Eli5 In the days of dial up internet how would large organisations (or even homes with more than 1 computer) enable multiple computers to use the internet at once

Question

Eli5 In the days of dial up internet how would large organisations (or even homes with more than 1 computer) enable multiple computers to use the internet at once

In: 4

Answer 1

There were office phone systems which allowed computers to connect from a desk to a central system in the office – and that system could connect out. Often, the desktop system was just a terminal – a keyboard and a monitor which just displayed what was coming from the central system. If you had more terminals than connections to the central system, you could be locked out until someone logged out and freed up a slot.