[comp.sys.ibm.pc] Incorrect Predictions in Old PC Magazines

forrest@ux1.lbl.gov (Jon Forrest) (12/30/88)

I was recently going through some old PC magazines from
1984 and I was struck by the number of predictions made by
columnists that turned out to be 100% wrong. For example,
Peter Norton, who should know better, went on and on about
how important the PCjr and Topview are. I bet that a significant
number of the masses that use PC's don't even know what these
products were. I also noticed that huge number of ads from
companies that, as far as I know, are no longer in business.

I wonder if the claims made by the current pundints will prove
to be more accurate in 4 years than those made 4 years ago. At least
by then we'll know the fate of OS/2.


Jon Forrest		Lawrence Berkeley Lab., 486-4991
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cacsc222%mx@csun.edu (01/03/89)

In article <1574@helios.ee.lbl.gov> forrest@ux1.lbl.gov (Jon Forrest) writes:
>I was recently going through some old PC magazines from
>1984 and I was struck by the number of predictions made by
>columnists that turned out to be 100% wrong.

I was going thru an old BYTE, and there was a letter explaining why the mouse
(as provided on the Lisa(!)) was doomed to failure.  Seems to me there are a few
million Macs and PC's (and a few Ataris and Amigas) out there which contradict
this...


"Disclaimer?  We don't need no stinking disclaimers!!!!!"
Scott Neugroschl
...!sm.unisys.com!csun!mx!cacsc222

dmt@mtunb.ATT.COM (Dave Tutelman) (01/03/89)

In article <1574@helios.ee.lbl.gov> forrest@ux1.lbl.gov (Jon Forrest) writes:
>I was recently going through some old PC magazines from
>1984 and I was struck by the number of predictions made by
>columnists that turned out to be 100% wrong.

The most striking prediction in a trade rag I've ever seen was in
a JOKE article in Datamation about 1964.  (At that time, the IBM 7094
was THE premium comp center machine.  PCs? 15 years in the future.)
Anyway, the author was making the most outrageous predictions he could
think of for a 20-year horizon.  The one that stuck in my mind was:

"In 20 years, we'll have a computer the size of a postage stamp;  the
problem will be the 6" diameter input/output cable."

I guess brainstorming works.  You can only be truly creative when you're
playing "try and top this."

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