[NBLUG/talk] Linus responds to M$

[S. Saunders]

On Sat, May 19, 2007 11:30, Mark Janes wrote:

> > The figure was 640 *KB* and...
>
> I stand corrected. Also a bit embarrassed as it reveals my failing
> memory...
>
> > There is *no* credible documented evidence of which I'm aware
> > proving Bill Gates having ever said this and, in fact, when
> > questioned directly Bill denies ever having said it.
>
> Naturally. How many of remember every prediction we made
> 27 years ago?
> http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/sci_update.cfm?DocID=206 :
>
> "In 1981 Bill Gates said "640 kilobytes [of hard drive memory] ought to
> be enough for anyone.""

My own .02 -- I was at Univ.Calif. Santa Cruz, hanging with some
CompSci Jr's and Sr's.  One of 'em had a brand new IBM PC.  Not AT, not
XT, but an original PC.  We read the S/N and it seemed to be number
500some off the assembly line... 000507?  000506?  Something like that...

128K of RAM, as I recall, expandable to a whopping 640K on the
motherboard.  My recollection is that the "nobody will ever need more
than" referred to 640K of *RAM*(not disk).

In that context, I had presumed the notion came from the salesman at the
store (presumably, originating somewhere high up within either MS or IBM
marketting)... although I admit that the consensus of the CompSci students
was that for a *personal* computer, 640K would certainly be more than any
lone programmer could use for one program.

Now, all of this *is* from memory -- no diary or letter home that I can go
back to cite for fresh details.  But my memory for that sort of thing is
pretty good.


- Steve S.