Hey, I made a video about my AT&T Sceptre terminal, but don’t worry if you don’t know what that is because I cover a bit about #videotex and #NAPLPS in the beginning before inspecting the unit, getting it working, and sharing my basic server application and demo line so you other NAPLPS-compatible-terminal-owners can call-in!
Videotex en Suisse versus Minitel
@keyboards To see how those Videotex-Terminals work, there's an interesting (and strangely calming) demonstration video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJJQn5uYKn4
#retrocomputing #radioshack #videotex #agvision
(source: https://tandyvideotex.com/agvision)
Our simple #NAPLPS server code is now out! Run your own server to send graphics to your terminal or try our experimental demo line (that sometimes even works) if you want to hook your compatible terminals up to some phone equipment!
Tested with an AT&T Sceptre but would love to know if anyone has other equipment to test with!
More info at https://github.com/dialup-world/naplps-server/
Big write-up forthcoming!
From: @Famicoman
https://mastodon.sdf.org/@Famicoman@mastodon.sdf.org/114912027339565430
Okay, first release is live! naplps-server is written in python and designed to be used w/ a modem so you can take calls from your #NAPLPS #videotex terminal and serve it graphics! Works with the AT&T Sceptre and probably others.
Works great with a phone line simulator, BUT there is also a demo phone number up (or direct SIP details) to try. Warning: that might break if the client disconnects unexpectedly or data corrupts. More work to do!
Anyway, all the info is here! https://github.com/dialup-world/naplps-server/
The AT&T Sceptre #videotex terminal survived its trip to me, looks great next to a WE speakerphone!
Opened it up to check caps and wow what a number of bodges! Identified only a handful of chips including an AMD 8088 and a Toshiba mask ROM that has a part number only turning up old forum threads of people not knowing how to dump it. I think there are 2 ROMs but I could only find 1. A lot of mysterious WE chips, some of which appear to be gold/ceramic (I think, anyway). All the caps seem fine.
Big Baggy Shorts: Recovering Data From Canada’s Telidon System | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore — https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10927689/figures#figures
There's someone selling an Alex terminal in Montréal for 200$. Kinda want.
Alex was Bell Canada's Minitel, in limited markets from 1988 to 1990, and killed in 1994 (reason: pricy to use and the advent of the internet/Web).
I remember only using one once in a museum expo about "the future" in 1989.
It can be used as a VT100 terminal (and all the modern fun stuff you can do with Minitel-like machines?) so there's that.
Was Prodigy an online service, a band, a rapper, a Pokémon series, a Star Trek series, or something else?
Since I have nothing (sorry, I mean *EVERYTHING*) to do on Thanksgiving, I'm premiering my "online in '89" talk from @demosplash on YouTube in ~2 hours (8pm EST):
#BBS #modem #dialup #AOL #Prodigy #minitel #videotex #teletext #history #online #internet #ANSI #ASCII
Mike Dank
cquest
Cay-Eric Schimanski
dialup.world
Stewart Russell
PierreNick 
💾
Inverse Phase