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Author Topic: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.  (Read 8156 times)

KynloStephen66515

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mrainey

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2012, 03:28 PM »
Is that what's called the "vision thing"?
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KynloStephen66515

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2012, 03:32 PM »
He gets words on his television!

Deozaan

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2012, 04:17 PM »
Two hours to download the text-only, ad-free version of the newspaper! I will never complain about my "slow" connection again.

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TaoPhoenix

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2012, 04:31 PM »

"But he doesn't get ads."

Nope. Not the internet!  :P

Deozaan

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2012, 04:42 PM »
"But he doesn't get ads."

Nope. Not the internet!  :P

I like how they say that as if it's a bad thing.

"The version he gets is just like the paper version, except he doesn't get any ads, the poor fellow. :'("

For people who didn't watch the video, that's not a direct quote. It's just my interpretation.

jojo99

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2012, 10:45 PM »
That's great!  I didn't know they actually had a service like that working in 1981.

techidave

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2012, 06:12 AM »
Its hard to believe back in 81, there were that many people willing to spend the money on computers, dial up access just to read the paper!  $5 per hour for access, compared to today it would be like $20 per hour.

Renegade

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2012, 07:48 AM »
Its hard to believe back in 81, there were that many people willing to spend the money on computers, dial up access just to read the paper!  $5 per hour for access, compared to today it would be like $20 per hour.

And a newspaper was what? $0.15 or $0.25?
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techidave

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2012, 09:11 PM »
If that much.  Its also difficult to think that people would want to tie up their phone lines for an hour or two just to read the paper.   :D

KynloStephen66515

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2012, 10:12 PM »
If that much.  Its also difficult to think that people would want to tie up their phone lines for an hour or two just to read the paper.   :D

I guess back then, much like now, people did it just so they could say "I did that!"

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Re: Cool Video: News report from 1981 about the Internet.
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2012, 10:50 PM »
This might have been part of the Telext and Videotext technology that started up in the '60s and 70s and was generally well under way by 1981 - e.g., Teletex(t), Videotex(t), CeeFax, Prestel, Minitel, etc.
It seemed rather confusing, because it was a mish-mash of competitive, proprietary technology offerings.

I think Teletext became the de facto standard in UK/Europe, and was (or maybe still is being?) delivered via TV broadcast. (You saw "TXT" buttons on some TV remote controls if the TV had a Telext decoder fitted.) The data was carried for free in previously unused bandwidth (blank screen lines) in the TV transmissions. It was quite useful - e.g., on-screen updated information on things such as football results, weather, news, etc.

In the early '90s, something a bit similar seemed to have happened to Radio in the UK. The BBC was making digital radio information transmissions on FM, which could be utilised if you had a DR receiver. I recall hiring a car in the UK in the '90s. It had DR which could display transmitted information about the FM station (e.g., currently playing program name), and even brief traffic reports peculiar to your local FM transmitter's area. The reports appeared on a small car radio LCD display.
Bit dangerous if you were trying to read it whilst driving.

EDIT: Teletext is apparently alive and well, in NZ at least:
What is Teletext? TVNZ TELETEXT HAS IMPROVED
(Link also contains a brief history of the development of Teletext from the '70s.)
« Last Edit: April 08, 2012, 11:24 PM by IainB, Reason: Update with new info. »