From Reverb.com:
In many ways, MIDI 1.0 has changed a lot since the specification made its public debut in 1983. You can measure the progress by how MIDI-compatible instruments connect, the types of devices and software programs that employ it, and how much easier the technology has become for musicians to use.
Connecting your MIDI controller through USB, drawing MIDI hits directly into a DAW’s drum pattern grid, or instantly mapping something like an Ableton Push to Ableton Live’s functions and parameters—such things were far outside the realm of possibility in the early ’80s.