parallel inventions in the 15th and 20th century:
- books (printed through the printing press) spread knowledge just like the internet does, allowing a facilitated and drastically accelerated exchange of ideas
- new transport methods allow new lands to be reached and new worlds to be explored. i wonder whether it is an accident that “spaceships” are called after ships
They absolutely did exist in the 20th century, but they were much heavier and bulky, used resistive touch screens, had awful battery life, and were understandably very primitive compared to modern tablets.