He kind of addressed the difference between what's happening now and what happened in '99. ~10% who wanted to get rich doing it back then, versus people actually getting interested in the stuff now.
Most have majors in other areas but recognize, probably correctly, that having programming skills will likely increase their chances of gaining employment in their own field.
I would say this was just as true in the 90s as it is today.
In my experience, it is much more true today. If you see an artists or designers with actionscript or javascript on their resume, it's a plus and hardly surprising (unlike 10 years ago). Scientific computing has exploded in the last 10 years due to the availability of data and computing resources. I hardly know any science researchers who don't at least collaborate with people who have programming and computer science skills.
That is, before when kids showed up to get rich, they struggled through the advanced math and hated it. Now when kids show up to get rich, they expect the advanced math, but see easier/more-engaging routes through things like web, UX or media spurs.