Before the World Wide Web, or even CompuServe or AOL, there was videotex, an interactive information network that typically required a dedicated terminal, though some services used a TV.
The content was crude by today’s standards with low-resolution graphics. Some were text only. The information videotex services provided were usually things like weather, stock reports, and general news. Some offered services like telebanking.
Source: Telidon, 1981
Telidon was Canada’s videotex service. Launched in 1978, it never gained the audience that was expected. The service closed 1986. The screen captures below show what the experience of using an early videotex system was like.
Source: Telidon, 1981
Source: Telidon, 1981
Source: Telidon, 1981
Source: Telidon, 1981
Source: Telidon, 1981
Source: Telidon, 1981
Source: Telidon, 1981
Classic Tech 