“The most compelling reason for most people to buy a computer for the home will be to link it to a nationwide communications network. We’re just in the beginning stages of what will be a truly remarkable breakthrough for most people – as remarkable as the telephone.”
- February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011
- American
- Entrepreneur, businessman, industrial designer
- He brought to the world revolutionary products that combined technology and design at a high level, such as the personal computer Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad, and also revolutionized the music industry with the iPod, iTunes, and iTunes Store.
Quote
“The most compelling reason for most people to buy a computer for the home will be to link it to a nationwide communications network. We’re just in the beginning stages of what will be a truly remarkable breakthrough for most people – as remarkable as the telephone.”
Explanation
In this quote, Steve Jobs anticipates the future of personal computing and predicts that the true value of computers for consumers will come when they are connected to a nationwide communications network. At the time, most computers were primarily used for tasks like word processing or calculations. Jobs foresaw that, much like the telephone, the ability to connect computers to a broader network would be transformative, making the computer an essential part of daily life for communication, information, and even commerce. He believed that this development would unlock a breakthrough for personal computing that would fundamentally change how people interacted with technology.
Jobs’ insight foreshadowed the rise of the internet and online services, which would later revolutionize the way people used computers. This vision laid the groundwork for the development of products like AOL, Apple’s early internet services, and eventually, the rise of smartphones and cloud computing. Jobs understood that a networked world would offer limitless opportunities for individuals to share, communicate, and access information, which would make computers indispensable tools in everyday life.
Today, the internet is integral to personal computing and mobile devices, with global connectivity being a key feature of every major tech product. Jobs’ prediction was not only correct, but it also highlights how visionaries can anticipate transformational changes in technology, shaping the future of how we work, communicate, and live.
