In honor of the new ideas and busy capital trends we are seeing at Digital Hollywood this week, and before my more serious post following the conference on the current state of venture capital, a look at some famous quotes predicting our future (which has arrived):
“Video won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box [the television] every night.” Daryl Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, 1946
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Ken Olson, president, Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Charles Duell, Director, U.S. Patent Office, 1899.
“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” Internal memo, Western Union, 1876.
“640K [computer memory] ought to be enough for anybody.” Bill Gates, 1981.
“The Internet? We are not interested in it.” Bill Gates, 1993.
Just goes to show ~ be careful what you wish for….
The Duell quote, you should note, has been debunked, although it certainly makes for a marvelous story: http://www.ideafinder.com/guest/archives/wow-duell.htm
Thanks, Van.