"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5
tons"
Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
"I think there is a world market, for maybe five computers".
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"But what.. is it good for?" - Engineer at the Advanced Computing
Systems Division of IBM,
commenting on the microchip, 1968
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home".
Ken Olson, president and chairman of Digital Equipment Corp.,1977
"640K ought to be enough for anybody".
Bill Gates, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Corporation,1981
"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." Western Union internal memo, 1876
"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 radio in the 1920s
"Radio has no future".
Lord Kelvin, mathematician and physicist, former president of Royal Society,
1897
"(Television) won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night". Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, 1946
"Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value".
Marechal Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre, 1911
"Everything that can be invented has been invented".
Charles H. Duell, Commissioner,U.S. Office of Patents, 1899
Source: "Newsweek" January 27, 1997