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]
Nearby terms:
video RAM « video random access memory « video terminal « videotex » Vienna Definition Language » Vienna Definition Method » Vienna Development Method
