The first company to pursue this strategy was Columbia Data Products, followed by Eagle Computer. But soon, most of the big names in the young computer industry (Xerox, Hewlett-Packard, Digital Equipment Corporation, Texas Instruments, and Wang) were all producing PC clones.īut all of these machines were only mostly PC-compatible. The idea was to create a computer that was mostly like IBM-PC and mostly ran all the same software, but sold at a cheaper price point. We didn’t want to copy their computer! We wanted to have access to the software that was written for their computer by other people. Anyone could purchase the same off-the-shelf hardware and software and “clone” an IBM-PC.īecause IBM had done something they had never done before, which was bring a computer to market that wasn’t just totally protected from the copying standpoint. But because IBM had famously rushed the PC to market, its system was made up of off-the-shelf components and software. (…) That morning, the idea hit me that, what if we could make our computer run software that already was out there? That is, run the software for the product that was getting the most software and always getting the software first when the new one came out, and that was the IBM-PC.īecause the IBM-PC was so popular, most developers programmed for the PC first, and all the best applications and programs could be found on the PC. There were literally somewhere close to 300 different computer companies making new computers at the time. (…) Every computer ran different software. How could we make one that was differentiated enough to make it worthwhile? (…) Not being able to get software developed for it was a killer. The morning of January the 8th, 1982 (…) I was going over the idea of a portable computer. The idea for a portable computer–there were a number of those already in the market–the only reason we were actually even looking into that area was because (…) the first idea we had had, the venture capitalists decided not to fund it. The idea came together because it was really a combination of things that made it work. It was one of those things that I literally felt a chill down my spine. The imprimatur of the IBM brand was enough to convince millions of people to join the micro-computer revolution and the IBM-PC soon became the best-selling computer in the world.Īnd so, the trio from Texas Instruments had decided that their big idea would be to create the first portable that was compatible with the IBM-PC. The computer industry had been transformed by the introduction of the IBM-PC in August of 1981. The Kaypro was also an early pioneer in this category, but both systems had their own unique and proprietary architecture, which limited their popularity and adoption. The first mass-produced portable computer was the Osbourne 1, which had come out earlier in the year. Portables were designed to be moved from desk to desk easily, were rugged enough to travel with, and at around 30 pounds or so, had the form factor of a large-ish suitcase. Portable PC’s were not laptops because the technology did not exist yet to make computers that small and light. Converts to the still nascent personal computer revolution, the trio decided to strike off on their own and form a company to produce a product in an entirely new category of PC: the portable. Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto were mid-level managers at Texas Instruments. You can listen to the whole interview at the bottom of this post, or just read this lightly edited (and heavily compressed) summation of the story below. In the interview below, I spoke to Rod about the book, the process of taking on Big Blue and cloning the IBM-PC, and how a series of incredible calculated gambles paid off to eventually build one of history’s most successful technology companies. He’s written a book about the time period, Open: How Compaq Ended IBM’s PC Domination and Helped Invent Modern Computing. Rod Canion was one of the co-founders of Compaq back in the early 80s, and he was there for the real world PC wars. Set in the early 1980s, it tells the story of a band of cowboy entrepreneurs and engineers who join the PC Wars by cloning an IBM machine and taking on Big Blue for control of the nascent personal computer industry.ĪMC’s show is fictional, but it turns out, there is a true life story that is similar to this course of events, and it led to the creation of one of the greatest technology companies of all time, Compaq Computers. This Sunday, AMC is premiering a new original series called Halt And Catch Fire. An Interview With Compaq Co-Founder and CEO Rod Canion
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