10 Apple Predictions That Turned Out to Be Wrong
Trying to predict what Apple will do, or how its every product will affect the market place and how we use technology, is quite a sport.. Everyone needs to get in on the action, Engadget, Gizmodo, even we here at Switched aren't above reporting every tiny rumor concerning the "alternative" computer company.
A side effect of all this Apple-prediction frenzy? Sometimes, people miss the mark. By quite a bit. Which is why Wired has compiled its list of the 15 dumbest Apple predictions.
One big example is when Michael Dell (of Dell Computer) said Apple should merely "shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders," in 1997, a year before the return of Jobs and the release of the iMac that led to the company's slow painful climb back to relevance.
To be fair, not all the predictions were dumb, at least in the most classic sense of the word.
For example, Matthew Lynn of Bloomberg said that, "the iPhone is nothing more than a luxury bauble that will appeal to a few gadget freaks." The iPhone sure is popular, but it's only really had an impact at the upper end of the market place. People who normally spend $400 on a fancy smart phone are buying it, not the people who take whatever comes free with their plan. 'Time' magazine "Invention of the Year" or not, the iPhone still qualifies it as a "luxury bauble."
Some of the prognosticating turned out to be outright absurd, however, like Robert Paul Leitlao's prediction that by the end of 1999 gamers would have flocked to the Mac. Or that the AppleTV would have a similar cultural impact as the iPod. Oh, and there's more. Check out the article on Wired for the full list.
From Wired
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
momsuan @ Nov 3rd 2007 9:55AM
yes definitely patronizing-while many elderly people are amazed at these things the general question I get is "how does that work?!" I usually just explain or call in a teen for help-and they understand often better than I do "how"-
I don't understand why people think they need to talk down to seniors-have they not heard "with age comes wisdom?"
Nick @ Nov 3rd 2007 1:12PM
apple is a great machine, only bad part of this company is the ego maniac jobs. lets face it gates got his data though apple and licensed his os out of ibm didn't think of personal computers only the wants of big business. no body thought much of home offices because of commerical greedy landlords we now have a new venues. its always the bullshit ceo that cost peoples jobs.
yabbi @ Nov 4th 2007 3:34AM
Apple can kiss my a$$. They are elitists and deserve to be villanized. Jobs is a pompous paranoid who's never been in touch with reality. Their computers are so far out of the business market, they'll never be anything but the R&D Dept. for Microsloth. They got lucky with the iPod. They're pushing people away with the iPhone. It's their bad karma to be copied, but never mainstream.
James Michalek @ Nov 4th 2007 8:21AM
Sorry, Yabbi, but it was Microsoft who flagrantly lied about two great programs, Netscape and Wordperfect,that I'm aware of, and shoved buggy OSs down my throat that forced me to the Mac. I love my Mac and it's not even an OS-X Mac. Why? IT WORKS!
I'll pass on the iPhone until they let me use Verizon, though, and thanks for embracing Intel chips.
Tom @ Nov 5th 2007 7:40AM
i i i i i BS !!!!! Vista is cool. Bought a new HP and it's phenomenal. Installed PC-cillin, not to worry about bugs, worms, or other illnesses. The only reason anyone has a job is that someone made a shit-load of money and can afford to pay them a salary. It continues to amaze me how so few people have a grip on reality.