Date   : Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:31:42 -0000
From   : andrew.hancock@... (Andrew Hancock)
Subject: Prestel

We had a Sony Trintron TV (which I through out last year, because Tube
finally died), which we used to connect to Prestel in the 80s (1979-1984),
it had a Viewdata/Prestel adaptor built into the TV which terminated in a
very large "phone jack", which took BT in the day ages to connect to the
telephone line, and it was hardwired.

But my father did likes his gagdets and still does, hence first to have
computer, video recorder, dvd player in the school, kids used to visit just
to inspect the technology!

Andrew

>-----Original Message-----
>From: 
>bbc-micro-bounces+andrew.hancock=cyrus-consultants.co.uk at lists.
>cloud9.co.uk 
>[mailto:bbc-micro-bounces+andrew.hancock=cyrus-consultants.co.u
k@...] On Behalf Of Mark Usher
>Sent: 18 January 2009 11:20
>To: bbc-micro@...
>Cc: peter.sweasey@...
>Subject: Re: [BBC-Micro] Prestel
>
>Surely Prestel wasn't in the average home that much, more 
>banks and travel agents - although it was on everyone's wish list!
>
>What the majority did use back in the day for "email", were 
>BBS systems and that would be significantly easier to set up 
>in the time frame. With a simple modem and terminal software 
>these were available for almost all home computers of the era 
>without the need of a Prestel adapter.
>
>Just my 2penneth...
>
>-Mark Usher
>www.bbcdocs.com
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: bbc-micro-bounces+mu.list=aon.at@...
>[mailto:bbc-micro-bounces+mu.list=aon.at@...] 
>On Behalf Of gARetH baBB
>Sent: 17 January 2009 12:28
>To: bbc-micro@...
>Subject: [BBC-Micro] Prestel
>
>I'm pretty much now devoid of stuff to help him (apart from a 
>few printed bits and pieces), but I suspect one of you lot may 
>be able to.
>
>I think he's on a tight deadline - 1980 happens on February 
>6th. I've suggested that using BBCs would be easier than real 
>Tandata/Prestel terminals, but they're doing a seperate BBC v 
>Spectrum bit so something which was around doing Prestel in 
>1980 is I think what he's really after.
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>-Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:12:29 -0800
>-To: Gareth Babb <z.facebook@...>
>-Subject: Peter Sweasey sent you a message on Facebook...
>
>Hello Mr Babb
>
>You don't know me - but I'm wondering if you're the same 
>Gareth Babb who was a regular contributor to Acorn User?
>
>I'm a director working on a new series for BBC Four, Electric 
>Dreams, which is a history of technology in the home from 1970 
>to the present.  
>We're stripping a real family's home of all their modern 
>gadgets (with their permission, of course) then making them 
>live with equipment from different years...
>
>As well as giving modern teenagers early microcomputers (and 
>standing well back), we really want to include the story of 
>Prestel, because it's so clearly the forerunner of what we do 
>online today... it's just the technology (and pricing) weren't 
>quite there yet.  I desperately wanted it as a young teenager, 
>but my parents said it would be a waste of money.  
>They bought me a Spectrum instead.
>
>What we're trying to do is at the very least source a couple 
>of terminals we could borrow (preferably one of the funky 
>little ones that resembled the Minitels our friends across the 
>channel used).  On top of that we'd like to "emulate" the 
>Prestel experience, ideally to the extent of our family being 
>able to interact enough to send a message (not that there'd be 
>anywhere to go).  Emulating via a disguised modern machine 
>would be one option - the dream though would be to somehow use 
>a Prestel terminal to receive video signals and input on 
>screen information (though we realise we couldn't then send it 
>anywhere.)
>
>BT, shockingly, don't have any terminals anymore.  The Science 
>Museum has one but won't lend it out.  Do you, or do you know 
>of anyone?  Could you suggest anything we could do to bring 
>Prestel briefly and gloriously back to life?
>
>Any suggestions gratefully received,
>
>All best wishes
>
>Peter Sweasey
>peter.sweasey@...
>07808 864282
>020 7241 9306
>--------------------
>
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