Kappenman introduced the world's first microprocessor-controlled multi-image programming computers, the ShowPro III and V, which were dedicated controllers.

Digital control data was sourced via an RCA or XLR-type audio connector at the rear of the unit.

[3] Two separate digital data streams were output from the Eagle via RCA or XLR-type audio connectors.

The Dove units received biphase data from the Eagle via audio cables and interpreted the Eagle's data streams to control as many as three Kodak Ektagraphic projectors (for large screens, compatible xenon-lamped projectors) and two dry-closure contacts per Dove unit.

During the 1970s through the early 1990s, when its competitors' products were not as reliable nor readily available, AVL became the industry standard for multi-image control equipment.

However, the development of large-screen electronic media and HDTV ushered out the era of film-based multi-image productions.

The exception was a portable model, in which the keyboard formed a removable lid that could be snapped to the main unit for traveling.

The top section had a green monochrome monitor on the left and one or two full-height storage devices stacked above the other on the right.

Inside this "clamshell" was the main circuit board, connected to the monitor, drives, keyboard, and ports by cables.

NZ-COM from Alpha Systems Corporation allowed the hard disk of the Eagle IV to run more quickly and quietly.

Every CP/M computer manufacturer supplied additional software utilities, in much the same way that Linux distributions add their own installer, etc.

On Eagles, they were: Spellbinder, from Lexisoft, was a powerful word processor which was highly configurable and even had a built-in programming language for automating tasks.

Constant protests, questions, and requests for customer support led Eagle to stop bundling Accounting Plus with its computers.

PROCALL (PROgrammable Computer Audio-visual Language Library) - see the description of this software earlier in this article.

The only other thing in the documentation binder was a thin spiral-bound book called "CP/M Primer," which gave a very superficial idea of what an operating system was, why you had to format disks before using them, and so forth.

A computer used a great deal and for a long time may require a new owner to open it up and gently press the chips down before it runs.

Hard disk read/write heads from that era rested on the platter when turned off and may adhere to where they have been sitting with greater force than the drive motor can exert on starting.

The most common problem peculiar to CP/M Eagles involves the character generator chip on the main board.

Eagle attempted to create a niche for itself in the brand-new "16-bit" market by building machines that are as easy to use as their CP/M models, but with an Intel CPU and 640 kB of RAM (which is more memory than almost any other PC at that time had to offer).

It had enhanced 752 × 352 graphics compared to the IBM PC's 640 × 200 resolution, and it was quieter because it did not need a cooling fan.

The Eagle PC, launched one year earlier, had a high resolution of 720 x 352 with a character matrix of 11 x 19 pixels.

On June 8, 1983, the day Eagle's initial public offering made him a multimillionaire, president and CEO Dennis Barnhart died in the crash of a Ferrari he was test driving.

[citation needed] The company continued to lead PC sales[citation needed] until IBM launched a lawsuit against some PC clone manufactures like Eagle, Corona Data Systems, and Handwell Corporation claiming copyright infringement of their BIOS code.

All the companies named settled out of court, agreeing to re-implement their BIOS in a way that did not violate IBM's copyrights.

[9] (This led to companies like Phoenix Technologies to offer PC clone manufacturers BIOSes that were written following a clean room design.

[10]) Concomitantly with the lawsuits, IBM slashed prices for its own products; discussing the perspectives of the smaller PC firms like Eagle, one Morgan Stanley analyst was quoted in the June 9, 1984 edition of the New York Times saying "Some of them are operating at 5 percent pretax margins, and there is just no room for more price cuts.

In what was a pioneering effort at the time, an initiative was launched to create a new market selling Eagle systems to China.

This effort eventually fell through and the company, like many others affected by the BIOS copyright restrictions, was ultimately unable to recover and was out of business by 1986.

It drew attendees from all over the San Francisco Bay Area for its monthly meetings, and Eagle users all over the United States paid dues and got its newsletter.

Meetings generally consisted of more experienced Eagle owners showing others how to use the advanced features of the bundled software, or configuring printers.