Index
A
add-in boards, xiv, xvii, 2, 170
Agostinucci, Franco (Olivetti), 137
Alsop, Stewart (PC Letter), 115
Amdahl, 115
Anderson, Ed (ComputerLand Corp. chief operating officer), 147
Android
based smartphone companies, 190
based tablets, 190
operating system, 189
phones, 189
Apple
Apple II, xx, 101
AT&T wireless network and iPhone, 189
breakthrough, six key elements converged for, 186
Comdex and, 31
dealer channel, 43
industry-standard software, 183
Internet, new way of using the, 183
iPad, xv, 183–84, 187–91
iPad Mini, 192
iPhone, xv, 184–90
iPod, 165, 183–85, 187–88, 191
iPod Touch, 187–88
iTunes online store, 184–87
Macintosh (1984), 78, 194
market share (1983), xxii
market share (1994), 198
Microsoft Exchange and, 185
small was the key, 184
Steve Jobs and, 184, 186–87, 189, 191
tablet computers, 184
third-party programs (apps), 185–87, 189–91
Tim Cook and, 191
ARCO senior executive, 115
Asber, Ed (Ashton-Tate software), 100
Ashton-Tate, 97, 100–101
ASIC chips
Compaq and, 128–29, 132
Intel and, 128, 132
AST Research, xviii, 134, 137
Asus, xvi
AT&T, 135
B
“bait-and-switch” reports, 153
Bajarin, Tim (Creative Strategies Research International), 145
Ballmer, Steve (vice president of System Software for Microsoft), 141
Barnes, Hugh (Compaq engineering vice president)
EISA coalition, 132
Intel and the 486 project, 586 chip, and RISC processor, 163
meeting January 16, 1986, 91–93
meeting March 12, 1986, 93–95
meeting April 2, 1987, 109–11
meeting October 28, 1987, 126–29
meeting January 5, 1988, 130–31
meeting March 15, 1989, 157–58
BASIC (Microsoft), 10, 17, 25–26
Bray, Bill (power supply), 17, 24–25
Burkett, Paul (Compaq programmer), 26
Businessland, 152–56, 197
BusinessWeek, 27, 146
Byers, Brook, 13
C
Cabello, David (Compaq intellectual property attorney), 164
CAD. See computer-aided design (CAD)
Callier, Jim (Lovett, Mitchell, and Webb), 11
Canion, Rod (Compaq CEO), 114–15
anti-PS/2 remarks, 117–18
Compaq Annual Shareholders Meeting (April 30, 1985), 83–87
Compaq Computer Corporation announcement, 28–32
Compaq name, 27–28
Compaq Portable Personal Computer announcement, 28–32
computer conference in Hanover, Germany, 47
Deskpro 386 event at Palladium, New York City(September 9, 1986), 97–104
Gateway Technology, 5
Houston Astrohall (November 6, 1989), 167–70
“industry-standard architecture,” 176
Jones Hall (Houston) announcement (1986), 89–90
meeting September 1, 1981, 1–2
meeting January 20, 1982, 7–10
meeting March 19, 1982, 19–21
meeting May 14, 1982, 22–23
meeting October 8, 1982, 35–37
meeting March 28, 1983, 52–53
meeting April 6, 1984, 65
meeting in New York hotel (June 28, 1984), 74–75
meeting April 4, 1989, 160–63
meeting March 15, 1989, 157–58
meeting January 16, 1984, 60–63
meeting January 30, 1984, 71–73
meeting September 4, 1984, 81–82
meeting January 16, 1986, 91–93
meeting March 12, 1986, 93–95
meeting April 2, 1987, 109–11
meeting October 28, 1987, 126–29
meeting January 5, 1988, 130–31
meeting with Businessland (February 21, 1989), 153–56
Microsoft, 21–22, 24–26, 32
National Computer Conference (NCC), 24, 193
New York City’s Central Park (October 25, 1983), 54–55
picture of, 29, 180
portable computer business plan, 9–17
portable computer with nine-inch display, 6
press conference (September 9, 1988) 135–36
press conference (September 13, 1988), 137–42
