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[Reply #15 on:]

You have to stipulate with "only for a day". It's no fun for long dead people to hang around the living while everyone they knew possibly died. Captain America has that problem living among 21 century super heroes, right? For one day it would be fun. I would bring back from dead whomever said the whole world only needed a few computers some decades ago and have a laugh with the person. Who was that genius?

[Reply #16 on:]

I believe it was the president ¹ of IBM...  However, according to Wikipedia, he did not actually make that statement ².  The quote was attached to his name by someone on Usenet.


¹ Correction: chairman and CEO.

² Which I believe.  IBM executives typically don't have such a limited foresight nor would they typically assume their products would have such a very tiny market.

[Reply #17 on:]

I believe it was the president ¹ of IBM...  However, according to Wikipedia, he did not actually make that statement ².  The quote was attached to his name by someone on Usenet.


¹ Correction: chairman and CEO.

² Which I believe.  IBM executives typically don't have such a limited foresight nor would they typically assume their products would have such a very tiny market.

Yep, that's part of the reason, to ask him whether he said it or not

[Reply #18 on:]

IBM executives typically don't have such a limited foresight nor would they typically assume their products would have such a very tiny market.

It's possible that he or whoever said that believed the computers would be limited to a niche market and that the calculators and tabulators would continue to have the largest part of computing market share.  IBM had the largest part of the pre-electronic computer tabulator/calculators market and really those were computers themselves, just in a very limited way.  The market for electronic computers would have been greatly limited if the best switch continued to be a vacuum tube.  In that case, calculator/tabulators would have continued to rule the business world and most of government calculation too and he would have been right.  And then, the transistor.

[Reply #19 on:]

IBM executives typically don't have such a limited foresight nor would they typically assume their products would have such a very tiny market.

It's possible that he or whoever said that believed the computers would be limited to a niche market and that the calculators and tabulators would continue to have the largest part of computing market share.  IBM had the largest part of the pre-electronic computer tabulator/calculators market and really those were computers themselves, just in a very limited way.  The market for electronic computers would have been greatly limited if the best switch continued to be a vacuum tube.  In that case, calculator/tabulators would have continued to rule the business world and most of government calculation too and he would have been right.  And then, the transistor.

And then the IC. That IBM 'statement' was probably true for the time, market, technology, and customer base that existed at the time, which is what corporations are usually focused on, developing profitable products that customers will buy. Few envisioned at that time that individuals would some day be able to afford their own personal computers. Now if just those predictions about affordable practical flying cars had come through, I would be happier.

[Reply #20 on:]

(smartass comment, ignore)

[Reply #21 on:]

I believe it was the president ¹ of IBM...  However, according to Wikipedia, he did not actually make that statement ².  The quote was attached to his name by someone on Usenet.


¹ Correction: chairman and CEO.

² Which I believe.  IBM executives typically don't have such a limited foresight nor would they typically assume their products would have such a very tiny market.

Yep, that's part of the reason, to ask him whether he said it or not

I read the quote on a beer mat once at if I recall correctly it was attributed to the CEO of Digital.. And lets face it, if it was on a beer mat it must be true...

[Reply #22 on:]

Now if just those predictions about affordable practical flying cars had come through, I would be happier.

http://www.terrafugia.com/

Define "affordable"

I'm holding out for a Moller Skycar.
http://www.moller.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=58

[Reply #23 on:]

Einstein or Nicholas Tesla.

Both will be able to invent or discover a lot more things.

[Reply #24 on:]

Tesla died happy seeing his invention through an entire city skyline..