Imagine, Ben Rosen, former Compaq Chairman, now a Mac enthusiast!

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Capstone, which was bankrolled by Compaq Computer founder Ben Rosen with the initial idea of producing vehicular turbines, has installed 3, 000 of its small electricity units worldwide since 2000.

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They met in 1984 at a Ben Rosen-Esther Dyson computer conference and started going on "virtual dates" by driving to the same movie at the same time in different cities and discussing it on their cell phones.

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Mr. BEN ROSEN (Board Member, New York Philharmonic Orchestra): Once we heard the state department decided that they're very supportive of it, the board endorsed it not in a formal way but everyone was in favor of doing this.

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On the other hand, if Mr Gross remains the idea-gusher that many of his investors think he is (and his backers include Steven Spielberg and Ben Rosen, an early investor in Compaq), then Idealab may face a different problem: there is simply not enough of him to go around.

ECONOMIST: Johnny Appleseed.com