“The Process,” 93
Product Customer Center (PCC) manager, 3
Texas Instruments electrical engineer, 3–4
Cara, Irene (singer), 90
Carroll, Paul (Wall Street Journal), 145
Cayne, Doug (Gartner Group), 115
coalition. See EISA coalition
Collins, Wayne (Compaq), 46, 61–63
Columbia Data Products, 23–24
Comdex (Las Vegas), 31
Compaq Authorized Dealer, 155
Compaq Computer Corporation
advanced 32-bit bus, 124, 128–29, 131, 135, 140
advanced 32-bit bus development, 131
announcement (January 5, 1988) to shut down Micro Channel development and focus on developing an advanced 32-bit bus, 130–31
ASIC chips, 128–29, 132
“bait-and-switch” reports, 153
Businessland (1989), terminated relationship with, 197
Businessland and PS/2 vs., 152–53, 155–56, 197
Canion and Harris left Compaq, Pfeiffer became CEO (1991), 198
Canion’s anti-PS/2 remarks and disclosure of quest to duplicate the PS/2, 118
Compaq team at company launch, 30
computer dealers, decision to distribute only through, 193
ComputerLand Corp., xix-xx, 38–40, 147
Conner Peripherals, strategic investment in, 164
Contura, 181
culture, 46
dealer channel, 36, 40, 44, 49, 67, 75, 114, 152
dealer numbers, 194–97
Deskpro, 74–79, 81–83, 195
Deskpro, press coverage for, 77
Deskpro 286, 84, 86, 88, 195
Deskpro 286n, 197
Deskpro 385/25e, 197
Deskpro 386, 98–106, 110–11, 119, 195
Deskpro 386 and 80287 math coprocessor, 119
Deskpro 386 and media and trade publications reviews, 105
Deskpro 386 and trade publications reviews, 105
Deskpro 386/20, 118–19, 151, 196
Deskpro 386/20e, 151, 197
Deskpro 386/25, 150, 196
Deskpro 386/33, 163, 197
Deskpro 386/33L, 198
Deskpro 386n, 197
Deskpro 386s, 150–51, 196
Deskpro 386s/20, 197
DeskPro 486/25, 168, 197
Deskpro 486/33L, 198
Deskpro desktop PC market (1985), 195
Desktop PC market and start “Bullet” project decision (1983), 194
disk-drive array, 168, 170–71
distribution channels, 37
dual-switching monitor patent, 164
8-megahertz 286, decision to wait for, 195
8086 processor, 72–73
8088 processor, 72
80286-based personal computers, 84
EISA coalition, 134, 137, 196
employee numbers, 194–98
engineering resources worked on PS/2- compatible products and developing industry-standard products, 117, 124
engineers discovered a severe weakness in Micro Channel-based PS/2 machines (memory cache lacking for the processor), 147
European headquarters in Munich, 80
European market, 80
factory, new (December 1984), 79
Flex Architecture, 119–20, 150, 168
Flex Architecture with Multiprocessing Support, 168
Fortune 500, Fortune magazine announces Compaq reached, 195
Fortune 500 list, 90
Gateway Technology, 5, 15, 19, 26, 193
Hewlett-Packard, merger with, 181–82
IBM compatible, xvii
IBM patents for $130 million, unlimited access to, 164
IBM PC and XT, backward compatibility with, 56–58
IBM PC software and, xvi
IBM PC-compatible portable computer, idea for, 193
IBM Portable, 60–63
IBM XT, reverse-engineering of, 53
IBM XT and PC software, compatibility technology enabled Compaq computers to run all, 54–55, 67
IBM-compatible MS-DOS, Bill Gates meeting (1982) for, 19–21, 193
IBM’s authorized dealers convinced to sell Compaqs, 66, 120
IBM’s portable, Compaq destroyed, 68
initial public offering (IPO), 48
Initial Public Offering (1983) raised $66 million, 194
Intel and, 83, 94, 96, 182
ISA product development, new, 130
