Quiet thoughts

```
Debt, economic decline, immigration; hippies, anti-government, freedom.
At the end of the 1980s, a wave of change encompassed a country boy from the Rust Belt.
As the gate for upward mobility was on the verge of closing, he struggled to move forward.
College, Silicon Valley, entrepreneurship; HP, Apple, Microsoft.
To become part of the 1%, or even 0.1%, he sacrificed a lot, but also gained a lot.
```

American History 1988

In August, just when the outside world thought the lawsuit between Byte Company and Bell would turn into a protracted battle.


The two sides suddenly began settlement talks under the auspices of the California Northern District Court, and to everyone's surprise, they reached a settlement agreement at their initial contact.


According to the statements released by both parties, Byte Company would pay Southern Bell half a million US dollars to obtain the authorization for the upcoming ADPCM technology and its derivative patents.


Also, effective immediately, Southern Bell formally withdrew all its lawsuits against Byte Company, including claims for damages, injunctions against the use of patents, and motions to change the venue, among others.


As soon as the joint statements of the settlement were released, the entire tech industry was in an uproar.


Chapter 174: The Last Negotiation