AsThe distinctterm from stand-alone'''network computing, this term''' first appears informally in the late 1970's to denote computers[[computer]]s working together over a [[computer network|network]], as opposed to stand-alone computing. It later came to have a specific technical meaning, denoting a graphical form of remote computing. It retains its more general meaning, however, in commercial IT circles.
As [[network protocolsprotocol]]s became part of increasing numbers of commercial systems in the 1980's, the term "network computing" became increasing redundant. By the late 1980's, companies such as [[Sun Microsystems]] had marketing campaigns that announced "the network <i>''is</i>'' the computer".
By this time, stand-alone workstations & [[personal computers]] had come to dominate the computing landscape. They were inter-connected, but they were increasing decentralized, unlike [[time-sharing]] systems. As machines became more commodified, they began to fail more often. The notion emerged of centralized time-sharing, over a very wide area network, as a way of retaining one's "computing identity".