loss and layoffs, $70 million (1991), 180, 198
low-price products, 16 new (1992), 181, 198
LTE, 164–65, 197
LTE 386s/20 (1990), 198
LTE and LTE/286, first notebook PCs (1998), 197
LTE and LTE/286 “notebook” computers, 164
LTE/286, 164–65, 197
LTE/386s/20, 198
management team (1990), 180
manufacturing capacity expansion, 45
manufacturing team and electronic assembly and testing, 46
market share, units worldwide, 198–99
merger agreement with HP (2001), 199
Micro Channel development team, 130
Micro Channel product development, 130–31
Micro Channel reverse engineering project, 124, 130, 196
Microsoft and, 96
MS-DOS, Compaq, 57–58
name, announcement of Compaq, 28–29
name change (1982) to Compaq, 194
National Computer Conference (NCC) in Houston (1982), 24, 193
“New Coke” publicity battle to fight PS/2 (1987), 113, 115, 196
No. 3 in an industry, 145
NYSE, company listing (1985) on, 195
outsourcing of manufacturing, 42–43
patent cross-licensing agreement with IBM (1989), 164, 197
PCs designed with key innovations
while maintaining complete backward compatibility, xvii
Portable 286, 82, 84–85, 89, 194–95
Portable 386, 119, 121, 165, 196
“Portable Company,” 69
Portable II, 89–90, 165, 195
Portable III, 106, 196
Portable III/386, 106–7, 121, 165, 196
Portable PC, 28–29, 31–32, 37–42, 45, 48–49, 54, 61, 65, 67, 71–72, 79, 194
Portable PC ran all IBM PC’s software, 48
Portable Plus, 45, 54–58, 64–65, 67, 70, 79, 82–83, 150, 194
Portables, first month shipment of 250, 194
Portables 1983–1989, evolution of, 165
ProLinea, 181
prototype portable computer shown to dealers, investors, and the press (1982), 193
PS/2, engineers reported Compaq’s industry-standard products outperformed, 116, 118
PS/2, response to, 123–26
PS/2, reverse-engineering of, 111, 116
PS/2, risk of following IBM to, 116
PS/2 Model 80s vs. Compaq SystemPro, 170, 172–73
record first quarter (1984) despite IBM Portable, 65, 195
reputation based on consistent delivery of quality, performance, and business success, 95
reputation for ruggedness, compatibility, quality, and reliability, 69
revenue growth (1992), 181
RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor, 157–58, 160–61, 163
sales, 181
sales in first year, $100 million, 44–45
Sears Business Systems Centers, 38–40
SLT 386s/20, 197
SLT/286, 151, 165, 197
SLT/286 laptop (1988), 197
software companies and 386 performance, 96
software licensing to Microsoft, 57–58
stock listing moved from the Nasdaq to NYSE, 89–90
stock offering, first public, 48
SystemPro, 167–73, 197
SystemPro 486, 198
SystemPro eclipsed anything available on the Micro Channel, 173
tape cartridge, 10-megabyte, 73
technology leader and innovator, xviii
theme song “Flashdance,” 90
32-bit slots were not needed, 132
32-bit bus for the PC industry (1987), decision to develop compatible, 196
32-bit EISA bus, 170
386sx PC, first, 196
386 PC introduced ahead of IBM, 195
256K RAM (Random Access Memory) chips, 73
US PC market slowdown in 1985, 88
venture capital funding (1982), first, 13, 193
venture capital funding (1982), second, 37, 193
venture capital funding (1983), third, 44, 194
Computer Reseller News
“Dataquest Conference Focuses On EISA,” 147
Computer Reseller News, 147
“Compaq Unveils ‘A Screamer,’” 163
Computer & Software News, 147
Computer World, 147
computer-aided design (CAD), 168
ComputerLand Corp., xix-xx, 38–40, 147
