Ah. So the way people tell it has evolved somewhat, in typical urban legend
fashion. It is simpler, and makes a more obvious parable, to leave out the
yacht business, and have him buy the Ferrari right then and there. But the
basic story is true, then.
Thanks for providing the "straight dope".
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires
on 2/24/06 6:15 PM, Spenglish@aol.com at Spenglish@aol.com wrote:
> True story. Eagle Computer's founder, Dennis Barnhart, had quickly
> established Eagle as one of the stronger PC-clone makers in 1983, and the
> company was
> slowly picking up market share as businesses and consumers took Compaq's lead
> and started embracing non-IBM machines.
>
> Eagle went public in June '83, and it was a big deal in both Silicon Valley
> and Wall Street, which gave Eagle millions of dollars in much-needed working
> capital and instantly made Barnhart a wealthy man. Barnhart was so ecstatic
> over the offering that he decided to treat himself to a new yacht. So, just
> hours after his company went public, the Eagle chief executive set out for
> lunch with a yacht salesman. But after lunch, Barnhart, who was at the wheel
> of
> his $70,000 Ferrari (in 1983 dollars) failed to negotiate a turn and went
> airborne, not far from Eagle's headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. He was
> pronounced dead soon after. The company never recovered from the loss and,
> despite
> great effort, became yet another casualty of the clone wars.
>
> In 1984, IBM sued Eagle Computer Systems for copyright violation of the IBM
> PC's BIOS, and won.
>
> Shaun English
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