THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

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Compaq, which sells to individuals and businesses mainly through traditional computer retailers and sales offices, is on a similar growth curve. Compaq had 1996 revenues of $18.2 billion, more than triple its annual revenues just four years earlier. The industry's next wave of growth is being propelled by falling prices that put the cost of a machine closer to that of a household appliance. Houston-based Compaq introduced its Presario 2100 for $999 in February. Others have low-priced PCs too. Now the industry is bracing for a quantum leap in demand as people who previously couldn't afford a computer rush to buy one on the notion that one day a PC will be as indispensable as a car or TV. Compaq wanted Gateway so it could speedily add capacity to meet the new demand. But Waitt's vision of the future told him the Compaq offer wasn't worth it--not to a billionaire free spirit who values his independence.

TIME's Daniel Kadlec can be reached at kadlec@time.com