're having us develop that mobile client operating system, along with Firefly Electronics' YahooPad project?"

Since Ian Gurney saw through his intentions, Eric had no reason to hide it and nodded, "Yes, actually, the YahooPad is just the first step. This device still lacks convenience for connecting to the internet anytime and anywhere; it relies only on existing Wi-Fi hotspots to connect. So, our first step to promote this kind of device is to ensure Wi-Fi hotspots are widespread across the country.

In the future, I hope the major telecom companies' mobile networks will support such constant connections to the internet. In fact, some of the current mobile networks can already connect to the internet, but the high costs are simply not affordable for ordinary people."

Given Yahoo's close connection with Firefly Electronics, Ian Gurney recalled some Wi-Fi technology information he had seen. Hearing Eric's plan to lay out Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Eric, laying out Wi-Fi hotspots across the country is like building a brand new mobile communication network! Even the three major telecom companies might not go for it that easily. Keep in mind, even building just a regional mobile communication network can cost billions, let alone a nationwide one."

Eric thought about the ubiquitous McDonald's, KFC, and Starbucks chains, smiled, and said, "I'm not talking about building a comprehensive mobile communication network like the telecom companies. Just focus on your own tasks, and you'll see."

*****

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