Parallel to what happened with edge devices, the Internet itself went from a peer-to-peer model in the 70's and 80's to the (multi/broad)cast model of today. On

Parallel to what happened with edge devices, the Internet itself went from a peer-to-peer model in the 70's and 80's to the (multi/broad)cast model of today. Once the cable companies gained ownership of most regional networks as a consequence of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996, they de-emphasised most protocols and honed in on HTTP, turning the 'Net into 'billions of channels with nothing on'. They wanted users to be passive consumers of oligopolistically-sourced content, not active participants in a noosphere.