Conner Peripherals, 164
Cook, Tim (Apple CEO), 191
Cooley, Ross (Compaq vice president of sales), 120, 152–53, 155
Crawford, John (Compaq processor architect), 94–95
Culley, Paul (Compaq architecture engineer)
advanced 32-bit bus, designed, 129
Deskpro 386 bottleneck fix, 118
meeting January 30, 1984, 71–73
D
Dataquest Research International, 147
Davis, Michael (Lovett Mitchell Webb & Garrison investment advisor), 114
DEC. See Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
Dell Computer, xv, 134–35, 199
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
about, xvi, xxi, 20, 48
VAX6310, 168
DigiTech, 25
disk-drive array, 168, 170–71
Dobbs, Lou (CNN commentator), 143
Doerr, John, 13–14
drives, 5 1/4-inch, 52–53
E
Eckhart, Jim (Compaq manufacturing executive), 47, 60–63
EISA. See Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA)
EISA coalition
AST Research, 134, 137
AT&T, 135
Barnes, Hugh, 132
Compaq, 134, 137, 196
Dell, 135
Epson America, 134, 137
“Gang of Nine,” 134, 141–42, 172, 179, 197
Hewlett-Packard (HP), 131, 133–34, 137, 196
IBM declined, 135–36
Intel, 132, 134, 142, 196
Microsoft and Bill Gates, 131, 133–34, 142, 196
NEC, 134, 137
Olivetti, 134, 137
PC companies supporting an advanced 32-bit bus, 135–42
Stimac, Gary, 131, 133
Swavely, Mike, 131, 133
Tandy, 134, 138
Wyse Technology, 134, 138
Zenith Data Systems, 134, 138
Ellington, Kevin (Compaq division vice president), 71–73, 180, 201
engineering workstations (EWS), 168
Epson America, xviii, 134, 137
Esber, Ed (Ashton-Tate CEO), 97
EWS. See engineering workstations (EWS)
Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA), xix, 134
announcement (September 13, 1988), 137–42, 164
bus specifications vs. Apple’s NuBus, 140
bus specifications vs. IBM’s Micro Channel, 140
coalition, 178–79, 196
Compaq 486 PC and EISA bus, 167
Compaq SystemPro vs. Micro Channel, 169, 173
compatible with the existing industry
standard thereby protecting the
investment of millions of PC
users, 144
de facto industry standard AT bus, 149
IBM and Micro Channel vs., 175, 177
IBM vs. “Gang of Nine,” 172
industry standard, complete compatibility with the existing, 140
industry-standard bus, 179
PC-industry publications supported, 147–48
press conference (September 13, 1988), 137–44, 146
products, 166, 170, 197
roadblock in front of IBM’s march toward proprietary control of the industry, 149
third-party peripheral and board manufacturers and, 140
32-bit bus compatible with 8- and 16-bit buses, 139, 170
32-bit EISA bus, 170
F
Fargo, Bill (Compaq’s general counsel), 164
Financial Times, 146
Flannigan, Steve (software engineer), 17
Compaq company announcement, 28
meeting May 14, 1982, 22
meeting October 28, 1987, 126–29
ROM BIOS and code writing, 25
486 microprocessor, 139, 157–60, 168–69
Frank, John (Zenith Data Systems), 138
G
“Gang of Nine,” 134, 141–42, 172, 179, 197. See also EISA coalition
Gartner Group, 115
Gates, Bill (Microsoft chairman), 97
Deskpro 386 event at Palladium, New York City(September 9, 1986), 97
EISA coalition and, 131, 133–34, 142, 196
meeting April 4, 1989, 160, 162
meeting March 19, 1982, 19–21
Money magazine, on cover of, 31
Goldberg, Aaron (IDC vice president), 115, 145
Greene, Alice (Computer Reseller News), 163
Gribi, John (Compaq CFO)
about, 26, 28, 44
meeting April 6, 1984, 65
meeting January 16, 1984, 62
