videotex
 n. obs.

    An electronic service offering people the privilege of paying to read the
    weather on their television screens instead of having somebody read it to
    them for free while they brush their teeth. The idea bombed everywhere it
    wasn't government-subsidized, because by the time videotex was practical
    the installed base of personal computers could hook up to timesharing
    services and do the things for which videotex might have been worthwhile
    better and cheaper. Videotex planners badly overestimated both the appeal
    of getting information from a computer and the cost of local intelligence
    at the user's end. Like the gorilla arm effect, this has been a
    cautionary tale to hackers ever since. See also vannevar.

videotex

   An obsolete electronic service offering people the privilege
   of paying to read the weather on their television screens
   instead of having somebody read it to them for free while they
   brush their teeth.  The idea bombed everywhere it wasn't
   government-subsidised, because by the time videotex was
   practical the installed base of personal computers could hook
   up to time-sharing services and do the things for which
   videotex might have been worthwhile better and cheaper.
   Videotex planners badly overestimated both the appeal of
   getting information from a computer and the cost of local
   intelligence at the user's end.  Like the gorilla arm
   effect, this has been a cautionary tale to hackers ever since.
   See also vannevar.

   [Jargon File]