Compaq

Compaq Computer Corporation is an American company founded in 1982 by Rod Canion, Jim Harris, and Bill Murto. It manufactures personal computers and is headquartered at Houston, Texas, U.S. In the 1980s, Compaq created some of the first IBM PC-compatible computers at low cost. The word COMPAQ is an acronym for Compatibility and Quality. In 1983, it launched the Compaq Portable which was a portable IBM PC-compatible personal computer. It was one of the predecessors of the modern laptop. In 1986, Compaq launched the first PC based on Intel's new microprocessor, the 80386. In 1989, Compaq launched the Systempro server with support for a second CPU and RAID; it also featured the EISA bus. With the Presario, Compaq entered into the retail computer market in the early 1990s. It became the first company to use CPUs from AMD and Cyrix. In 1997, it bought Tandem Computers known for their NonStop server line and in 1998, it took over digital Equipment Corporation. This made Compaq the largest computer manufacturer of that time. In 2001, Compaq came into a merger with Hewlett-Packard. Some of the products by Compaq include Compaq Deskpro, LTE, Presario, Prolinea, ProLiant, Armada, Evo, iPAQ, Professional Workstation AP400, Tc 1000 which is a table notebook, and the Compaq WL 400 which is a wireless LAN access point. Compaq has been a household name in personal computers since the Presario, which was believed to be one of the highest selling PCs in the market.