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李開復博士英文自傳全書（連載【101】）

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Becoming Enemies with Old Friends

On Aug. 10, 2005, my personal lawyer called me and asked, “Kai-Fu, how many computers do you have at home?”

 “Two,” I answered. “Mine and my daughter’s. What’s up?”

 “Does your computer keep any Microsoft document?” he asked.

“Of course not. I didn’t keep anything from Microsoft.”

 “That’s good,” he sounded relieved. “Someone will go to your house to take your computer. Microsoft has asked a third-party agent to look through your computer files. They want to see if there are any Microsoft business secrets on your hard drive.”

 “I don’t have any Microsoft business secrets!” I shouted. “But how am I going to work without my computer?”

Two hours later, my computer was taken away. That caused a lot of inconvenience. Even though I bought a laptop later, I lost a lot of personal data saved on the confiscated computer, such as my tax returns, personal emails, music and photos.

A month later, the third party agent submitted a report, which stated, “No Microsoft documents were found on Kai-Fu Lee’s personal computer.” 

The computer was returned to me with a broken hard drive, which inevitably upset me. However, I understood it was a necessary evil. Any kind of evidence anyone could think of had to be collected at this stage in preparation for the depositions.

 A crucial part of any lawsuit, depositions give both parties a chance to publicly express themselves, question the other side and discover new evidence before the official hearing. In my case, depositions meant even more because I needed the truth to come out in public to dismiss all the haunting rumors.

On Aug. 26, 2005, I went to the Microsoft depositions, during which Microsoft executives provided their evidence and were questioned by my lawyers. After I left Microsoft, that was the first time I saw my former bosses and colleagues of the company again. I saw Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Eric Rudder and Microsoft’s chief technical officer, Craig Mundie.

Gates never looked me in the eyes that day. I expressed my feelings about seeing him again in my journal:

 When Bill Gates walked into the room, he did not look at me.  Was it because he sees me as enemy and won’t talk to me?  Was it because the legal team gave him coaching that this is the time to make me feel bad about my “betrayal”?  So that it would negatively affect me in my deposition and at the preliminary injunction?

 Here is one of his seven most trusted advisers, someone who once confided in him that: “Bill I would never lie to you.  I want to tell you what I can do and what I cannot do.”  Someone who once rescued him from a disastrous meeting, and went to his suite in the hotel to tell him that he needn’t worry any more – someone to whom he showed his most sincere and innocent smile of appreciation.  Someone he really trusted.  Now what has become of this person?  I thought of Steve Ballmer’s famous quote: “You are either with us, or you are against us”?  (The famous words Steve Ballmer used with a customer who adopted Netscape Navigator)

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