Grove, Andy (CEO of Intel)
about, ii, 93–94, 142, 158
meeting April 4, 1989, 160–62
H
Hafner, Katherine (USA Today), 146
Hald, Alan (MicroAge Computer Stores Inc. chairman), 147
hard drive, “shock mounting,” 53
Harris, Jim (Compaq vice president of sales)
Comdex (Las Vegas), 4
electrical engineer, 1–8
engineering manager, 3
Gateway Technology, 5
left Compaq, 180–81
meeting September 1, 1981, 1–2
meeting January 20, 1982, 7–10
meeting May 14, 1982, 22
meeting October 8, 1982, 35–37
meeting March 28, 1983, 52–53
meeting October 28, 1987, 126–29
picture of, 29, 180
portable computer business plan, 11–16
Texas Instruments electrical engineer, 3–4
Murto, Maura, 4
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
about, xv, xvi, xviii, 20, 48
market share (2001), units worldwide, 199
9000 Series 835 minicomputer, 168
Hitachi, 43
House of Pies restaurant, 7
Houston Symphony Orchestra, 90
Howard, Ruth (secretary), 29–30
HP. See Hewlett-Packard (HP)
I
IBM. See also Personal System 2 (PS/2)
AT, 79, 81–83, 86–87
announcement and Q&A period defending Micro Channel (September 13–14), 142–43
ASIC chips, 117, 127
BIOS ROM, 17
Businessland and, 152–56, 197
Comdex and IBM PC, 31
compatible 8- and 16-bit slots, eliminated, 124
compatible products, 23, 95
competition from clones, attempted to reduce or eliminate, 124
dealer channel, 43
dealer selection process, 37
direct sales force, 35–36
engineer’s comment about EISA performance, 148
license for IBM PC software, xvii, xviii
machines with Micro Channel able to take advantage of “new technologies” and “new applications,” 146–47
market share, units worldwide, 198–99
market share lost when competitors agreed to use newly announced EISA bus instead of IBM’s, 144
Micro Channel, xix, 109, 111–12, 116
Micro Channel licensed to clones for license fee plus royalty of 5 percent of sales, 177
Micro Channel market and high prices, 173
Micro Channel vs. EISA, 148
Micro Channel-based PS/2 machines lacked memory cache for the processor, 147
new 32-bit slot, 124
new PS/2 rendered $12 billion worth of software useless, 143–44
OS/2 jointly developing with Microsoft, 178
Osborne I computer (“Army surplus”), 7
patent cross-licensing agreement with Compaq (1989), 164, 197
patent infringement by Compaq, 164
patent infringement on Compaq, 164
PC, 73–75, 79, 86
PC dealer network, 41
PC DOS, 17
PC industry vs., xviii
PC software, xvii, xxii, 9, 11, 20, 22–23, 25, 28, 31, 39
PC-AT (1984), launched first 286-based PC, 195
PC-compatible market, xxii
Personal Computer, xx, xxi, xxii, 3, 7, 11, 16–17, 23, 31–32, 36, 39, 41
Portable (“Compaq-killer”), 60–61, 63–68, 70–71, 78
Portable, Compaq destroyed IBM’s, 68
Portable PC (1984), announced, 194
price cuts (1985, 1986), 195
PS/2, stops producing (1994), 181, 198
PS/2 and 286 chip, 107, 178–79
PS/2 and Micro Channel were positioned for absolutely no cloning, 177
PS/2 announcement in April 1987, 144, 146
PS/2 assumed to crush Compaq’s 386, 177–78
PS/2 product line announced (1987) with Micro Channel 32-bit bus, 196
spin and “FUD” (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), 149
standardization, did not want, xvi
386 PC, lagged one year behind Compaq, 179
386 PS/2 Model 80, 196
286 chip, IBM obtained manufacturing rights to Intel’s, 178–79
XT, 45, 52–54, 56, 73–75, 77–79, 81, 86
XT software, 54–55, 86
