"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
- Popular Mechanics, 1949
The full quote of this now famous mis-prediction is that “Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons.". This fuller version locates the statement in its historical era – an era that saw the development by the US Army of the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) as a machine to calculate artillery firing tables.
‘Computers’ at this time were huge, filling whole rooms and the development of computers small enough to fit in the palm of one hand was mere fantasy. The Popular Mechanics statement was therefore perfectly rational at the time. Popular Mechanics is an American magazine devoted to science and technology.
