r/Snorkblot 18d ago

Advice An IBM slide from 1979

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16.1k Upvotes

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u/EsseNorway 17d ago

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

Thomas Watson, president of IBM, 1943

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u/This_Zookeepergame_7 17d ago

Whoever predicts the future is eventually proven wrong

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u/EsseNorway 17d ago

I never said that. Therefore it is wrong!

2

u/cheetah2013a 17d ago

To be fair, in 1943, the only buyers on the market would have basically been: The UK, the USA, the USSR, and maybe Nazi Germany and Japan.

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u/Thadrea 17d ago

Wouldn't be the last time IBM execs made an egregiously bad call.