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" I think that computers today allow us one last opportunity to provide something like a level playingfield in America."
- William Gibson
 |
| Tanks | ||
| Device that provides mass storage of information. |
Tanks could store factual data, as well as multimedia presentations like a television program.
| You know the Logics set-up. You got a Logic in your house. I looks like a vision-receiver used to, only it's got keys instead of dials and you punch the keys for what you wanna get. It's hooked in to the Tank, which has the carson Circuit all fixed up with relays. Say you punch "Station SNAFU" on your Logic. Relays in the Tank take over an' whatever vision program SNAFU is telecastin' comes on your logic's screen. Or you punch "Sally Hancock's Phone" an' the screen blinks an' sputters an' you're hooked up with the Logic in her house an' if someone answers you got a vision-phone connection. But besides that, if you punch for the weather forecast or who won today's race at Hialea or who was mistress of the White House durin' Garfield's administration or what is PDQ and R sellin' for today, that comes on the screen too. The relays in the Tank do it. The Tank is a big buildin' full of all the facts in creation and all the recorded telecasts that ever was made - an' it's hooked in with all the other Tanks all over the country - an' everything you wanna know or see or hear, you punch for it an' you get it. Very convenient. |
| From A Logic Named Joe,
by Murray Leinster. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1946 Additional resources -
|
"Very convenient" - that's the Internet, all right. Tanks use data-plates to store information.
See also data net from The Shockwave Rider (1975) by John Brunner, the first use of web from Souvenir (1954) by Philip K. Dick and nationwide data network from The Minority Report (1956) by Philip K. Dick.
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