'There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home': Quote of the day by Digital Equipment Corporation co-founder Ken Olsen on the
future of smart homes

Date:
Wed, 22 Jul 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Description:
The technology executive from yesteryear issues a seemingly stunning miscalculation regarding the proliferation of consumer-grade computing devices

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Computing is so ubiquitous that we often see more than one in most households, including laptops, desktops, all-in-ones, smartphones, tablets, and so on. But there was once a time when that certainly wasn't the case. In that context, some comments made by industry stalwarts of the past may appear like massive miscalculations.
"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home." Ken Olsen, 1977 Ethics in AI The late Ken Olsen was the co-founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), a major company in the mid-20th century that produced a series of minicomputers over the decades in which it operated until its decline in 1998. Quote of the day This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone
by. Read the full series here . Despite being a key part of the computer industry, Olsen was adamant that the computer was something isolated to the enterprise delivering his infamous comments in 1977 at a convention of the World Future Society. There are, however, two very important caveats. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

Firstly, computers at the time were either gigantic mainframes or minicomputers that needed specialized staff to manage. Secondly, Olsen later claimed his words were taken completely out of context. Smart living Olsen claimed he wasn't referring to the sort of computers we see today in homes like desktop PCs or laptops, but actually the then-futuristic proposal of a master computer that would automate different functions around the house. You may like Quote of the day by Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy: "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it" Quote of the day by Steve Jobs: "What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds" how technology has augmented us all 'Resistance is futile': what Computex told us about the future of computing

What the executive was referring to was what we now understand as the smart home. However, regardless of the context, his comments still missed the mark as the rise of smart home technology has been a very exciting development during the 21st century.

That said, the vision of a fully automated and intelligent home has proven massively prohibitive, partially due to cost, partially due to hardware, and finally due to slow interoperability and integration. That latter element, however, is finally something that's been changing thanks to the Matter smart home standard . Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms &
Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/there-is-no-reason-for-any-individual-to-have-a- computer-in-his-home-quote-of-the-day-by-digital-equipment-corporation-co-foun der-ken-olsen-on-the-future-of-smart-homes


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)