The best tech quotes from the last 30 years: Words to live by, or not

As T3 turns 30, a milestone that very few tech brands can match, let alone tech magazines and websites, we're looking back on the seismic changes that have rippled through consumer tech in that span. It's fallen to me to summarise 30 years of wisdom from the many founders, CEOs, spokespeople and icons of the industry, and to pick out some memorable quotes that do justice to the time that's passed.

So, with the important caveat that this selection is arranged in no particular order, here are some quotes from the 30 years that T3's been in this world. They're the ones that ring true, that tell us something we didn't know, or that have wisdom we could all live by – and they're from a collection of people who know a thing or two about technology.

30 years of tech quotes

As I said, there's no real order to these quotes, but we're starting off with a good one, from someone who changed the face of design in tech.

Jony Ive's design work with Apple needs basically no introduction. He changed how consumers look at broad swathes of tech, from tablets to laptops, and some of his designs are still nearly untouched years and years later (I'm looking at you, Apple Watch).

So, when he talks about what makes tech potent for people, it's worth pricking up your ears. This famous quote about hiding some of the workings behind a curtain might explain some of why Apple's ecosystem thrived in opposition to Windows and the world of PCs. It nails an answer to why people love tech, accurately gauging that people sometimes love not knowing how something works.

As predictions go, this one looks pretty nailed-on, given that Hastings, one of Netflix's co-founders, was making it in 2009. Netflix at that point was years away from even making its first original programming and was instead purely a distributor, but the growth of streaming was already starting to gather steam.

Hastings was right, and now we live in a post-Netflix world. It's one in which it's inconceivable to imagine a TV launching without the app built in, and with a generation of viewers who can't imagine living without a streaming subscription. Price hikes might be threatening the established order, but this still looks like one of the more accurate bullish statements you could find.

Tim Cook's time in charge of Apple was marked by a supreme strategic vision – taking power away from its suppliers and developing its own supply chain. Now that system is operational, and Apple has a nimbleness that few rivals can match, fuelled by its own silicon and chips.

Cook's astute approach to marketing Apple's devices was evident throughout his tenure, but this quote is a particularly apt one. It points out how value can be subjective, depending on what people need from a product and what it offers compared to the competition.

In a year when Apple's phones have become more expensive than ever before, it's a maxim that will be tested to its limits, although Cook himself has ridden off into the sunset.

Carl Pei knows a thing or two about the world of tech, having helped to build OnePlus into what was a genuinely insurgent presence in the phone market. Since then he's gone his own way, and now leads Nothing in London, where he's managed to make a significant splash thanks to some bold design choices.

This quote comes from a discussion of those design elements, and underlines that Nothing believes in functionality over aesthetics. That can be hard to believe when you look at some of its tech, but peel things back a little and you'll see that it has indeed committed to tactility and practicality.

Just look at the controls on the Nothing Headphone (1) – that's putting your money where your mouth is.

Gaming has grown at an enormous pace, along with the rest of the tech world, in the last 30 years, and there's perhaps no more famous quote from its pantheon of creators than this one, generally attributed to Nintendo's great Shigeru Miyamoto. Wrongly, it turns out – there's no actual provenance for the quote, and it's never been verified by the man himself.

The spirit behind it, though, is undeniable, and it's been proven right many times since it started to circulate in articles and essays. The games industry is prone to terrible releases, whether a title is rushed or just overpromises and underdelivers – and the lesson to take your time and do things right is one that tech brands have often struggled to learn.

On the flip side, though, you have this quote from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, one that he's happily confirmed is very much true. It posits that the most polished release in the world is probably one that could have been out in the world a little bit earlier, to capitalise on your momentum.

It's a great quote because it pushes back on the received wisdom that it's a bad thing to release an unfinished product. While it certainly can go badly for you, there are also plenty of examples of how a slightly rough first launch can still establish a huge market lead for a company, whether it's the battle royale mode in Fortnite or the first generation of Apple Watch.

Back to gaming, though, for a minute, to take a look at some words from one of the people who's most tangibly changed gaming in the last 30 years, and in particular during the last decade. The genius behind Dark Souls and, later, Elden Ring, Miyazaki's games are known for their brutally difficult approach to progression.

Well, how's the quote above for an unapologetic approach? In one quick response, he nullifies any possibility of relenting and confirms why he's wired this way in the first place. Why shouldn't games challenge us in the same way that normal life does, after all?

Bill Gates has seen it all when it comes to tech, and while he's long since slid away into a post-work life of endless wealth and dubious connections, he was the source of some surprisingly concise quotes in his Microsoft days.

This one, in particular, about the value of listening to criticism, surely contains a lesson that many of his peers and acolytes must have learned. While it can be tough to take a licking when you release a device, and nobody prefers hard feedback to positive reviews, often the criticisms are more useful.

After all, how can you know what needs to improve in a device or service without listening to the people who've used it and found it wanting?

They don't come much bigger than Steve Jobs when it comes to tech figures who loom large over the past 30 years in the industry. He left too soon, but Jobs helped to build up the company that arguably defines the last three decades: Apple.

In that time, he was prone to catchy turns of phrase, concise demonstrations, and a privately ruthless approach to development. This quote, from a commencement speech he gave to Stanford in 2005, is the shortest on my list, and feels like a good place to leave things.

It's a simple encouragement to the inventors and founders of tomorrow, to keep having ideas, making mistakes and building new things – and it's a quote that has clearly impressed generations since he spoke it.