You remember, following the Jurassic Period, that plug boards gave way to key punches, teletypes to 3270s, and shared-logic word processors to PCs. Now it’s time that Wintel PCs give way to, or at least make room for, Internet stations, or whatever else you end up calling them.
Predictor: Metcalfe, Robert
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for InfoWorld, Internet pioneer and Ethernet creator Bob Metcalfe writes: ”You remember, following the Jurassic Period, that plug boards gave way to key punches, teletypes to 3270s, and shared-logic word processors to PCs. Now it’s time that Wintel PCs give way to, or at least make room for, Internet stations, or whatever else you end up calling them.”
Biography:Robert Metcalfe developed Ethernet technology at Xerox PARC in 1973 and later developed the networking company 3Comm. He is known for making the exaggerated 1995 prediction that due to an expected overload as people tried to connect, the Internet would “go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.” He later jokingly ate his words, pureeing a paper copy of the article including this comment and swallowing it before a group of onlookers. (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: October 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Internet Appliances
Name of publication: InfoWorld
Title, headline, chapter name: Faster, Easier, Cheaper Information Appliances Looking for New Identity
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?Did=000000008661043&Fmt=3&Deli=1&Mtd=1&Idx=1&Sid=9&RQT=309
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Pinkerton, Bradley Steven