It might be hard for younger readers to imagine how life was before personal computers and the internet. Communication was by telephone or mail. We either waited for the daily newspaper for news (beyond brief radio headlines) or watched the evening news on television. Many people waited for the weekly news magazine for the bulk of their in depth reporting. There were telephone numbers to call if you wanted the correct time or weather–and phones were a boring wired device. We waited until the bank statement or credit card statements came in the mail without a convenient way to check on them in between. Needless to say, there was no easy way to get the answer to virtually any question we had on any topic.
Back in 1974 computers were massive things which would fill rooms, not something which we would buy for our home (or now carry in our pockets). Considering how much things have changed, science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke got things amazingly correct in his predictions seen on this video.
