The Internet had immediate and obvious applications, it just took time for those to become fully realized. It was also a massive effort involving entire industr

The Internet had immediate and obvious applications, it just took time for those to become fully realized. It was also a massive effort involving entire industries, not one dinky little company hacking away on some idea in obscurity. There were companies making internet killers, don't kid yourself, and they're all dead. Prodigy. Compuserve. People don't even know what they are. Likewise the mobile phone had immediate and tangible benefits, but it took a while for the devices to get small enough and cost-effective enough for everyone to be able to afford them. They had immediate appeal. This was also a push done by an entire industry. It's extremely rare that a singular company ever succeeds on this scale.