29 Apr
2012
29 Apr
'12
11:57 p.m.
On 30 April 2012 03:39, Curt @ Atari Museum <curt at atarimuseum.com> wrote:
Once things like Windows 95, AOL with Instant
Messaging and then with
gateways out to the Internet became more prevalent, then you saw more layman
using computers and they became more acceptable. ? The 70's, 80's and early
90's they were still geekdom realm products and no teenage girl, stay at
home mom or basement "future" blogger would be caught dead being known to
have a computer.
To a certain extent. My experience here in the UK in the 1980s was
that they did exist - I was married to one of them for a time. But I
think that comes back to the "useful for something" argument - I lots
of people through using the group chat and email facilities on Prestel
/ Micronet 800, (early viewdata-format dialup service, see
www.viewdata.org.uk) so it was a bit more like the sort of environment
you see on facebook etc. It was entertainment and a way for them to
communicate without leaving the house.
I'm still in contact with a lady today that I first met in the 1980s
when she was using her daughter's Amstrad 6128 to access Prestel.. I
knew others who had used the business side of the service at work,
found the fun bits, and "brought it home"...
Of course, it seemed like almost everybody I knew used
Prestel/Micronet, but that's because for a shy teenager it was the
easiest way I had to make friends! In hindsight, I know that the
number of people who had even heard of it, never mind subscribed, was
minuscule, and that shows up the other points being made in this
thread - one's perception of how important something was is coloured
by one's own experience. (In my case, I think Prestel and it's ilk
was important enough for me to set up a website about it. But that's
mainly because nobody else had.) I hope I don't go too overboard
though!
Rob