Name: Anonymous 2007-01-20 22:19
"Computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh only 1 1/2 tons."
--Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, March 1949
"I think there is a world market for about five computers."
--Attributed to Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have travelled the length and breadth of this country, and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
--The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
"What the hell is it good for?"
--Robert Lloyd, engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, about 1968, commenting on the microprocessor.
"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home."
--Ken Olson, president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
--David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s (not verified by Cerf and Navasky).
"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."
--A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp (not verified by Cerf and Navasky).
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
--Harry M. Warner, president of Warner Brothers Pictures, about 1927.
--Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, March 1949
"I think there is a world market for about five computers."
--Attributed to Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have travelled the length and breadth of this country, and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
--The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
"What the hell is it good for?"
--Robert Lloyd, engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, about 1968, commenting on the microprocessor.
"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home."
--Ken Olson, president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
--David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s (not verified by Cerf and Navasky).
"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."
--A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp (not verified by Cerf and Navasky).
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
--Harry M. Warner, president of Warner Brothers Pictures, about 1927.