IEEE. See Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Inc. magazine, 32
industry standard architecture (ISA), 88, 130, 139–40
Information Week, 147
InfoWorld
“What’s So Confusing? EISA Extends Capabilities
of Industry-Standard AT Bus.”, 147–48
initial public offering (IPO), 48
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 124
Intel, xvi
286 chip and PS/2, 179
386 chip compatibility with 286 chip, 94–95, 118
advanced technologies and incredible profits, 159
ASIC chips, 128, 132
CISC-based, X-86 processor, 158
Compaq and, 83, 91–92, 94, 96
Compaq Computer and, 83, 94, 96, 182
Compaq Deskpro 386 and, 98–99
dominant supplier of processors for industry-standard PCs, 178
80286 chip, 70, 83
80287 math coprocessor and Deskpro 386, 119
80386 processor, 70, 76, 82–83, 92, 99, 102, 105
80386sx chip, 150
EISA coalition, 132, 134, 142, 196
586 chip (Pentium), 163
486 chip with bug, 169
486 processor, 139, 157–60, 168–69
IBM and 386-based PC, 91
microprocessors, xv, xvi, 16, 179
PS/2 computers and, 111–12, 178
RISC processor, 163
286 chip, IBM was granted manufacturing rights to, 178–79
intelligent network controllers, 170–71
iPad, xv, 183–84, 187–91
iPad Mini, 192
iPhone, xv, 184–90
IPO. See initial public offering (IPO)
iPod, 165, 183–85, 187–88, 191
iPod Touch, 187–88
ISA. See industry standard architecture (ISA)
Isaacson, Portia (industry consultant), 3
iTunes online store, 184–87
J
Japanese technology companies, 42
Jobs, Steve (Apple CEO), 184, 186–87, 189, 191
Jones, Curt (Compaq programmer), 26
JWP, Inc., 156
K
Kleiner Perkins (venture firm), 5, 12–13
Kunde, Eugene (Epson America), 137
L
Labe, Peter (Drexel Burnham Lambert), 114
Lally, Jim, 13
LCDs. See liquid crystal displays (LCDs)
Lee, Charles (Compaq software), 25
Lenovo, xvi
Lewis, Peter (New York Times), i, 146, 165, 171–72
liquid crystal displays (LCDs), xv, 152
Lotus, 24, 100–101
Lotus 1–2-3, 24, 31, 97
Lovett, Mitchell, and Webb (Houston investment firm), 10
Lowe, Bill (president of IBM’s Entry Systems Division), 135–36, 146
M
MCA. See Micro Channel Architecture (MCA)
Maniglier, Bernard (Compaq France), 80
Manzi, Jim (Lotus Development CEO), 97, 100
McLoughlin, Mac (Compaq’s vice president of sales for the Western Region), 153, 155
McNally, Joe (Compaq UK), 80
Micro Channel
Compaq and design of new 32-bit bus, 126–29
Compaq’s Flex Architecture, 120
Compaq’s industry-standard products outperformed, 116, 118, 123
Compaq’s reverse engineering of, 124, 130, 196
EISA bus specifications vs., 140
EISA vs., 136, 140
expansion bus, 109
IBM Personal System 2 (PS/2) and, 111–12
IBM royalties for use of, 124
IBM’s 32-bit bus, xix, 124–25
IBM’s proprietary control over, 112
industry-standard 32-bit bus vs., 124–25
industry-standard bus vs., 112, 116
license from IBM to use, 112, 136
Q&A period defending, 143
support for, 134
Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), 148–49
microprocessors
486, 139, 157–60, 168–69
Intel, xv, 16
PC and, xiv
386, 95, 139
Microsoft
advanced technologies and incredible profits, 159
Compaq Deskpro 386 and, 98–99
EISA coalition, 131, 133–34, 142, 196
MS-DOS fully compatible with PC DOS, 32–33
operating system, xvi
operating system and open industry standard, xvi
PS/2 computers and, 111, 178
Surface tablet, 190–91
Windows 8, 190–91
Windows 8 PCs, multi-touch on, 191
