WOULDN'T THEY BE TRULY AMAZED TODAY!
Some were around (and still are) long enough to have 'eaten these words'.
1. "Computers, in the future, may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949.
2. "I think there is a world market for, maybe, five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
3. "I have traveled 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.
4. "But what ... is it good for?" -- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968 commenting on the microchip.
5. "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp.,1977.
6. "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is, inherently, of no value." -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.
7. "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.
8. "The concept is interesting and well-formed. But, in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." -- A Yale Univ. management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)
9. "Who wants to hear actors talk?" -- H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.
10. "I'm just glad it will be Clark Gable who is falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind"
11. "A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make." -- Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.
12. "We don't like their sound and guitar music is on the way out." -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
13. "You want to have consistent and uniform muscle development across all of your muscles? It can't be done. It's just a fact of life. You just have to accept inconsistent muscle development as an unalterable condition of weight training." -- Response to Arthur Jones, who solved the "unsolvable" problem by inventing Nautilus.
14. "Stocks have reached what looks like a, permanently, high plateau." -- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.
15." Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value." -- Marecha Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
16. "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." -- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872.
17. "The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon." -- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria, 1873. and finally.......
18. "64K ought to be enough memory for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981.
Some were around (and still are) long enough to have 'eaten these words'.
1. "Computers, in the future, may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949.
2. "I think there is a world market for, maybe, five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
3. "I have traveled 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.
4. "But what ... is it good for?" -- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968 commenting on the microchip.
5. "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp.,1977.
6. "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is, inherently, of no value." -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.
7. "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.
8. "The concept is interesting and well-formed. But, in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." -- A Yale Univ. management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)
9. "Who wants to hear actors talk?" -- H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.
10. "I'm just glad it will be Clark Gable who is falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind"
11. "A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make." -- Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.
12. "We don't like their sound and guitar music is on the way out." -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
13. "You want to have consistent and uniform muscle development across all of your muscles? It can't be done. It's just a fact of life. You just have to accept inconsistent muscle development as an unalterable condition of weight training." -- Response to Arthur Jones, who solved the "unsolvable" problem by inventing Nautilus.
14. "Stocks have reached what looks like a, permanently, high plateau." -- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.
15." Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value." -- Marecha Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
16. "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." -- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872.
17. "The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon." -- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria, 1873. and finally.......
18. "64K ought to be enough memory for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981.