from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
videotex
n. obs.
An electronic service offering people the privilege of paying to read
the weather on their television screens instead of having somebody
read it to them for free while they brush their teeth. The idea bombed
everywhere it wasn't government-subsidized, because by the time
videotex was practical the installed base of personal computers could
hook up to timesharing services and do the things for which videotex
might have been worthwhile better and cheaper. Videotex planners badly
overestimated both the appeal of getting information from a computer
and the cost of local intelligence at the user's end. Like the
{gorilla arm} effect, this has been a cautionary tale to hackers ever
since. See also {vannevar}.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
videotex
An obsolete electronic service offering people the privilege
of paying to read the weather on their television screens
instead of having somebody read it to them for free while they
brush their teeth. The idea bombed everywhere it wasn't
government-subsidised, because by the time videotex was
practical the installed base of personal computers could hook
up to {time-sharing} services and do the things for which
videotex might have been worthwhile better and cheaper.
Videotex planners badly overestimated both the appeal of
getting information from a computer and the cost of local
intelligence at the user's end. Like the {gorilla arm}
effect, this has been a cautionary tale to hackers ever since.
See also {vannevar}.
[{Jargon File}]