The crystal ball business can be tricky. This is especially true when it comes to predicting the degree to which new commercial technology will be accepted by the general public. Sometimes even the smartest of the smart miss the boat badly in their predictions.

Consider, for example, these four famous pronouncements:

1 — “TV will never be a serious competitor for radio because people must sit and keep their eyes glued on a screen; the average American family hasn’t time for it.” ~ The New York Times

2 — “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” ~ Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), maker of big business mainframe computers, arguing against the PC in 1977.

3 — “There is practically no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television, or radio service inside the United States.” ~ T. Craven, FCC Commissioner, in 1961 (the first commercial communications satellite went into service in 1965).

4 — “Everyone’s always asking me when Apple will come out with a cell phone. My answer is, ‘Probably never.’” ~ Tech columnist David Pogue (2006)

As we look back at these and other wildly off-the-mark predictions, it’s easy to laugh. Hindsight is always 20/20. Predicting the future is risky. But of one trend in healthcare I am certain. The battle for POC share of market is most likely to go to oxygen providers who consistently offer their patients POCs that are the simplest to work, the easiest to maintain and the most comfortable to use. Those brands would be the 5-setting OxyGo® and the new ultra lightweight 3-setting OxyGo FIT™.

My on-the-money prediction: “If you recommend OxyGo and OxyGo FIT, your customers will thank you. Fair pricing and the highest quality always wins friends and referrals.”