There are three things one should never trust in technology — obsolete hardware, pirated software and predictions.
AD: What’s that you’re staring at?
BC: It’s a Mayan calendar.
AD: Why, aren’t there enough dates in the Gregorian calendar?
BC: No, I was just trying to figure out when the world was coming to an end…
AD: What?
BC: Didn’t the Mayans predict that the world would end in 2012?
AD: Listen, the end of the world has been predicted many times over. Only, it’s yet to happen.
BC: Aren’t you glad?
AD: No, I don’t believe in them. Would you believe me if I told you that starting 2012, computers will never suffer from virus attacks?
BC: That’s wishful thinking.
AD: What would you say to a person who, in 2004, said that the problem of spam would be solved in two years?
BC: He has no clue about technology.
AD: What about the person who is reported to have said that there was a world market for only five computers?
BC: Absurd!
AD: You’ve just called Bill Gates clueless and Thomas Watson, ex-Chairman of IBM, absurd.
BC: Wait, I didn’t call them anything. I just reacted to what they said!
AD: And how would you react to someone telling you that iPhones will never get impressive numbers in the market?
BC: Well, he’s got the wrong number, for sure…
AD: You’ve just hung up on Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.
BC: The press must have had a ball about IT bosses going famously wrong.
AD: Don’t know about that, but way back in 1966, the press did get it wrong about online shopping — a magazine had famously predicted that ‘remote shopping’ would never be a hit.
BC: Must have been a magazine that wasn’t in with the times.
AD: It was Time magazine — are you calling them outdated?
BC: No, I was.
AD: Speaking of online shopping, in 1999, a famous personality doubted if Amazon could ever make substantial profits by selling books online.
BC: Must have been someone who never bought books.
AD: If he never bought books, it was probably because he was too busy writing them. It was Thomas Friedman, a much-published author and journalist.
BC: Isn’t it ironical that even buying an old-fashioned book requires a computer and an Internet connection at home?
AD: And what if a technology leader states that no one would want a computer in their home?
BC: You mean someone other than Thomas Watson said that?
AD: Looks like there were quite a few people who were as sceptical about technology as you are.
BC: Look, don’t start this all over again…
AD: I didn’t, Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corp did. But this was back in the 70s when home computers were around.
BC: So, how were they to know?
AD: Absolutely! Three years ago, if someone had predicted that over 400 million people would log in to a particular site and post over 250 million photos day after day, would you have believed them?
BC: 400 million users… It has to be Facebook! I’ve seen a graphic which says that the site gets almost 700,000 status updates each minute.
AD: Accept it, technology is impossible to predict.
BC: No way, I can make two accurate predictions, both involving technology…
AD: I’m waiting…
BC: One, I will forever be trying to convince you about our overdependence on technology. And two, you will continue to disagree with me.
AD: Cherish this moment, because… I agree!
Source:http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2674453.ece
