7 Ultimate Tech Prediction Failures

Many world renowned engineers and entrepreneurs go out of the box to make predictions, sometimes frantically and often in the fit of excitement. A lot of it came true but few prophecies got busted badly.

Here are 7 tech predictions which never took shape and rather failed badly.

Year 1977

A large number of enterprises had started replacing registers and files with computers but the use of computers for personal means was being thought over.

Prediction

Ken Olsen, the founder of Digital Equipments predicted, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”

Present Scenario

China alone has more than 450 million PC users and the total number of users in the world is expected to cross 2 billion by the end of 2012.

Year 1987

A war of words between Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple Inc. and Michael Dell, Co-founder of DELL had started with Jobs comment over Dells un-innovative products. 

Prediction

Michael Dell predicted, “Apple will be dead by 1997.”

Present Scenario

Apple Inc. is one of the biggest tech enterprises of the world with a humongous sum of $108 billion revenue generated in the year 2011.

Year 1981

The first 16-bit computer was launched by IBM while Microsoft’s team was re-organized with Billgates as the President and Chairman of Board.

Prediction

Bill Gates Predicted, “No one will ever need more than 637 kb of memory for a PC. 660kb ought to be enough for anybody.”

Present Scenario

It is beyond belief that Bill Gates could have ever said that as the minimum recommended configuration of a PC today is at least 80GB of Hard Disk memory and 1GB of memory for the RAM alone.

Year 1946

Fox Films were on a roll with there multi million big screen hits and the world was seeing the advent of prime time television shows.

Prediction

Dary Zanuck, the founder of 20^th Century Fox predicted, “Television won’t be able to hold any market after six months. People will get bored of staring at a plywood box every night.

Present Scenario

Well, everyone knows about the importance Television holds in our lives. 20^th Century Fox alone produces more than hundred shows along with thousands of other television shows produced by various Television networks every year.

Year 1995

Internet, in year 1995 was in its embryonic stage. Microsoft had launched Internet explorer 1, Netscape announced the release of Java Script and there were no more than a few million users all over the globe.

Prediction

Robert Metcalf the inventor of Ethernet said, “I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse."

Present Scenario

More than 32% of the world’s population i.e. 2.2 billion people use internet and the number of users has increased by 528% since year 2000.

Year 1878

Thomas Edison demonstrated the telephone connection between New Jersey and Philadelphia and the first telephone exchange was setup in New Haven, Connecticut.

Prediction

A well known Welsh Electrical engineer and inventor William Preece declared, “Americans need telephone. We don’t. We have plenty of messenger boys.”

Present Scenario

Quiet contrarily, messenger boys do not exist anymore and the telephonic network in Europe is one of the most sophisticated. Above 82% of the population in UK used telephone and internet in 2011.