Personal computers began to spread in about 1979:
- The Apple II was launched in 1977
- IBM's first personal computer was launched in 1981, encouraging adoption by business
Initially PCs had only the most rudimentary abilities to connect to other computers. They could use dialup telephone lines to connect to time-sharing systems, emulating a conventional terminal. Their email possibilities were thus very limited.
The advent of PC LANs was a major stimulation for PC-based email, because emails could be exchanged at work with the user's immediate colleagues.--David Ferris