Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC Domination and Helped Invent Modern Computing

by Rod Canion

The story of Compaq is Three ex-Texas Instruments managers founded Compaq with modest venture funding. Just four years later, Compaq was on the Fortune 500 list, and, two years after that, they had exceeded $1 billion in annual revenue. No company had ever achieved these milestones so rapidly.

But few know the story behind the story. In 1982, when Compaq was founded, there was no software standardization, so every brand of personal computer required its own unique application software. Just eight years later, compatibility with the open PC standard had become ubiquitous, and it has continued to be for over two decades.

This didn't happen by accident. Cofounder and then CEO Rod Canion and his team made a series of risky and daring decisions—often facing criticism and incredulity—that allowed the open PC standard marketplace to thrive and the incredible benefits of open computing to be realized.

A never-before-published insider account of Compaq's extraordinary strategies and decisions, Open provides valuable lessons in leadership in times of crisis, management decision-making under the pressure of extraordinary growth, and the power of a unique, pervasive culture.

Open tells the incredible story of Compaq's meteoric rise from humble beginnings to become the PC industry leader in just over a decade. Along the way, Compaq helped change the face of computing while establishing the foundation for today's world of tablets and smart phones.

Genres: Technology, Business, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the first decade of Compaq, though the narrative goes from inception to eventual merger with HP. This is also the story of Compaq management, the group "Process" that they used to make decisions, with examples from key moments. It is a fairly quick read.

From their perspective, Compaq defined the business market that was originally "IBM compatible". Their dealer choices were very good, and as a company their performance and growth were stellar. A lot of success was gained from embracing the portable (luggable) market. One of the major highlights was bringing together the group that defined the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) - driving IBM to abandon their compatibility-killer MicroChannel Architecture soon after.

Beyond their first decade, the narrative gets pretty thin. While much is made of working with Intel, pushing for the 386 and then the 486, no mention is made of upstart AMD - because the early Compaq didn't use those. Very little is said of software, beyond an early mention of an agreement with Microsoft to make a "compatible DOS". (I still have a 5¼ floppy with Compaq DOS 3.3 in my archive). Nothing at all is said of Canion's forced resignation; the last chapter glosses over Compaq's second decade and ends with the HP merger.

I enjoyed this history quite a bit. The book ends with an epilogue, pointing out where Apple and later Android utilized Compaq's playbook to gain success. I added this to my reading list shortly after it was released 7 years ago, and am glad I finally got to sit down with it.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this very disappointing. I've owned many Compaqs (IBM Compatibles) over the years and they've been good. But the author's attitude gradually pissedddd me off so much I gave up and stopped before finishing. Why? Narcissism. On the part of the author. He sounded SO DAMN self congratulatory that I eventually was glad to know the brilliant geniuses at Compaq apparently were enough to keep the company going on its own so hence the acquisition by HP. And I've heard it spun certain ways but I've also heard enough spin by companies while on the inside, AND have known enough people at various companies to usually spot the bullshit. Lots of great IBM Compatible companies from the 1980s, '90s and 2000s effectively or literally no longer exist despite some success. Remember Gateway? Anyone have a Packard Bell in 1995? Biggest selling PC manufacturer in the country if not the world back then. They failed in the US for many reasons I don't care or have time to go into here, but even the great Alienware was eventually acquired and versions of their gaming machines can be had elsewhere now. That said, all gamers wanted an Alienware but I don't know if I'd even take a donation of one now. Things change. Over 20 years ago, I bought a Compaq laptop when I went off to law school. Tons of people ha c them (though I think Dell was in the process of pulverize getting them pretty soon after). Point? You ever hear of Packard Bells anymore? Or Gateways? Or Alienware? Basically nope. Anyone heard of let alone bought a Compaq recently? I'm sure people have but I don't know any. I HAVE seen people pass up Compaqs in favor of a Lenovo, in IBM'S former computing line. Karma? I personally think that is hilarious? How Compaq beat IBM only to get beaten by IBM's cast-off. Hahaha ha! I'm sorry. I wouldn't be so harsh if I hadn't been with a mega-high growth successful tech company that "merged" with a regional competitor, presumably as the major party of said merger, only to effectively get taken over on the inside by the assholes from the other company who ran it into the ground until it still exists in name only but is a competitor to no one and largely a page in a history book. Of the 150 people in the Engineering division (where I was), I know of only one who was there five years later. Most were gone one way or another in less than two years. Tragedy. Know why? Arrogant ambition. Greedy fools. Can the same be said of Compaq? I don't know, but I do know consumers who have passed up a Compaq over the past decade in favor of a Lenovo, Acer or even eMachines. If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what will. Canion has a right to be proud but ultimately they weren't good enough or THEY might have acquired IBM or some other unlikely scenario. Personally the fact that Cray no longer exists as an independent (let alone SGI) is something I find more horrible. This book had the potential for a 4 or greater but the author really turned me off, which is itself a tragedy.

