compaq
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. [1]
Compaq was the leading PC manufacturer when it was acquired by HP in 2002. [2]
Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard. [...] The name “COMPAQ” was derived from “Compatibility and Quality”, as at its formation Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers. [...] Prior to its takeover the company was headquartered in northwest unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. [1]
Founded in 1982 by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto, one year later the company shipped 53,000 PC-compatible COMPAQ Portables, resulting in $111 million in revenues and an American business record. [2]
Compaq was founded in February 1982 by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto, three senior managers from semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments. [1]
The original Compaq PC was first sketched out on a placemat by Ted Papajohn while dining with the founders in a local Houston restaurant, House of Pies. [2]
Pfeiffer was forced out as CEO in 1999 in a coup led by board chairman Ben Rosen and was succeeded by Michael Capellas, who had been serving as Compaq’s CIO. [...] This technical leadership and the rivalry with IBM was emphasized when the Systempro server was launched in late 1989 - this was a true server product with standard support for a second CPU and RAID, but also the first product to feature the EISA bus, designed in reaction to IBM’s MCA (MicroChannel Architecture). [...] The company was formed by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto ‘ former Texas Instruments senior managers. [1]
Capellas was able to restore some of the luster lost in the latter part of the Pfeiffer era, but the company still struggled against lower-cost competitors such as Dell. [2]
The merger was approved only after the narrowest of margins, and allegations of vote buying (primarily involving an alleged last-second back-room deal with Deutsche Bank) haunted the new company. [...] Two key marketing executives in Compaq’s early years, Jim D’Arezzo and Sparky Sparks, had come from IBM’s PC Group. [...] In the United States, Brendan A. “Mac” McLoughlin (another long time IBM executive) led the company’s field sales organization after starting up the Western U.S. Area of Operations. [1]
Sources:
[1] Compaq - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[2] Compaq: Information from Answers.com - Answers.com: Wiki Q&A …