Comment by reaperducer

a parallel universe where all those kiosks still existed, and they were somehow like computer that you can briefly rent, to do the things people do with a smartphone

In the early days of the Internet, this existed somewhere in western Europe where I was traveling.

There was a phone booth down the block from my hotel and a couple of times I popped in and used it to check my email.

Maybe Vienna or Amsterdam? It was a long time ago. Swiping one's own credit card would have been unusual then, so I have no idea how I paid for it. Especially since I mostly used travelers checks.