Filed under: Rumors, Odds and ends, Apple
Wired lists 15 dumbest Apple Predictions of all times
A great post over at Wired confirms what everyone alerady knows, Apple rumors are often groundless and pessimistic. Wired lists the 15 worst Apple-related predictions that failed to be realized, from iMac failures to a Sony takeover prediction, to Apple TV's MIA "extra" features. I have a quibble with one prediction, the ultra portable flash-based Apple PC as called out by Benjamin Reitzes in June 2006. I'd argue (although I don't know if I'd take this one to the mat) that this flash-based computer already exists: it's called the iPhone.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jonathan ober said 1:18PM on 11-02-2007
the link doesnt work
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Simon Arch said 1:30PM on 11-02-2007
The iPhone isn't quite a full-fledged Mac though. It will be once anyone can install whichever applications they like and access the phone's filesystem without needing special tools.
I've got a John Dvorak article from a 1991 MacWorld in which he predicted that the then-nascent Apple/IBM alliance would result in Apple being subsumed. In this inane fever dream by 2001 nobody would remember Apple. Yeah, riiiiiight.
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javasbloghunt.com said 3:29PM on 11-02-2007
Yeah I can't believe what a huge failure Apple TV was. I remember that Apple was really pushing it and how great it was going to be. Now, when Apple is asked about the failure of Apple TV the treat as tough it's the red-headed step child!
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luminousnerd said 3:34PM on 11-02-2007
Well, I don't know why the gamer prediction is on the list. Maybe there are more games available for Windows than for Mac, but that doesn't mean gamers aren't a huge segment of the Mac population. You can game on a Mac, most of the best games work for it and if not it's a minor issue to get them to work.
The TV (AppleTV) is NOT a failure. It sells strong, it was profitable, it's just very quiet. Those who claim it is have absolutely no basis, other than that they don't hear about it much in their small world.
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dave said 5:39PM on 11-02-2007
OMG - read the whole list, all 101. I think they really did use it as a manual.
Dave
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Bill G said 6:30PM on 11-02-2007
@4 What basis do you have for your AppleTV statement "it sells strong"?
I have *never* seen any AppleTV sales figures announced and my ear is pretty close to the ground on things like that.
No announced sales figures = not very good sales.
Please post a link to any announced sales figures you have.
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Deuz Augustine said 9:50AM on 11-03-2007
"The expectation on the iPod is that HP's version will probably outsell Apple's version relatively quickly." — Rob Enderle, quoted in MacObserver in August 2004.
I completely forgot this existed.
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Matt Graham said 9:42PM on 11-03-2007
I have to agree... with the exception of the installable apps (but that will most likely come once the iPhone/Touch Dev Kit comes out in February), I think not only is this the flash based portable Mac that they predicted, but it's also the replacement for the Newton that a few articles have mentioned.
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William said 11:50AM on 11-05-2007
I would also like to add to the list one from Apple itself. Back in August 2006, Steve Jobs said there were "secret" features in Leopard that he didn't want to reveal because he didn't want Microsoft copying them. Leopard has been out for a little while now...where are these "secret" features?
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Tom Freeman said 7:22PM on 11-05-2007
9: They're part of the Reality Distortion Field
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