“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Ken Olsen made this statement in 1977. It now seems folly, although many people would probably have agreed with him at the time, especially those working with large mainframe computers as Olsen and DEC were.
Did Bill Gates say 640K?
Gates said once that ‘640K software is all the memory anybody would ever need on a computer. Gates said that 640K of memory is all that anybody with a computer would ever need.
How much memory did Bill Gates claim?
Here’s the legend: at a computer trade show in 1981, Bill Gates supposedly uttered this statement, in defense of the just-introduced IBM PC’s 640KB usable RAM limit: “640K ought to be enough for anybody.”
What did Ken Olsen?
Ken Olsen, who helped reshape the computer industry as a founder of the Digital Equipment Corporation, at one time the world’s second-largest computer company, died on Sunday. He was 84.
Who said I think there is a world market for maybe five computers?
Thomas Watson
In 1943 Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, said, “I think there’s a world market for maybe five computers.” With that kind of thinking, no one paid much attention in 1952 when a British scientist named Dummar wrote: It seems now possible to envisage electronic equipment in a solid block with no connecting wires.
What happened to DEC computers?
DEC was acquired in June 1998 by Compaq in what was at that time the largest merger in the history of the computer industry. During the purchase, some parts of DEC were sold to other companies; the compiler business and the Hudson, Massachusetts facility, were sold to Intel.
Who needs more than 640K?
Bill Gates
Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates once said 640K of memory was more than anyone needed.
What do you know about RAM?
RAM is short for “random access memory” and while it might sound mysterious, RAM is one of the most fundamental elements of computing. RAM is the super-fast and temporary data storage space that a computer needs to access right now or in the next few moments.
Who was first Apple or Microsoft?
Microsoft came first, founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 4, 1975. Apple followed nearly exactly a year later on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California.
Who was the person who said there is no reason for anyone to have a computer?
MIT engineer and Digital Equipment Corporation co-founder Ken Olsen was quoted as saying that there would be no reason for anyone to have computers in their home and although he admitted to the quote, he said that it was taken out of context, which was in reference to computers being used in home automation and not PCs.
What did Bill Gates really say about computers?
Even so, Gates’ alleged statement looks like one of the most dogmatic, short-sighted comments ever, a verbal blunder perhaps topped only by Digital Equipment Corp. founder Ken Olsen’s 1977 quip, “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.”
Is it true that the world needs only five computers?
But Watson’s prediction is suddenly coming back into vogue. In fact, some leading computer scientists believe that his seemingly ludicrous forecast may yet be proven correct. Greg Papadopoulos, the chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems, recently declared on his blog: “The world needs only five computers”.
Who is Ken Olsen and what did he say about computers?
Indeed, Ken Olsen, the founder of DEC (whom Bill Gates had idolized as a teenager), had been debunking the PC since 1977, when he told a convention of the World Future Society, “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.”
