Minitel

Minitel (1982)

• Minitel was a French videotex system that provided information and services via phone lines.
• It was launched in 1982, years before the World Wide Web.
• People used it for for accessing information, looking up telephone numbers, and making purchases.
• By 1985, Minitels were installed in over one million French homes.
• The system was retired on June 30th, 2012.

CYCLADES (1972-1977)

CYCLADES was Minitel's Predecessor

• CYCLADES was a French research network designed by Louis Pouzin at IRIA (later INRIA).
• CYCLADES explored packet-switching as an alternative to the early ARPANET design.
• CYCLADES was the First network to implement the end-to-end principle, making hosts responsible for reliable data delivery.
• Some concepts from CYCLADES influenced the design of TCP/IP.