From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.1 (2015-04-28) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.1 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [45.79.103.53]) by inbox.vuxu.org (OpenSMTPD) with ESMTP id 74d83532 for ; Sat, 16 Jun 2018 12:52:09 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 0CB29A1831; Sat, 16 Jun 2018 22:52:08 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 549639EDE8; Sat, 16 Jun 2018 22:51:38 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id DA2F69EDE8; Sat, 16 Jun 2018 22:51:34 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mercury.lcs.mit.edu (mercury.lcs.mit.edu [18.26.0.122]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id E356D9B5D7 for ; Sat, 16 Jun 2018 22:51:33 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11178) id 2663418C0A7; Sat, 16 Jun 2018 08:51:32 -0400 (EDT) To: dave@horsfall.org Message-Id: <20180616125132.2663418C0A7@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2018 08:51:32 -0400 (EDT) From: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) Subject: Re: [TUHS] core X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.20 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Cc: tuhs@tuhs.org, jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" > From: Dave Horsfall >> one of the Watson's saying there was a probably market for >> of computers; Ken Olsen saying people wouldn't want >> computers in their homes; etc, etc. > I seem to recall reading somewhere that these were urban myths... Does > anyone have actual references in their contexts? Well, for the Watson one, there is some controversy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Watson#Famous_attribution My guess is that he might actually have said it, and it was passed down orally for a while before it was first written down. The thing is that he is alleged to have said it in 1943, and there probably _was_ a market for only 5 of the kind of computing devices available at that point (e.g. the Mark I). > E.g. Watson was talking about the multi-megabuck 704/709/7094 etc No. The 7094 is circa 1960, almost 20 years later. > Olsens's quote was about the DEC-System 10... Again, no. He did say it, but it was not about PDP-10s: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Olsen "Olsen later explained that he was referring to smart homes rather than personal computers." Which sounds plausible (in the sense of 'what he meant', not 'it was correct'), given where he said it (a World Future Society meeting). Noel