Paris Nostalgia - Remembering the Minitel

When one is nostalgic about Paris, one thinks of Post WWII ballads like"La Vie en Rose, or the thriving cultural time between the Great Wars, or the boisterous and creative turn of the (last) century's Belle Epoque.

A sleek, well designed Minitel terminal for French homes

But being a gadget geek and early adopter of computers, BBS (ran one), internet, and tablets (long before iPad), some of my nostalgia lay with the French technology of the 80's: The Minitel!

Most people have never heard of it. But the Minitel, developed in the 70's, launched in 1982 in France as a way for people to be connected. The computer-like machine was given to people for free by the French telephone service.

Not only was it an electronic phone book, but you could do e-commerce, check your bank account, check stocks, and chat. Need to book a vacation? Minitel. Need to check flight or train schedules? Minitel!

Ooh-la-la, La Vie en Rose indeed!

And the Minitel had chat rooms and services allowing people to be anonymous - thus developing into the "Minitel Rose" which allowed adult kinds of chats and services! Just as now on the web, this "Minitel Rose" earned LOTS of revenue!

Minitel was convenient to use, right there where ever your phone was.

I remember, when I lived in Paris in 1986-87, that every ad announced their Minitel address. I also remember using it in my Uncle's office at his home outside of Paris. At it's height the during the mid 1990's, there were more than 25 million users able to connect to 23,000 services with their Minitel at home or the terminals in their local Poste!

People could access Minitels in the Post Office and kiosks.

One of the really remarkable things about the Minitel is that this existed long before public access to the internet existed. AOL was launched along with Prodigy and CompuServe around 1991 but didn't take hold until around 1994 - 12 years after the launch of Minitel. 

Used up until 2012, you could Facebook and Tweet on your Minitel.

I had not thought about Minitel for a long time. And apparently, I completely missed the farewell to the service last year in 2012. 30 years is certainly a good run for anything cutting edge in the world of technology.

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Spring makes me homesick for Paris

Every year, when Spring finally settles down in Maine, I get homesick - homesick for Paris. Luckily, this summer I will be returning "home" with some of my family!

I bought my tickets and paid my deposit for the apartment that I wanted, way back in October. Then I sort of put my excitement for the trip in hibernation. Now I'm in full excitement - thinking of the possibilities and all the things we can when we get there.

One thing I've wanted to do for the last three trips was to take the barge trip down the Canal Saint-Martin. Some how, it's always fallen off the list for lack of time. But this time, I was sneaky. Our apartment is actually meters from the canal itself!

A Lock on the Canal Saint Martin, evening

Megan is only 11 and I'm not sure if the very slow barge trip will work with her. But I'm thinking that walking the canal will be even better!

Although I apparently crossed the canal on my way to a horrible job I had in the 11th (back in 1986), I was shy and walked very fast to my destination. I never even realized what I was looking at. I do remember the amazingly diverse neighborhood I walked through though - all the beautiful African ladies and their bright outfits and markets. It was one neighborhood I knew would be open and lively on Sunday as it was predominately Jewish and Muslim.

So I just can't wait to show Megan these places and retrace my steps. I used to pick up my charge

at his school and entertain him for the afternoon as my job - way back then. Now, I get to escort my own daughter and share the beauty of the city I love most - in all of it's color and diversity!