I was reading an interesting article about things people said regarding the computer industry and what ended up happening. I thought a few were worth sharing:
I think there is a world market for about 5 computers- Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943 IBM nearly went out of business because they were so slow to get into the PC field.
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons. Computers of the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh only 1 1/2 tons- Popular Mechanics magazine-1949 A laptop would have really boggled their minds.
What the hell is it good for?- Robert Lloyd, IBM engineer, 1968, after being shown the first microchip.
There is no reason for any individual to have a personal computer in their home- Ken Olsen, president of Digital Equipment Corp. 1977 Digital was, at the time, a giant in the computer field. Purchased by Compaq in 1998
The personal computer is a ridiculous device- Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of Oracle-1996 Ellison believed network based computers were the answer.
The network computer is the stupidest idea I've ever heard of.- Bill Gates, 1999 Two opposing views, one by a guy whose name you probably don't recognize and one by whose name you've probably cussed.
Speaking of the world's richest man.........
640Kb ought to be enough memory for anybody- Bill Gates, 1981 Maker of Windows ME that absolutely needs 32Mb to run.
The computer may write better poetry than human beings, better drama, make more perceptive judgements....before the end of the century- Hermann Kahn, futurist and founder of the Hudson Institute, 1981 Right Hermann.......I feel lucky when the damn thing starts up right.
I predict the Internet will soon go supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse- Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com and inventor of the Ethernet. Guess not Bob.
We've broken the genetic code of starting successful Internet companies- Bill Gross, CEO of idealab!, 1997 idealab! launched some of the biggest internet flops, including eToys.
I don't believe there is anything after the Internet. It's the last big paradigm shift- Larry Ellison again, 1998 With his track record......
Just remember this quote though:
Everything that can be invented has been invented- Charles Duell, commissioner of the US Office of Patents, 1899
------------------
Niteshift-
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far.
[This message has been edited by Niteshift (edited 06-28-2001).]
I think there is a world market for about 5 computers- Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943 IBM nearly went out of business because they were so slow to get into the PC field.
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons. Computers of the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh only 1 1/2 tons- Popular Mechanics magazine-1949 A laptop would have really boggled their minds.
What the hell is it good for?- Robert Lloyd, IBM engineer, 1968, after being shown the first microchip.
There is no reason for any individual to have a personal computer in their home- Ken Olsen, president of Digital Equipment Corp. 1977 Digital was, at the time, a giant in the computer field. Purchased by Compaq in 1998
The personal computer is a ridiculous device- Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of Oracle-1996 Ellison believed network based computers were the answer.
The network computer is the stupidest idea I've ever heard of.- Bill Gates, 1999 Two opposing views, one by a guy whose name you probably don't recognize and one by whose name you've probably cussed.

640Kb ought to be enough memory for anybody- Bill Gates, 1981 Maker of Windows ME that absolutely needs 32Mb to run.
The computer may write better poetry than human beings, better drama, make more perceptive judgements....before the end of the century- Hermann Kahn, futurist and founder of the Hudson Institute, 1981 Right Hermann.......I feel lucky when the damn thing starts up right.
I predict the Internet will soon go supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse- Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com and inventor of the Ethernet. Guess not Bob.
We've broken the genetic code of starting successful Internet companies- Bill Gross, CEO of idealab!, 1997 idealab! launched some of the biggest internet flops, including eToys.
I don't believe there is anything after the Internet. It's the last big paradigm shift- Larry Ellison again, 1998 With his track record......

Just remember this quote though:
Everything that can be invented has been invented- Charles Duell, commissioner of the US Office of Patents, 1899
------------------
Niteshift-
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far.
[This message has been edited by Niteshift (edited 06-28-2001).]
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