- SETI is perhaps the most well known example, with over five million computers users on their network. distributed computing - Computer Definition(1) The use of multiple computers networked throughout a geographical area. See grid computing. (2) The use of multiple computers in an enterprise rather than one centralized system. This use of the term was coined in the late 1970s when minicomputers were installed in departments throughout a company instead of deploying terminals to a mainframe.