On June 30th, its 30th birthday, France Télécom is hanging up on the Minitel videotexting system, whose monitors have been a fixture in French homes, offices, and post offices since 1982. The “France-Wide Web” text-over-phoneline system replaced phone directories, displayed online news and information, and allowed electronic bill payments and other transactions (even virtual sex). Cellphone MSM texting and e-commerce on the Web now serve many of the same functions. Still, there is some mélancolie as the French say “Adieu Minitel, ami fidèle.”
More:
“Nation bids ‘adieu’ to ‘French Internet,'” Tony Todd, France 24
“Adieu, Minitel: France’s forerunner to the web to close,” David Meyer, ZDNET UK
“French bid ‘adieu’ to Minitel, the France-Wide Web,” Vicky Buffery and Pauline Mevel, Reuters via Chicago Tribune
“Minitel: The rise and fall of the France-wide web,” Hugh Schofield, BBC News
#Minitel on Twitter
Minitel core services portal and Yellow Pages
“France Telecom to Shut Down a Beloved Precursor of the Web,” Davide Castelvecchi, Scientific American blog
“The French Minitel” Jack Kessler, D-Lib Magazine [1995]
Historique du teletexte en France,” France 2 via Wayback Machine
“France Télécom to Bid Adieu to Minitel.” Mac Colchester, Wall Street Journal
“La Nostalgie: Le Minitel,” William V. Madison. Billevesées
“Le Minitel disparaîtra en juin 2012 après 30 ans de services,” Christophe Carmarans, RFI
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