Why Didn't the Internet Take Off In 1983? - Slashdot

"An amazing pair of videos from the AT&T archives tout a service called Viewtron that brought much of what we expect from the modern Internet to customers' homes in 1983. Online news, banking services, restaurant reviews, shopping, e-mail — all were available on your TV set, controlled by a wireless infrared keyboard. The system had 15,000 customers in cities on the U.S. east coast, but was shut down after $50 million was spent on it. But why did it flop? Was the world just not ready for it?"

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http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/03/02/0059249/why-didnt-the-internet-take-off-in-1983