Technology

I enjoy finding and learning from great quotes. Here are my favorites on the subject of technology and change—some of them might even make good New Year's resolutions. (What are your favorites? Send them to me at mbs@iaa.com, and I'll share them in the future.)

So Much for Predictions

"I think there is a world market for about five computers."
Thomas Watson, IBM chairman and founder, 1943

"There is no reason for anyone to have a computer in their home."
Ken Olson, president and founder, Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

"640KB RAM is enough for anyone."
Bill Gates, president and founder, Microsoft, 1981

The Wonder of It All

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

"If the automobile had followed the same development as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon and explode once a year, killing everyone inside."
Robert Cringely, InfoWorld columnist

"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
Pablo Picasso, artist

"The information explosion has changed the meaning of the verb to know; in the past, to know meant to have stored in one's memory, but today, knowing shifts from having actual possession of information to the process of having access to it."
Herbert Simon, psychology researcher

Technology's Interface with Human Nature

"Most people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions."
Contemporary proverb

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, statesman and author

"Those who say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are busy doing it."
Chinese proverb

"It's better to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission."
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, pioneer computer scientist

"What are the most common causes of systems problems? People, procedures and technology…technology is always the easiest to deal with."
Contemporary proverb

Solution-Oriented

"And please, we don't want any consultant visiting us to look at our system and tell us what we need. That visit would cost several thousand dollars, and we could do so much more with the money. Trust us."
Nonprofit healthcare field office manager in Bangladesh

"Management Speak: We would like the solution to be as flexible as possible. Translation: Discovering our requirements will be like nailing Jell-O to the wall.
Joseph Baxter, IS Survivalist

The Cynical among Us

"You don't get what you don't pay for."
Contemporary proverb

"The time it takes your favorite application to complete a given task doubles with each new revision."
Spector's Law

"In God we trust. All others, we virus scan."
Contemporary proverb

Tech "Tips"

"Treat your password like a toothbrush. Don't share it with anyone and get a new one every six months."
Clifford Stoll, author of Silicon Snake Oil

"You can buy hardware. You can buy software. You can even buy people. But you can't buy time."
Len Neuzil, SVP, Options Clearinghouse Corporation

"In disaster recovery planning, it's not the backup that matters but the restore."
Eric Kelly, president of Maxtor's Network System Group

Three from the Master

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity."

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."

"If A equals success, then the formula is A=X+Y+Z. X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut."
Albert Einstein, physicist