The hardest part about predicting the future has nothing to do with interpreting the stars , read Camellia sinensis leaves , or making heads or tail coat out of what you see in your crystallization orchis . Instead , the most unmanageable part amount 12 calendar month down the road , when those predictions that seemed so reasonable a class ago have failed to pan out out .
Last year we gather a control panel ofMacworldcontributing editor , engineering writers , and Mac expert to separate us what we could ask for 2001 . And while our panelist may be well versed in clock speeds , RAM necessary , and software shortcuts , they ’ll be the first to tell you that clairvoyance is n’t among their strong suits .
That said , our prognosticators fared OK with their 2001 prognosis . Some of their predictions were correct on target . Others just hardly missed the mark . As for the eternal rest , well , let ’s just say our panelist will be mightily pleased if you did n’t hold on to a transcript of last year ’s foretelling .
Right On
Close, but No Cigar
Consumer Electronics : Engst was n’t completely on fair game when he promise that Apple would make “ striking maraud into the world of consumer electronics and perhaps even household appliances , all based on a low - cost variant of AirPort wireless networking . ” But when Apple announce the iPod , Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson did hail it as a “ groundbreaking foray into the digital gimmick arena . ”Eerie .
Guess Again
redesign iMac : Norr ’s prognostication of “ a major makeover ” for the iMac went unfulfilled . Unless you need to count the Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian semblance schemes .
Intel at heart ? : Whether it was Markoff predicting a second processor architecture , Tessler pining for a Mac powered by a non - Motorola CPU , or Laporte wishing for OS X to execute on an Intel processor , none of it came to pass on .
Steve Jobs Resigns : Norr presage the Apple CEO would step down in 2001 . Twelve month later , it appears that Jobs ’s billet at the head of Apple stay secure – at least until the next round of year - final stage predictions .
