Chrno’s Reviews > The Decline and Fall of IBM: End of an American Icon? > Status Update

At one point IBM tried to buy all the Intel 80286 processors on the market, apparently hoping that it could put off competitors by controlling microprocessor supply. Quite the contrary, IBM’s move simply forced Compaq to move up to the more powerful 80386 processor, while IBM was stuck trying to use up its existing stock of now- obsolete 286s.