Compaq co-founder and engineer who helped turn the company’s IBM-compatible portable-computer proposal into a successful new PC business.
| Biographical Information | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Founder , Hardware Engineer, Engineer |
James M. “Jim” Harris was a Texas Instruments engineer and manager before joining Rod Canion and Bill Murto to establish Compaq Computer Corporation in 1982. The three founders combined engineering, product and market experience to pursue a portable computer that could run software written for the IBM PC.
Harris contributed to Compaq’s early technical and organisational development as the company brought the Compaq Portable to market with a clean-room BIOS. The machine’s success gave the young company the foundation for its Portable and Deskpro families and helped accelerate the wider IBM-compatible PC industry.
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