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Dead Media Working Note 02.1
Dead Medium: Canada's Telidon Network
From: jackr_AT_intrepid.axess.com (Jack Ruttan)
Here is information I found out about Telidon, which is an
obsolete, two-way version of the British Prestel system.
It is from a book called GUTENBERG TWO, Godfrey & Parkhill
eds. (Toronto: Press Porcepic Ltd. 1980)
>From the glossary, pp. 220-221:
"TELETEXT: An inexpensive, one-way information delivery
system designed for mass-market home and business use. It
makes use of the spare signal carrying capacity in
existing television channels (((my note: the "vertical
blanking interval, that space you see when you misadjust
the tv's vertical hold.))). It can present from 100 to 300
'pages' or TV. screens of information."
"VIDEOTEXT: an information delivery system that makes use
of the telephone for two-way telecommunications. It may be
linked into two-way cable T.V. or hybrid TV/telephone
systems. Electronic mail is made possible by this system."
"VIEWDATA: An early name for videotex, and still used as
the generic name for the British Prestel system."
British Teletext started in 1975.
The book used the term "Electronic Highway."
A small town called Elie, Manitoba, was to be the first in
the world totally wired with fiber optic cable.
Unfortunately, the book is not current enough to say if
this actually took place. It also doesn't say when Telidon
was abandoned, though I'm sure I saw it operating at Expo
86 in Vancouver. (very very slow screen refresh times, and
graphics like some of those early Apple II computer
games).
Jack Ruttan, Montreal
Dead
Media | 0.01-02.0 | 02.1-04.0
| 04.1-06.0 | 06.1-08.0 |
08.1-10.0 | 10.1-12.0 |