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Viewtron was an online service offered by Knight-Ridder and AT&T from 1983 to 1986. Patterned after the British Post Office's Prestel system, it started as a videotex service requiring users to have a special terminal, the AT&T Sceptre. As home computers became important in the marketplace, the development focus shifted to IBM, Apple, Commodore and other personal computers. Viewtron differed from contemporary services like CompuServe and The Source by emphasizing news from the Miami Herald and Associated Press and e-commerce services from JCPenney and other merchants over computer-oriented services such as file downloads or online chat. Intended to be "the McDonald's of videotex", Viewtron was specifically targeted toward users who would be apprehensive about using a computer. Viewtron also offered airline schedules from the Official Airline Guide (OAG), real estate research from Century 21, e-cards from Hallmark, product information from Consumer Reports, educational software from Scott Foresman, online auctions, financial services from American Express and EF Hutton, as well as limited online banking services as part of a research program into the uses and costs of banking online that included 20 US and Canadian banks.〔 At its height, Viewtron was operated in at least 15 cities by various newspaper companies. After six years of research and an investment reportedly in excess of $50 million, Viewtron never turned a profit, and, despite its developer's forecasts of breaking even in two years, Knight Ridder did not expect it ever would be profitable. AT&T had invested over $100 million in the project, but was forced to write off that investment as part of its court-ordered breakup. Viewtron closed on March 31, 1986, after an attempt by the Independent Commodore Users Group to buy the service failed.〔(Negotiations to buy Viewtron fail: Knight-Ridder shuts down service ), ''Infoworld'', April 7, 1986, p. 16〕 A feature tying Viewtron to local newspapers was envisioned, with printed text instructing users how to access further information online, but it was never implemented. In 2008, PCWorld magazine named Viewtron to a list of the biggest project failures in information technology (IT) history. ==Technical details== Hosted on a fault-tolerant Tandem/16 minicomputer, Viewtron used the NAPLPS graphics language to provide a user interface that was graphically sophisticated by the standards of the time. According to Chip Bok, screens were crafted so as they loaded, elements would be drawn in sequence, "the way you would tell a story".〔 Unlike HTML, NAPLPS allowed screen elements that remained unchanged through different pages of a story to remain static, an important concern with the low bandwidth 300-2400 baud modems then in use. Despite being initially restricted to the chiclet keyboard-equipped AT&T Sceptre terminal, Viewtron's developers foresaw that general purpose personal computers would soon become the preferred way to consume online content. The Viewtron software was written from the beginning to be easily portable, and the work was able to be completed within 24 hours after the decision to refocus on home computer development.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Viewtron Remembered Roundtable )〕 Viewtron did not initially allow users to send private messages to each other, a conscious decision by Knight Ridder to exert editorial control.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Denying Destiny: Viewtron and the refusal to recognize mutual shaping of technology )〕 Knight Ridder's vision for the service was offering products and services for users to consume, not in providing a medium for communication.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Denying Destiny: Viewtron and the refusal to recognize mutual shaping of technology )〕 When interactive features were later added, Knight Ridder discouraged their use, fearing that users interacting directly with each other would lead to a "dystopia without newspapers".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Denying Destiny: Viewtron and the refusal to recognize mutual shaping of technology )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Viewtron」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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