I remember growing up and in my home my family would frequently encounter the difficulties or annoyances of life and remark, "if only someone would invent a thing to". Sometimes we wished for straight up science fiction but most of the time we wished for things that, with some effort, could be made to happen.
Most people would say that the 80s and 90s were marked with the rapid introduction of computer technology. But I'd argue that it was also marked with total stagnation in just about every single already mature industry, particularly for end users.