Famous computer quotes

by internetstar Tue 31 Dec 2013, 7:29 pm

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than one-and-a-half tonnes."
- Popular Mechanics, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943

"I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last the year."
- Chief Business Editor, Prentice Hall, 1957

"Yeah, microchips, but what... is it good for?"
- an IBM senior engineer, 1968

"There is no reason anyone in the right state of mind will want a computer in their
home."
- Ken Olson, President of Digital Equipment Corp, 1977.

"Bubble Memory, n.: A derogatory term, usually referring to a person's
intelligence. See also vacuum tube."
- The Devil's Dictionary to Computer Studies

"As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it wasn't as
easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had to be discovered. I
can remember the exact instant when I realized that a large part of my life from
then on was going to be spent in finding mistakes in my own programmes."
- Maurice Wilkes discovers debugging, 1949.

"Endless Loop: n., see Loop, Endless."

"Loop, Endless: n., see Endless Loop."
- Random Shack Data Processing Dictionary

"f u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgrmmng."
- Anonymous

"You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on the
continuing viability of FORTRAN."
- Alan Perlis

"ADA, n.: Something you need only know the name of to be an Expert in
Computing. Useful in sentences like, "We had better develop an ADA awareness."
- The Devil's Dictionary to Computer Studies

"God made machine language; all the rest is the work of man."
- Anonymous

"SOFTWARE, n.: Formal evening attire for female computer analysts."
- The Devil's Dictionary to Computer Studies

"Reach out and grep someone."
- Bell Labs Unix

"Real Programmers don't write in PL/I. PL/I is for programmers who can't decide
whether to write in COBOL or FORTRAN."
- Programmers' World

"At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer you will find at
least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on the computer."
- Anonymous

"Goto, n.: A programming tool that exists to allow structured programmers to
complain about unstructured programmers."
- Ray Simard

"Hardware, n.: The parts of a computer system that can be kicked."
- The Devil's Dictionary to Computer Studies

"The world is coming to an end. Please log orff."
- Posix 2.1.1 System Shutdown Message

"A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is not
worth knowing."
- Alex Lu, commenting on Java Programming

"BUG, n.: An undesirable, poorly-understood undocumented feature."
- The Devil's Dictionary to Computer Studies

"Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later."
- Brook's Law

"The C Programming Language: A new language which combines the flexibility
of assembly language with the power of assembly language."
- Murphy's Introduction to C

"User n.: A programmer who will believe anything you tell him."
- The Devil's Dictionary to Computer Studies

"An elephant is a mouse with an operating system."
- Anonymous

"Line Printer paper is strongest at the perforations."
- Murphy's Law of Line Printers

"Pascal, n.: A programming language named after a man who would turn over in
his grave if he knew about it."
- The Chartered Institution of C Programmers

"C, n.: A programming language which was names thus because it cannot be
named B after bees blocked it in a high-court case."
- The Royal Society of Pascal Programmers

"C++, n.: C with fine print which is never quoted and no-one knows about;
features which renders a correctly-written C programme useless."
- The Royal Society of Pascal Programmers

"The goal of Computer Science is to build something that will last at least until
we've finished building it."
- Anonymous

"The New Testament offers the basis for modern computer coding theory, in the
form of an affirmation of the binary number system. But let your communication
be Yea, yea; nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
- Matthew 5:37

"The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to constants;
instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every appearance, the variable
PI can be given that value with a DATA statement and used instead of the longer
form of the constant. This also simplifies modifying the program, should the
value of pi change."
- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers

"Every programme is a part of some other programme, and rarely fits."
- The Complete Microsoft Internal Jokes, Vol.III

"When the programme refuses to work as intended, change the specification to
fit the programme. It's easier than vice versa."
- Briefing for new programmers joining Microsoft, 1995

"After I run your programme, let's make love like crazed weasels, okay?"
- Alice Blair, in a cupboard with Alan Robertson

"During the next two hours, the network will be going up and down several times,
often with lin~po_~{po~poz~ppo\~{ o n~po_ ~{o[po~y oodsou@No.w4k**n~po_
~{ol;lkld;f;g;dd;po\~{o

"How many hardware engineers does it take to change a lightbulb?
None: "We'll fix it in software."

"How many software engineers does it take to change a lightbulb?
None: "We'll document it in the manual."

"How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a lightbulb?
None: "Let's define darkness as the industry standard."

"How many tech writers does it take to change a lightbulb?
None: "The user can work it out."

"Real Programmers don't play tennis, or any other sport that requires you to
change clothes. Mountain climbing is OK, and real programmers wear their
climbing boots to work in case a mountain should suddenly spring up in the
middle of the machine room."
- Anonymous

"I haven't lost my mind, it's backed up on tape somewhere."
- Anonymous

"Information Center, n.: A room staffed by professional computer people whose
job it is to tell you why you cannot have the information you require."
- The Devil's Dictionary to Computer Studies

"Real Time, adj.: Here and now, as opposed to fake time, which only occurs there
and then."
- The Devil's Dictionary to Computer Studies

"Never test for an error condition you don't know how to handle."
- Steinbach's Guideline for Systems Programming

"If the code and the comments disagree, then both are probably wrong."
- Norm Schryer

"Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one
instruction - from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be
reduced to one instruction which doesn't work."
- Anonymous

"Microcomputers are the tool of the 80's. BASIC is the language that all of them
use. So the sooner you learn BASIC, the sooner you will understand the
microcomputer revolution."
- 30 Hour BASIC Standard, 1981.

"I expect that any day now someone will invent a round thing which rolls along
the ground and minimises friction, only it will need a 233-megahertz Pentium
processor to do it."
- Garry Harant, Blackburn, Victoria, Australia

"640k is enough for anyone, and by the way, what's a network?"
- William Gates III, President of Microsoft Corporation, 1984

"Linux is not portable."
- Linus Torvalds