In the early days of personal computing, the first SMART Board, connected to an LCD panel and a computer running integrated programs, was designed to function as a large display screen for a PC — a hi-tech replacement for the traditional chalkboard. The idea was that a teacher in a classroom would be able to use the whiteboard and system to control the entire operation from the interactive whiteboard display itself, which would function as both a computer monitor and mouse.

Fewer and fewer of us are old enough to remember the old-fashioned parking meter. Remember how it worked? After driving around a downtown block a few times, you finally spotted somebody loading shopping bags into the back seat of a Chevrolet station wagon, and then getting behind the wheel to drive away. You quickly slipped into the newly vacated spot and began to desperately hunt through your car for the quarters, dimes, and nickels you would need to deposit in that ancient coin-operated meter. And then you had to remember to return every 30 or 60 minutes to feed the meter with another of your precious coins.