The evolutionary path of the computer is curiously cyclical. In the 1970s, companies relied upon mainframes, with multiple users sharing a single central computer through “terminals.” But by the early 80s, the ascendancy of the personal computer had pushed this setup to obscurity, essentially re-orienting the relationship to keep most of a computer’s processing and productivity tasks between the machine and its individual user. The rise of dial-up and then broadband Internet in the following decade changed our conception of computers from isolated islands of processing power to connected communication devices, not unlike phones or televisions.

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