Viewtron

Viewtron was an early online service offered by Knight-Ridder and AT&T. It started as a videotex service requiring users to have a special terminal, then became a computer-based service as Commodore and other personal computers became important in the marketplace.cite news | first=Howard I. | last=Finberg | coauthors= | title=Before the Web, There Was Viewtron | date=2003-10-29 | publisher= | url =http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=52769 | work =Poynteronline.com | pages = | accessdate = 2007-09-03 | language = ] Viewtron used the NAPLPS graphics language to provide a user interface that was graphically sophisticated by the standards of the time.

Viewtron began offering its service on October 30, 1983, featuring news from the Miami Herald and Associated Press. It also offered airline schedules from the Official Airline Guide (OAG), and limited online banking services. Viewtron expanded to include all of Florida in 1984 and to other U.S. cities by 1985. At its height, Viewtron was operated in at least 15 cities by various newspaper companies. After an investment reportedly in excess of $50 million, Viewtron closed in 1986. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Viewtron | date= | publisher=University of Florida Interactive Media Center | url =http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/CARLSON/history/viewtron.htm | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-09-03 | language = ]

References

External links

* [http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/CARLSON/1980s.shtml David Carlson's Online Timeline - The 1980s]