Without computers and networks, the communications technology of the trilogy sometimes comes across as amusingly clunky. No electronic messaging, no idea of a paperless office. Messages arrive in capsules, shot through tubes or teleported through hyper-space. Arkady speaks into the machine, and it prints out her words in a fancy calligraphic font. Although Asimov surely had no conception of a personal computer in the days he wrote these books, a form of fax machine had been around for many years, no doubt providing the germ of Arkady's transcriber.
Computers are ubiquitous and often mentioned.
Asimov introduces an immersive computing experience leaning toward Gibsonesque cyberspace. In fact, what it does is to force me to think about our own current visions of the future. Surely we are just as much limited by the existing state of technology around us. For seven years, I've listened to self-styled experts pontificate about 'what the future holds for the Internet,' and I've always thought what a lot of arrogant nonsense it is. When it comes to the Internet, I've always resisted the urge to predict longer than about six months into the future.