The Sons Of Apollo May Outshine The Original

For young computer engineers in the early 1980s, the name Apollo Computer Inc. was magic. It was the company that created engineering workstations--flashy, high-powered desktop computers that automated the design of everything from computer software to airplanes. As the Chelmsford (Mass.)-based company's revenues and reputation soared, it attracted dozens of whiz kids looking for technical challenge, wealth, and a chance to play in the bigs at a tender age.

By 1989, though, the joyride was over. Engineering workstations were hotter than ever. But Sun Microsystems Inc. was reaping the rewards. By starting slightly later, the Silicon Valley company spotted a critical trend: the demand for nonproprietary software, namely American Telephone & Telegraph Co.'s Unix operating system. As Apollo's management reluctantly began to re-engineer its systems for Unix, Apollo's lead disappeared and the red ink began to flow. It had gone public in 1983 at a lofty four times annual revenues. When it agreed to sell out to Hewlett-Packard Co. in 1989, it fetched a mere $476.4 million--less than its 1988 sales. An era in computer history was gone.