What is Minitel?
[[File:Minitel1.jpg|thumb|250px|Minitel 1. Built 1982]] The '''Minitel''' is a [[Videotex]] [[online service]]. Users connected to it through the [[telephone]] lines. It was a successful pre-[[World Wide Web]] online service. The PTT (Poste, Téléphone et Télécommunication) started Minitel started in [[France]] in 1982. From the beginning, users could buy things online that are now done on the [[Internet]]. People could make [[train]] reservations, check [[stock]] prices, search the [[telephone directory]], have a mail box, and chat. In February 2009, [[France Telecom]] said the Minitel network still had 10 million monthly connections. One-million were to the directory. France Telecom ended the service on 30 June 2012.<ref>{{cite news |first=Agence France |last=Presse |title=Le Minitel disparaîtra en juin 2012 |date=21 July 2011 |newspaper=Le Figaro |trans-title=Minitel will disappear in June 2012 |url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2011/07/21/97001-20110721FILWWW00446-le-minitel-disparaitra-en-juin-2012.php }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> ==Business model== [[File:Minitel-CnAM 44045-IMG 5396-gradient.jpg|thumb|1985 Alcatel Minitel terminal with non-AZERTY keyboard]] Millions of [[computer terminal|terminal]]s were free to telephone subscribers. That meant many people and businesses had access immediately. People who got Minitel did not get a regular paper telephone directory. Minitel gave access to these services: * [[phone directory]] (free) * mail-order retail companies * [[airline]] or train ticket purchases * information services * [[databases]] * [[message boards]] Many new [[companies]] started to try to make money using the network. This was like the later dot-com bubble. Many of the companies failed. Some people criticized [[pornographic]] services on Minitel because children could access them. The government did not make rules about pornography on Minitel. The government also made a [[tax]] on pornographic online services. ===Finances=== Payment methods *[[Credit card]] for purchases *Te