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The Most Incorrect Assumptions In Computing?

Miss Muis writes "After reading once again that Moore's Law will become obsolete, I amused myself thinking back to all the predictions, absolutes and impossibles in computing that have been surpassed with ease. In the late 80s I remember it being a well regarded popular 'fact' that 100MHz was the absolute limit for the speed of a CPU. Not too many years later I remember much discussion about hard drives for personal computers being physically unable to go much higher than 1GB. Let's not forget "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" from the chairman of IBM in 1943, and of course 'Apple is dying...' (for the past 25 years). What are your favorite beliefs-turned-on-their-heads in the history of computing?"

25 of 1,496 comments (clear)

  1. the list by grub · · Score: 5, Funny

    640K is enough for anyone. (that one was easy)

    This Internet thing is a fad.

    No one will want to look at a man stretching his bottom wide open.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:the list by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


      CB doesn't have the visual impact of the net. Take the following exchance:

      CB Prankster on 19 "Breaker one-nine"
      CB Victim on 19 "go ahead"
      CB Prankster on 19 "Hey good buddy, check out channel 17!"
      CD Victim on 19 "OK.. *click click*"
      CD Victim on 17 "Hi"
      CB Prankster Accomplice on 17 "Ha ha! I'm pulling my ass open!"
      CD Victim on 17 "Oh dammit, fell for that again.."



      I have this thing for The Man..

      --
      Trolling is a art,
  2. RAM by Ty_Webb · · Score: 5, Funny

    I swear, this will be the last batch of RAM I'll ever need...

  3. Video hardware... by kneecarrot · · Score: 5, Funny
    How about the assumption that my $500 graphics card will last at least until next year.

    Right...

    --

    I always save my last mod point to mod up a good troll. You people are too serious.

  4. My favorite by mrpuffypants · · Score: 5, Funny

    My favorite bad product assumption is right in its title:

    Microsoft Works

  5. my personal favorite by kurosawdust · · Score: 5, Funny

    people will be thankful to have a anthropomorphic paperclip tell them what to do.

  6. How about by IthnkImParanoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    ....the assumption that people will pay $500 for hardware that will be obsolete in a year?

    oh, wait....

    --
    It's nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.
  7. Re:download by haystor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Demonstrate with a beer.

    Upload it to the refrigerator.

    Download it from the refrigerator.

    Install it.

    Uninstall it.

    --
    t
  8. .com bubble is sustainable... by CHaN_316 · · Score: 5, Funny

    and given enough venture capital, an internet start up will be super profitable on the internet even though it has never made a profit, and doesn't have a sound business plan, and has a super inflated stock price.

    But, it does have a great shiny mission statement:

    "It's our responsibility to synergistically provide access to world-class sources as well as to assertively facilitate enterprise-wide opportunities" - Dilbert Mission Statment Generator

    (Stock brokers in a flurry) BUY! BUY! BUY! BUY! BUY!

    --
    "There is no spoon." - The Matrix
  9. Dying ...? by MikeCapone · · Score: 5, Funny

    So now that Apple uses *BSD, is it dying twice as fast?

    1. Re:Dying ...? by wed128 · · Score: 5, Funny

      ahh the slashdot troll...

      modded down untill it becomes a cliche, then modded up untill it becomes annoying, at which point it will be modded down again...

      the cycle of life...

  10. not computers, by stylerm · · Score: 5, Funny

    Its not computers, but in the early 1900, or maybe late 1800, it was believed that the human brain couldnt process all the information necessary to travel over 35 mph. And if you did travel faster than that speed you would go insane. Its a good thing that we have cell phones now, so we can drive whit out abosorbing insane amounts of information from the road.

  11. Re:Bill Gates once said... by the+web · · Score: 5, Funny

    Taken from the Wired Article attributed above.

    "Meanwhile, I keep bumping into that silly quotation attributed to me that says 640K of memory is enough..."

    Hmm....looks like he said it atleast once. Flaimbait....check

    --
    __
    Thou hast besquirted me, O leotarded one.
  12. Modems. by bellers · · Score: 5, Funny
    I remember when I was using a Hayes Smartmodem 300 on my C-64 to dial a BBS up in the 80's, I talked to my sysop friend about some scientists who were working on a 9600-baud modem. My friend was shocked and incredulous:



    ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS?! THE PHONE LINES WILL BURN UP!

    --
    This space for rent.
  13. Re:Storage Space by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    Indeed. In 1982 I had a BBS running on an Apple ][+ with 2x 143K floppies. In '84 I bought a 10 MB hard drive for the BBS and thought "Holy moly.. I'll never fill this up.."

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  14. My Mac Friend... by Doc+Squidly · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have a Mac friend who say his G5 is "faster than the Internet" becuase everytime he opens his browser he gets "a page not found messege" and has to hit the refresh button.
    I keep on telling him that its just a bug and his computer isn't faster than his broadband connection. But, he doesn't beleive me.

    --
    I think I think, therefore I think I am.
  15. You'll go blind! by wanab12 · · Score: 5, Funny

    With all the porn on the internet, you'd think there would be a lot more blind men around.

  16. Re:640K--not true by pete-classic · · Score: 5, Funny
    Maybe he said that, maybe he didn't.

    But he definitely wrote (or at least took the "credit" for writing):

    The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers.

    in "The Road Ahead".

    -Peter
  17. DRM, Copy Protection ... by Stavr0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "With Macrovision we will eliminate bootleg VHS copies once and for all!"

    "With Laserlok we will eliminate software piracy once and for all!"

    "With Cactus Datashield we will eliminate Audio CD ripping once and for all!"

    for each $drm_product
    for each $technology
    "With {$drm_product} we will eliminate {$technology} piracy once and for all!"
    end
    end

    1. Re:DRM, Copy Protection ... by IthnkImParanoid · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dude, you just replaced Jack Valenti with a very small shell script.

      Awesome.

      --
      It's nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.
  18. Re:40MB Hard Drive is Plenty by Wylfing · · Score: 5, Funny
    I remarked to my father that Noone could ever get a job where all they did was push buttons all day. Now, except for the one knob on the 'scope under my desk, all my interfaces to the outside world ARE buttons.

    Pardon me?

    --
    Our intelligent designer has never created an animal that we couldn't improve by strapping a bomb to it.
  19. Re:640K--not true by TimboJones · · Score: 5, Funny
    I can factor any prime number (so can you!), thus:
    sub factors($prime){
    return ($prime, 1);
    }
    Of course, we all know he mean 'factor large numbers to primes'.
  20. Obligatory Futurama Quote by CHaN_316 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Hi, I'm Al Gore, the inventor of the environment and first emperor of the moon." - Al Gore (futurama)

    --
    "There is no spoon." - The Matrix
  21. Re:My Personal Favorite... by jcenters · · Score: 5, Funny

    With Mac OS X, I guess Apple and BSD can die together!

    --

    vi ~/.emacs

  22. Re:My favorite lie by the_mad_poster · · Score: 5, Funny

    And I'd be much happier giving my mother (despite three college degrees and quite a high IQ, Macs are too complex for her) a Linux box than a Windows box or Mac.

    Reminds me of a Dilbert strip.

    PHB: Make it simple enough so even my mother could us it.

    Alice: It's already simple enough that a squirrel could use it. How much dumber is your mother?

    --
    Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!