Industrial water-wheels, steam engines and electric generators became obsolete when utility companies started supplying electricity over the network. Manufacturers didn't want to be in the power-generation business, they just wanted to use it. Tapping into a centrally supplied utility became efficient and cheap. The same thing is happening to computing now. The grid wins.
Waterwheels and steam engines also supplied power but they lacked an important advantage. They cannot be supplied efficiently from a central location unlike electricity or computing and couldn't achieve the scale economies of central supply.
The Big Switch: Our New Digital Destiny By Nicholas Carr
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