Windows 8 RT, 190
Windows Phone 8, 190–91
Microsoft Disk Operating System. See MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System)
Miller, Michael (Wall Street Journal), 145
MIS Week, 147
Moneyline on CNN, 143
Moore, Gordon (Intel Chairman)
Deskpro 386 event (September 9, 1986), 97, 99
meeting April 4, 1989, 160–62
MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System)
about, xvii, 10, 17, 25–26
BASIC and, 25–26
Compaq, 57–58
fully compatible with PC DOS, 32–33
IBM-compatible, 193
Murto, Bill (Compaq marketing vice president)
computer conference in Hanover, Germany, 47
ComputerLand Corp., xix-xx, 38–40, 147
franchise’s corporate officers, 38
marketing manager, 3
meeting March 19, 1982, 19–20
meeting March 28, 1983, 52–53
meeting May 14, 1982, 22
meeting October 8, 1982, 35–37
meeting September 1, 1981, 1–2
picture of, 29
retirement, 120
Texas Instruments, 3
N
Name Lab (California), 27–28
National Computer Conference (NCC) (Houston), 24–25, 193
NEC, xviii, 134, 137
“New Coke” analogy, 113, 115, 143–44
New York Times, 27
“Big Battle Over Computer Buses,” 146
“Compaq Does It Again,” 165
“Compaq Redefines High End,” 171
Norman, Dave (Businessland’s CEO), 153–55
O
Olivetti, xviii, 134, 137
open industry standard
Apple and, 183, 191
central theme of PC industry, xiii
EISA coalition and first 386 PC, 178
EISA standard and, 138
EISA-based machines and, 149
IBM as a company and brand vs., 176
IBM-compatible market, 176
IBM’s Micro Channel vs., 178–79
industry-standard architecture, 176
Intel and the 486 processor, 159
Intel’s microprocessors and, xvi
meeting with Grove and, 158
Micro Channel versus EISA war, 175
Microsoft’s operating system and, xvi
PC industry reconstructed around, xxii
rate of technological advance, xv
software written for the IBM PC vs., 32
P
Panasonic, 43
Papajohn, Ted (industrial designer), 7–9
Patterson, John (Tandy), 137–38
PC Conference in Napa Valley, California, 147
PC Letter, 115
PC software, xv
“PC Wars” of the ’80s, 33
PC Week, 147
editorial (May 5, 1987), 115
“EISA: More than Just Another Bus,” 148
June 2, 1987 edition, 117
Personal System 2 (PS/2)
announcement in April 1987, 144, 146
application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), 117
Businessland and, 152–56, 197
clones vs., 178
Compaq 386 PC vs., 96, 177–78
Compaq compared to failure to a “New Coke”, 113, 115, 196
Compaq customers advised of disadvantages of, 113–14
Compaq’s 386, assumed to crush, 177–78
Compaq’s response to PS/2 announcement, 123–26
“Death Star,” PC industry’s equivalent of, 96, 107
floppies, 3 1/2 inch, 109
IBM announced (April 1987) PS/2 product line with Micro Channel 32-bit bus, 196
IBM announced (1994) that it would no longer be producing PS/2, 181
IBM competitors and new products compatible with, 116
IBM stopped producing (1994), 181, 198
IBM’s brand and marketing power and, 116
IBM’s proprietary control over Micro Channel, 112
Intel and Microsoft, potential impact on, 178
lack of backward compatibility with the existing base of software and plug-in boards, 112–13
Micro Channel, new expansion bus, 109
Micro Channel and PS/2 positioned for absolutely no cloning, 177
Model 30 286, 143
Model 30 used an old AT 80286 chip, 146
Model 80 used a 16-megahertz 386, 119
Model 80s vs. Compaq SystemPro, 170, 172–73
“New Coke” analogy, 113, 115, 143–44
