Those two were far more different from each other, though, than are HP and Compaq.
Wall Street worries that HP and Compaq won't find enough cost cuts in their slow-growing PC businesses.
Marry HP and Compaq, and you have a potential T. rex in the food chain of computer imaging, printing, security and storage.
Premerger, HP and Compaq had more than a thousand locally set policies on such things as rebates for customers and dental coverage for employees.
The consultants could also help sell a full line of PCs, servers and high-end computer gear from the combined operations of HP and Compaq.
"Customers whose companies have branch offices in Bangladesh, and run all different platforms and all different OSs, those customers will look to IBM, HP, and Compaq to provide comprehensive services, " said Paul McNamara, general manager of the business enterprise unit at Red Hat.
They killed the moneylosing HP NetServer and kept Compaq's rival Proliant line.
And the prospects for Compaq and HP don't look any brighter.
Compaq and HP recently announced plans to sell some of their PCs direct to customers over the phone and the Internet.
Running that is Michael Capellas, who has run Compaq, HP and MCI, and has been on the Cisco board for seven years.
If Capellas is named WorldCom chief executive--he is reportedly one of several under consideration--his time at Compaq and HP would probably look like a cakewalk by comparison.
To grow revenue in that environment, Compaq and HP will have to demonstrate more skill in the middle of a merger involving at least 15, 000 layoffs and untold product changes that they were unable to muster when they were on their own.
There are still notable gaps--software and consulting--but Compaq brought storage and services to HP.
"Big corporations buy from companies like Dell, Compaq, HP, and IBM, " Dukker says.
Compaq, HP, and IBM have inked partnership agreements with all the major distributions, but managing multiple documentation sets, utilities, and installation packages for essentially the same operating system kernel may weed out some distributions over time.
If the merger flops, you'd probably lose this much or more, since news that the deal is off will probably send Compaq shares down and HP shares up.
"I think there's no question that there is no Compaq anymore, and Compaq has issues with the chip, HP has issues with the platform, " says Kovac.
The litany of alleged abuse brought no corroborators out of the wings, even though the bullied big shots--HP's Carleton Fiorina, Compaq's Capellas and Gateway's Theodore Waitt--have little to lose from snitching.
The HP Compaq L2311c efficiently creates an expanded plug-and-play workspace for increased productivity with one USB connection that provides full HD video, Internet connectivity and access to peripherals directly from the monitor's integrated Ethernet, SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports.
On the surface that may not seem like a positive for HP but it's an important indicator of where spending is headed and at some level helps validate HP's purchase of Compaq.
But HP, a company synonymous with the birth of Silicon Valley, and Compaq Computer, a Houston-based firm which once pioneered PC price-cutting, may yet have to restructure their deal or abandon it entirely.
The execs have been united by the divisiveness of the merger battle, in which Walter Hewlett, an HP board member, first voted in favor of the Compaq deal and then waged a noisy public campaign against it.
Since its acquisition of PC group Compaq in 2002, HP has faced a rocky road, and analysts point to a "dysfunctional" board and management.
The new HP Compaq LE2202x, with its small footprint, helps customers free up limited space and adds a modern touch to the workplace.
ENGADGET: HP goes display crazy, unveils eight new models, four IPS panels (hands-on)
Former Hewlett-Packard employees say that managers with the software company have been quizzing them on HP's 2002 acquisition of Compaq--a deal that centered on slashing costs and ditching redundant products in a hurry--rather than any grand strategic vision.
Compaq looked stunned, paralyzed by its channel conflicts, distracted by IBM and HP.
Ideal for notebook users in shared or permanent work spaces, the Compaq L2311c sports a full HD, LED backlit LCD display panel and features HP Smart AC Technology that powers and charges HP notebook PCs while also detecting and regulating the capacity of the electrical current.
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