Computers changed everything, and they did it fast. These quotes track the digital revolution from early wonder to modern dependence, with observations from programmers, technologists, and people still trying to figure out why their printer will not work.
“Personally, I rather look forward to a computer program winning the world chess championship. Humanity needs a lesson in humility.”
“Security is, I would say, our top priority because for all the exciting things you will be able to do with computers - organizing your lives, staying in touch with people, being creative - if we don't solve these security problems, then people will hold back.”
“There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!”
“I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.”
“You have riches and freedom here but I feel no sense of faith or direction. You have so many computers, why don't you use them in the search for love?”
“Technology is like water it wants to find its level. So if you hook up your computer to a billion other computers, it just makes sense that a tremendous share of the resources you want to use - not only text or media but processing power too - will be located remotely.”
“We're getting so pulled in by computers and technology, and our kids have their face in the computers all day. The human relationship is being diminished by this.”
“And it's here and it's ready and we can really revolutionize the way we educate our children with tablet computers, and I'm committed to doing whatever I can to speaking to whomever I can to send this signal - to pound this message home. Now is the time.”
“Nanotechnology will let us build computers that are incredibly powerful. We'll have more power in the volume of a sugar cube than exists in the entire world today.”
“Computers make me totally blank out.”
“A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that you can take it to bed with you.”
“We could say we want the Web to reflect a vision of the world where everything is done democratically. To do that, we get computers to talk with each other in such a way as to promote that ideal.”
“Personally, I rather look forward to a computer program winning the world chess championship. Humanity needs a lesson in humility.”
“To err is human but to really foul up requires a computer.”
“Home computers are being called upon to perform many new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog.”
“Computers have virtually replaced tape recorders.”