MiniTel 'failed' because at the time, in the American market, it was competing with, well .. seriously better technology. If you even thought about some service like miniTel, in the US, and then went looking .. you got straight to the BBS section of CompuMag, &etc. The French had miniTel, hosted services, whereas in BBS-land, if you had a modem, you could serve. And .. serve you did.
However, in true -retro spect, MiniTel was brilliant. A Walled Garden, if not the first.
MiniTel 'failed' because at the time, in the American market, it was competing with, well .. seriously better technology. If you even thought about some service like miniTel, in the US, and then went looking .. you got straight to the BBS section of CompuMag, &etc. The French had miniTel, hosted services, whereas in BBS-land, if you had a modem, you could serve. And .. serve you did.
However, in true -retro spect, MiniTel was brilliant. A Walled Garden, if not the first.