[Husnain Bajwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rod Canion could have easily written a self-absorbed personal memoir in the style of many great and former CEOs, but instead he wrote a fast-paced and deeply educational manual that should be required reading for any aspiring technology executive. Cover to cover, the book is packed with thoughtful ideas on competition, risk, capital management, engineering, sales, and marketing, but the central theme is always clear and in focus: industry standards and open architectures can promote fairer markets and allow risk takers with exceptional execution ability to overcome monopolistic giants. While unlikely, I came away from the book really hoping that Rod considers writing another book to elaborate on "The Process", his unique consensus decision making style that he briefly touches on in the book.

[Kevin Doran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story. A nice digestible length. Maybe just a little short, as the ending wrapped up a bit suddenly; the book covers the golden years and doesn’t really cover the decline, if you can call it that.

I didn’t feel like the writing style was good. The book is a blow by blow account that doesn’t really connect you with the people involved. The timeline gets a bit jumbled when the author tries to describe ideas that extend over a longer time period than current episode he is describing.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book for someone who is interested in technology history. The story is almost unbelievable while being crucial for understanding today’s computing industry.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Rod's account as this covered an era before my time in a fast paced and efficient read covering how Compaq shaped the computing industry we have today. As others have noted, this appears to cover the golden years of Compaq but it is a shame to learn (elsewhere) the difficulties they faced in later years. My only real knowledge of the company prior to this book was of Compaq being a budget brand under HP, all the more surprising to read how much Compaq achieved.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit my bias here, as a kid whose dinner time conversation often included mention of Stimac and many of the others listed in the book as my dad was one of the first 300 employees.

This is a fascinating look at how successful companies grow and take risks. And this is certainly a master class in a central thesis.

The ending after he leaves does seem quite abrupt, but it really still is fascinating what they were able to do.

[Ryan Knopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize how much influence Compaq had early on in the computer industry. I also was surprised Microsoft had it's own Unix version for a while.

[Kurt Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about the history of not only Compaq but of personal compters in the 1980s.

[Matthew Pavlichko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent but short book. This is a nice companion piece to the Steve Jobs biography or, if you’re one of the few fans like me, to the TV show Halt and Catch Fire.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and intertesting. Read in one day.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rod Canion, one of Compaq's founders, recites the origins of Compaq and the rise of the Open Industry Standard for IBM PC's. Originally, I got turned onto this story as it was the inspiration for the first season of "Halt and Catch Fire". For those that are nostalgic about the period that brought about the IBM PC and PC Clones, Open will likely satisfy. It's quite repetitive and to be honest, I grew quite tired of reference to the "Open Industry Standard" by the time of the books closing. And, as all things nostalgic, the book portrays their story much rosier and fated, which for me was less exciting that I hoped.

[Troy Blackford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I'd give this a whirl because I was interested in the story of how 'IBM-clone' or 'IBM-compatible' third-party PC's began. As I started it, I was a little apprehensive: for whatever reason, I didn't realize that it was written by one of the founders of Compaq, the first CEO, until I started. I worried I wouldn't get an unbiased description of what happened. I needn't have worried: Mr. Canion was in a much better position to describe the events and planning that took place in the history of the company than any impartial journalist would have been. This was a great story, full of hard work, big risks, and massive payoffs. I was too young at the time that all this happened to appreciate the development, but it really transformed the computing environment. The author hasn't been the CEO of Compaq for some time, and Compaq merged with HP in 2004, but this story takes you through the really industry-shifting phase of the company's history in an in-depth yet to the point way. I was very interested, and I can highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.

As a nice bonus, the author adds a section explaining how Apple managed to disrupt the entire PC industry with the iPad, and it was great reading. He is a man of great insight into the computing industry, and it was nice of him to take the time to write this fascinating book.

[Kaitlyn Concilio · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting if one-sided look at how the personal computer industry developed during the 80s. Canion's obviously knowledgable — as founder and CEO of Compaq, his company led the charge against IBM's various attempted machinations to control the computer industry. There's more than a bit of rose-tinted hue around this tome (literally only one "bad decision" is ever discussed, hesitantly at that, and ultimately turns into a big company-rousing win anyway), but it's an interesting part of computer history nonetheless.

The completely unnecessary add-on of a section about the iPad/iPhone/iPod is both completely unnecessary (as evidenced by this sentence's preface), self-serving and even then judging it wrong. It's a really bizarre jump from the end of the book (1991) to the introduction of the iPad (2010) in the span of a page turn.

[Kevin Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about the birth of the PC clone era of computer. I found the author's style a bit stuffy but the information in it was worth it. The most interesting tidbit was that Compaq actually licensed back to Microsoft a versions of DOS that could be run on non IBM clones. Kind of crazy to think about it really.

[David Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I got to reminisce over history and gained new insights. Just remember that the telling was a bit self serving. But it was very inspiring. It made me start looking for the next Rod Canion, a visionary determined to change the world for the better.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick but interesting read, and Compaq definitely led the personal computer revolution. I literally read the book in one sitting!

[Alanmoorenz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull - should have guessed? :-)

[Craig Corbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story about the early PC days....

I wish rod would write a post Windows 8 update. Would be interesting to hear his opinion on wether they got it right...

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a workable, engineer's account of how the PC architecture ended up open (public). He left out a few juicy details, such as the presence of Ken Lay on the Compaq board.

[Dan Berkowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A interesting look at how the PC industry started, and how standards were formed