Even though Iomega won the battle of removable storage--it bought out the assets of its main rival, the bankrupt SyQuest , in late 1998--and its Zip drive is a de facto standard for PCs, Porter says the company made a critical error by selling the drives at a low margin, thinking profits would come from the sale of the disks.

FORBES: Iomega Hopes The Music Will Go On

"A critical portion of our energy industry is operating with no margin for error, "U.S. Rep.John Shadegg, R-Ariz.

FORBES: Magazine Article