What is le Minitel?

The Minitel was a videotex online service accessible through telephone lines, and was the world’s most successful online service prior to the World Wide Web. It was invented in Cesson-Sévigné, near Rennes in Brittany, France.

What did the Minitel do?

Unlike AOL or Facebook, the French state made Minitel an open and neutral platform, which allowed users to connect to privately run services. The state telecom built and operated the underlying infrastructure for the network, and it then allowed anyone to provide services atop it, so long as they registered to do so.

Did the French invent the Internet?

At the end of the 1990s, nine million terminals were linked to some 25,000 Minitel services. So the French invented the internet? No, not exactly. Of two ideas launched in France in 1981-82, it was the seemingly backward-looking one – the TGV – which seduced the world.

What is Minitel Rose?

One of the biggest hits on Minitel was the so-called “Minitel Rose”, the world’s first electronic adult chatrooms, where people using pseudonyms patiently exchanged steamy messages that took what would now seem an eternity to appear on screen.

Who invented the Internet?

Bob Kahn
Vint Cerf
Internet/Inventors

What was the Internet before the Internet?

ARPANET
The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late 1960s with the creation of ARPANET, or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET used packet switching to allow multiple computers to communicate on a single network.

Why was Minitel so successful?

Apart from ease of use, two other factors ensured Minitel’s success. First was that it was distributed free of charge by the then state-owned France Telecom (or its predecessor the PTT). This meant that even the poorest of households contained a set, subsidised by the taxpayer.

Who invented email?

Ray TomlinsonEmail / Inventor

Why was the Minitel invented?

The Minitel network was originally proposed to give French residents universal access to an electronic telephone directory, to reduce the cost of paper telephone books, and to promote the nation’s new telephone system run by the government communications agency, France Telecom.

Who invented phones?

Alexander Graham Bell
Antonio MeucciJohann Philipp Reis
Telephone/Inventors

What is Minitel 1?

Minitel 1. Built 1982 The Minitel was a videotex online service accessible through telephone lines, and was the world’s most successful online service prior to the World Wide Web. It was invented in Cesson-Sévigné, near Rennes in Brittany, France .

What does Le Monde du Minitel mean?

“Le monde du Minitel se paye Le Monde” [The world of Minitel pays for ‘Le Monde’ (A wordplay: the newspaper ‘Le Monde’ translates as ‘The World’.)]. Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 30 June 2019. ^ a b c “Minitel: The rise and fall of the France-wide web”, Hugh Schofield, BBC News Magazine (Paris), 27 June 2012.

What is the Minitel service in France?

France Télécom retired the service on 30 June 2012. Officially TELETEL, the name Minitel is abbreviated from the French title of Médium interactif par numérisation d’information téléphonique (Interactive medium for digitized information by telephone).

Are Minitel terminals free to use?

Millions of terminals were given for free (officially loans, and property of the PTT) to telephone subscribers. The telephone company emphasized ease of use; one observer wrote that “the Minitel terminal requires slightly more training than a toaster to operate”.