picture of, 111
product details kept secret from rest of the industry, 112
product line announced (1987) with Micro Channel 32-bit bus, 196
production, IBM discontinuing, xix
286 chip and, 107, 178–79
Pfeiffer, Eckhard (Compaq CEO), 47, 80, 180–81, 198
Preston, Michele (Salomon Brothers), 114
processor performance, xiv, 170
PS/2. See Personal System 2 (PS/2)
Puette, Robert (HP’s PC division general manager), 133
press conference (September 13, 1988), 137
Q
Qureshey, Safi (AST Research), 137
R
Reilly, John (plastics), 17, 24
Roberts, Ken (Compaq electrical engineer), 16–17, 24–25, 164
ROM BIOS (Read-Only Memory Basic Input/ Output System), 10–11, 17, 22, 24–25, 31
Rosen, Ben (Compaq Chairman)
business publications meetings, 27
Compaq announcement, 28
Compaq director, 47
Deskpro 386 event at Palladium, New York City(September 9, 1986), 98, 106
Houston Astrohall (November 6, 1989), 167
meeting January 20, 1982, 8–10
meeting March 19, 1982, 19
portable computer business plan, 11, 13–15
second round of funding and potential investors, 26
386 microprocessors, 95
venture capitalist, 4
Russell, Walt (aluminum chassis), 17
S
Sail Boat Programmers, 25
Salomon Brothers Microcomputer Conference, 146
Sarnoff, Dorothy (speech coach and image consultant), 47
Schmidt, Eric (Google’s CEO), 189
Sears Business Systems Centers, 38–40
Sevin, L. J. (Compaq director)
Dallas venture capitalist, 3–5, 7–15, 24
meeting January 20, 1982, 7–10
portable computer business plan, 11–15
Shaffer, Richard (Wall Street Journal), i, 27, 137, 141–42
Sisters of Charity Hospital Corporation, 101
Sony, xv, 43
Sparks, H. L. “Sparky” (Compaq vice president of sales), 41, 62
standard operating systems
compatible versions of, 139
DOS 4.0, 139
OS/2 1.1., 139
Stimac, Gary (Compaq systems engineering vice president)
Compaq electrical engineer, 16–17, 22
EISA coalition, 131, 133
engineering vice president, 70
meeting May 14, 1982, 22
meeting January 16, 1986, 92
meeting October 28, 1987, 126–29
MS-DOS and BASIC, 25–26
Storeboard, 67
Sun Microsystems
SPARC RISC processor, 158, 160–62
Sparc workstations, 161
X-86 processor, 158, 160–61
X-86-based PCs, 160
Swavely, Mike (Compaq’s vice president of marketing)
about, 41, 70, 153, 155
EISA coalition, 131, 133
meeting September 4, 1984, 81–82
meeting January 16, 1986, 92
meeting March 12, 1986, 93–95
meeting April 2, 1987, 109–11
meeting October 28, 1987, 126–29
T
Tandy, xviii
Texas Instruments (TI), xvi, 3
386 microprocessors, 95, 139
U
Ullrich, Steve (Compaq electrical engineer), 16–17, 24
Underwood, Richard (NEC), 137
USA Today, 146
V
VenRock (venture firm), 5
Vieau, Bob, 61–63
VisiCalc, xix, xx
W
Walker, John (Compaq manufacturing), 28, 46, 60–63
Wall Street Journal
Deskpro 386 eight-page pull-out advertisement, 104
EISA’s jointly sponsored full-page ad (September 14), 142–43, 145
“Nine Firms That Make Personal Computers Gang Up Against IBM,” 145
Wall Street’s analysts, 114, 166
White, Phillip (Wyse Technology), 138
Winchester disk drives, 73
Wolf, Charles (First Boston Corp. analyst), 145
World Wide Web, 143
Wyse, xviii, 134, 138
Y
Yannis, Jonathan (Gartner Group analyst), 145
Young, Steve, 143–44, 146
Yu, Albert (Intel vice president), 141–42
Z
Zachmann, William F. (International Data Corp. vice president of market research), iii, 148–49
Zenith Data Systems, xviii, 124, 134, 138