Looking Back Helps Envision the Future

Last week marked the end of an era for a little known technology that in several ways set the stage for many services and tasks we now do on the Internet.  First developed in France in the late 1970s and installed in most every home in Francebeginning in the 1980s, the Minitel terminal was a technical marvel developed in a country not known for high tech advances.   State owned France Telecom has announced that it will cease operating the service at the end of June.

At the outset, millions of small Minitel terminals were distributed free to businesses and households throughout Franceand connected to the wired phone network.  The devices resembled small laptop computers with keyboards and mini TV screens instead of the standard flat screens that we now have.  At first the main function was to replace the printed phone directory with an electronic version but the service was soon expanded to include news reports.   The screens had no graphics or color but displayed only text.

While this system might seem crude by today’s standards, in the 1980s it was cutting edge.  Services soon came online to purchase airline and hotel tickets, check movies schedules and even order items from stores.  All of this before the development of the Internet and all of this traffic was being carried on the existing telephone network.

Of course since this was a closed system, the connections were restricted to other Minitel devices and only very recently were some of the services made available to Internet connected devices. 

There is great debate in Franceweather the Minitel network helped advance Internet penetration or held back its development.  For sure France Telecom had a lot invested in this closed system and as such was in no hurry to abandon it.  In the end, however, the limited nature of the Minitel network was its own undoing.

They say that hind sight is 20/20 but it can also help us envision the future.  If the Minitel service morphed into the Internet and all of the extraordinary things it offers us today, most likely looking ahead 30 years we will have devices and services that will make our iPhones and Adroids, our Macbooks, Kindles and iPads seem as obsolete and quaint as the Minitel.

Looking Back Helps Envision the Future

Last week marked the end of an era for a little known technology that in several ways set the stage for many services and tasks we now do on the Internet.  First developed in France in the late 1970s and installed in most every home in France beginning in the 1980s, the Minitel terminal was a technical marvel developed in a country not known for high tech advances.   State owned France Telecom has announced that it will cease operating the service at the end of June.

At the outset, millions of small Minitel terminals were distributed free to businesses and households throughout France and connected to the wired phone network.  The devices resembled small laptop computers with keyboards and mini TV screens instead of the standard flat screens that we now have.  At first the main function was to replace the printed phone directory with an electronic version but the service was soon expanded to include news reports.   The screens had no graphics or color but displayed only text.

While this system might seem crude by today’s standards, in the 1980s it was cutting edge.  Services soon came online to purchase airline and hotel tickets, check movies schedules and even order items from stores.  All of this before the development of the Internet and all of this traffic was being carried on the existing telephone network.

Of course since this was a closed system, the connections were restricted to other Minitel devices and only very recently were some of the services made available to Internet connected devices. 

There is great debate in France weather the Minitel network helped advance Internet penetration or held back its development.  For sure France Telecom had a lot invested in this closed system and as such was in no hurry to abandon it.  In the end, however, the limited nature of the Minitel network was its own undoing.

They say that hind sight is 20/20 but it can also help us envision the future.  If the Minitel service morphed into the Internet and all of the extraordinary things it offers us today, most likely looking ahead 30 years we will have devices and services that will make our iPhones and Adroids, our Macbooks, Kindles and iPads seem as obsolete and quaint as the Minitel.

Some Good Ideas Just Take Time

There is a popular quotation about Cincinnati that came to mind a few weeks ago when I read that Cincinnati Bell announced they have now determined that they would no longer need to publish a printed edition of the “White Pages.” The quote, attributed to either Mark Twain or Will Rogers - it matters not - reads, “When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times.”

The company, in their application to the PUCO, noted that most people now get their telephone listing information on line or from some other service rather than relying on the paper and ink tome that is distributed each year. While some might think that this is innovative thinking from one of the area’s high tech leaders, I had a little chuckle. What took us so long?

Beginning in 1975, France began an ambitious project to update the nation’s aging telephone system. This led to the creation of electronic phone books. Called Minitel, the telephone company customers were given a custom designed terminal for free. While it was not a computer as we know it, it did have a small screen and keyboard and was attached to the incoming telephone line. So some 34 years ago, France Telecom reasoned that it would be cheaper in the long run to give away free terminals and teach its customers how to look up telephone listings on the terminal instead of continuing to print and ship millions of phone books each year.

Over the years the French system has undergone many iterations and today half of the 60 million telephone customers in France use an electroninc telephone book.

For sure it is always dangerous to compare private industry with state supported competition. Nevertheless there are many technologies in place around the world that make some of the “advanced” technology here in the US look very dated.

As long as we are on the subject of telephone books, do you think they will also stop the delivery of the “Yellow Pages,” “The Yellow Book,” “The REAL Yellow Pages,” “The Pink Pages,” “The Blue Pages,” and “The Partiot Indiana Business Directory” to our porches anytime soon? There is a National Forest worth of trees to be saved if they do.

Some Good Ideas Just Take Time

There is a popular quotation about Cincinnati that came to mind a few weeks ago when I read that Cincinnati Bell announced they have now determined that they would no longer need to publish a printed edition of the “White Pages.” The quote, attributed to either Mark Twain or Will Rogers - it matters not - reads, “When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times.”

The company, in their application to the PUCO, noted that most people now get their telephone listing information on line or from some other service rather than relying on the paper and ink tome that is distributed each year. While some might think that this is innovative thinking from one of the area’s high tech leaders, I had a little chuckle. What took us so long?

Beginning in 1975, France began an ambitious project to update the nation’s aging telephone system. This led to the creation of electronic phone books. Called Minitel, the telephone company customers were given a custom designed terminal for free. While it was not a computer as we know it, it did have a small screen and keyboard and was attached to the incoming telephone line. So some 34 years ago, France Telecom reasoned that it would be cheaper in the long run to give away free terminals and teach its customers how to look up telephone listings on the terminal instead of continuing to print and ship millions of phone books each year.

Over the years the French system has undergone many iterations and today half of the 60 million telephone customers in France use an electroninc telephone book.

For sure it is always dangerous to compare private industry with state supported competition. Nevertheless there are many technologies in place around the world that make some of the “advanced” technology here in the US look very dated.

As long as we are on the subject of telephone books, do you think they will also stop the delivery of the “Yellow Pages,” “The Yellow Book,” “The REAL Yellow Pages,” “The Pink Pages,” “The Blue Pages,” and “The Partiot Indiana Business Directory” to our porches anytime soon? There is a National Forest worth of trees to be saved if they do.