| Calculation | Batch | Time-sharing | Desktop | Network | |
| Decade | prehistory - 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s - now |
| Location |
Invertor's Lab |
Computer room |
Terminal room |
Desktop |
Mobile |
| Users |
Inventors |
Experts |
Specialists |
Individuals |
Groups |
| Objective |
calculate |
Calculate |
Access |
Present |
Communicate |
| Data |
Numeric |
Alphanumeric |
Text, numbers |
Fonts, graphs |
Multimedia |
| Hardware |
(electro-)mechanical |
transistors |
integrated circuits |
vlsi |
wsi |
| Interface |
none |
Punched Card & Command line |
Keyboard & CRT |
See & point |
Ask & tell |
| Operation |
Calculate |
Process |
Edit |
Layout |
Orchestrate |
| Connectivity |
none |
None |
Pripheral cable |
LAN |
Internet |
|
Owners |
Inventors |
Corporate computer centers |
Divisional IS shops |
Departmental end users |
Everyone |