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Yahoo! Now On France's Minitel System
RomulusNR writes: "Just posted to the Dead Media e-mail list this week, a story that Yahoo! is making a version of its site for the Minitel. Makes sense; take advantage of existing infrastructure instead of trying to reinvent and replace it. And after last week's story about the Gopher Manifesto, I wonder if we will see a Gopher version; after all the text-only, line-by-line interface is common to Gopher just as it is to WML devices and Minitel. And Minitel's older, isn't it?"
The timing for the Yahoo Minitel portal is perfect. France Telecom, owner of the Minitel system, has recently launched a huge advertising campaign for its computer-version of the Minitel : "iMinitel" (read "eemeeneetel"), a PC program that allows you to connect on the Minitel network.
The minitel system is antiquated. It's slow, text-mode (although ncurses-like "graphics" are commonly used) and much more expensive than the internet. So how could it survive ?
The answer is simple: "business model". So far, few internet companies have been able to develop a sustainable business model (ie something more profitable than "putting banner ads everywhere"). The Minitel system, on the other hand, is based on a pay-per-minute scheme. If you want to provide some service on Minitel (say, an access to some big legal database), you simply choose a pricing category (from the cheap 3614 to the $1/min 3617). When people connect to your service, they pay the price you chose to France Telecom, who keeps a part of it and gives you the rest. Ridiculous charges, maximal profit. A service provider's dream.
This is why many non-public national databases (such as Euridile, the national register of commerce) can only be accessed through the Minitel system. And this is also the reason why such a deprecated system as the minitel might survive for years, coexisting with the cheaper, faster, better Internet system.