"We routinely tried to get new laptops to the people who actually used them," says fish. "But once in a while, one of the investment officers who had a huge ego couldn't stand it that a peon had a cooler PC than he did, and he insisted that he get one of the new ones." That happens late one Friday afternoon. Fish gets word that he needs to prep a butterfly laptop immediately for an investment officer. And it needs to be ready before fish leaves, because the investment guy will be traveling over the weekend.

Fish stays several hours past quitting time to make sure it's set up and delivered to the user. Then he heads home for the weekend.

Monday morning there's a voice mail waiting for fish: There's a problem with the butterfly. I'll be right there, fish tells investment guy. No, it's better that I bring it over, investment guy tells him.

"A few minutes later, he approaches my desk, holding a shoebox," fish says. "In the center of my desk, he pours out the shoebox, and I notice parts that were once an IBM 701. The unit is two days old and totally demolished.

"It turns out that instead of traveling, he just wanted to read his e-mail on his third-floor balcony during his morning coffee, using a really cool laptop. He confided that he got up for another cup of coffee and snagged the power cord of the butterfly and it dropped -- three stories to the ground. "The user was shocked to learn that IBM's warranty wouldn't cover a three-story fall, and that his business unit would be paying for the butterfly. "He never requested another laptop."