before iMac, iPod... what did people predict about Apple
from AntBlog701

before iMac, iPod... what did people predict about Apple

David Pogue wrote a nice blog entry on Apple. He corrected all the magazines predicted about Apple 10 years ago.

10 years ago, Steve Jobs hadn't returned to Apple yet, the juicy iMac hadn't released yet, Microsoft hadn't acquired Apple's non-decision shares and agreed to develop Office for Mac platform yet. The company was in its lowest point, financially speaking.

Back then, Apple's future certainly did not look good.

Let's take a look:

“By the time you read this story, the quirky cult company…will end its wild ride as an independent enterprise.”
Fortune, 19 February, 1996

“One day Apple was a major technology company with assets to make any self respecting techno-conglomerate salivate. The next day Apple was a chaotic mess without a strategic vision and certainly no future.”
Time Magazine, 5th February, 1996

“Having underforecast demand, the company has a $1 billion-plus order backlog….The only alternative: to merge with a company with the marketing and financial clout to help Apple survive the switch to a software-based company. The most likely candidate, many think, is IBM Corp.”
BusinessWeek, 16th October, 1995

“Whether they stand alone or are acquired, Apple as we know it is cooked. It’s so classic. It’s so sad.”
A Forrester Research analyst, 25th January, 1996

“The NeXT purchase is too little too late. Apple is already dead.”

Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft’s chief technology officer, June 1997

“1. Admit it. You’re out of the hardware game.” “101 Ways to Save Apple,” Wired, June 1997

“There was so much magic in Apple Computer in the early ’80s that it is hard to believe that it may fade away. Apple went from hip to has-been in just 19 years.”
BusinessWeek, 5th February, 1996

“Apple’s erratic performance has given it the reputation on Wall Street of a stock a long-term investor would probably avoid.”
Fortune, 19th February 1996

“Apple could hang on for years, gamely trying to slow the decline, but few expect it to make such a mistake. Instead it seems to have two options. The first is to break itself up, selling the hardware side. The second is to sell the company outright.”
The Economist, 23rd February, 1995

“Apple no longer plays a leading role in the $200 billion personal computer industry. ‘The idea that they’re going to go back to the past to hit a big home run…is delusional,’ says Dave Winer, a software developer.”
The Financial Times 11th July, 1997

Again, I'd like to thank David Pogue's collection about all the past predictions. We all love the nostalgia :-)

Link: When Apple Hit Bottom (David Pogue, 20th September 2006)