France says farewell to the Minitel –precursor of the internet -

It is known as the "Little French Box", a 1980s design classic now seen as the ultimate in beige plastic kitsch. But once it was an audacious precursor to the world wide web, introduced the first cybersex into people's living rooms and had a user-friendly design that may have inspired Steve Jobs's first Macintosh computer.

Yet, on Saturday, the plug will finally be pulled on the Minitel machine, France's one-time pride and joy, 30 years after its launch. And while the nation marvels at the fact that 800,000 of the clunky terminals with massive buttons are still in circulation, the Minitel is shedding its square image and enjoying a moment of mass nostalgia.

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France says farewell to the Minitel – the little box that connected a country | Technology | The Guardian: