From: abramsob-AT-ERE.UMontreal.CA (Abramson Bram Dov) Subject: Re: Minitel, France, francophonie Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 13:49:27 -0500 (EST) > I have no claim to any chronology, Don; I only assumed from the tone of Nora's > book that the project of computerization he was proposing was still to be done. Most accounts of the impacts of the Nora-Minc report -- that I have seen, anyway -- locate its significance as a kind of 'forecast' document; an important conceptual contribution was the coining of the term 'telematique' to refer to the convergence of telecommunications and informatique (roughly, computers). > I wonder if the Minitel project foundered because it did start so early in the > digital revolution but failed to keep up with the constant revolutions in > technology -- expensive propositions for any government venture. (Some of the > most outdated desktop technology in this country is on the desks of government > employees.) I must admit, I'm a bit confused/skeptical -- my understanding was that Minitel had been a relative success, as such technologies go; use of it remains widespread in France (or at least seemed to be when I was there last summer), and certainly minitel 'addresses'/numbers are attached to ad copy, etc., on a much more routine basis than WWW urls are affixed to advertising and other corporate speech here in North America. For whatever that's worth. there is widespread agreement, I think, that Minitel may have hindered internet implantation in France because, well, they already have Minitel; and of course, you're correct in saying that technologically, Minitel is no great shakes, anymore. But as an example of the widespread diffusion/adoption of 'telematique', it is certainly an excellent example & case study... Incidentally, there are a number of articles written on exactly that, whose references I could probably dig up if anyone is interested. (instead of talking through my hat about something I don't know much about, really ... !) Bram Abramson <abramsob-AT-ere.umontreal.ca> Laboratoire de recherche sur les politiques de communication Departement de communication Universite de Montreal
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