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We were running a multi-user text adventure on Prestel at the time, and BT wanted to put it Minitel (in a lot of ways, Minitel was Prestel done right - at least

by hazeii 9y ago

We were running a multi-user text adventure on Prestel at the time, and BT wanted to put it Minitel (in a lot of ways, Minitel was Prestel done right - at least technically). Cue some days in Paris running around with a 'portable' Panasonic PC that must've weighed 25lbs; 4.77MHz, orange plasma screen and 2 ISA slots, one of which was used to hold the full-length X25 card used to connect to Minitel. I got a lot out of that visit (mostly increased upper-body strength).

Jaruzel 9y ago
Looking at your HN username, I am guessing you are referring to Shades? Hello there, Arch-Wiz! ;) I lost 1000s of hours playing Prestel Shades... endlessly typing 'ret ls' at everyone and everything... ah those were the days. Hmm, I think I still owe my father a ton of money for all those MASSIVE phone bills!
- walshemj 9y ago
  Heh When I worked in the TEC tymnet engineering centre we had an ex phone phreak who had got done by BT security for hacking Prestel. One day the SD officer who arrested him bumped into him and freaked and demanded he be sacked - senior mangers told SD to piss off.
- hazeii 9y ago
  That'd be 'coder' to you, Sir! Sorry about the bills - I always felt bad about them.
  - Jaruzel 9y ago
    Ah yeah, 'Hazeii the Coder' - I'm old, my memory is not what it was! Do you have anything to do with the Shades that runs at games.world.co.uk ?
    - hazeii 9y ago
      Yes, Perialaga hosts it and I look in from time to time. Write a message on the chattrack if you make it back there!
walshemj 9y ago
Ah that would explain the mintel terminal I found at tymnet house at hemel for my odd terminal collection :-) I used to work on billing for TG and latterly Prestel 80:BTG174 (Neuromancer on the NB) and I think I was Mouser on Shades
- hazeii 9y ago
  Your persona is almostly certainly still in there (unless you were naughty enough to get blotted). The Telecom Gold gateway was way better than the Prestel one; more gome users on the Prestel (Micronet) side though. What killed both Prestel - and the BT interest in Minitel - was the bad press they were getting for their premium rate business. So BT decided to 'de-emphasise' all the non-core business by treating the paying customers like sh!t; sort of bounced off the Shades players though, so eventually they did have to just shut it all down.
- hazeii 9y ago
  NB 'mouser' is still in the file; not giving too much away if I say you don't seem to have logged in this millennium :)

by hazeii 9y ago

Jaruzel 9y ago

Looking at your HN username, I am guessing you are referring to Shades? Hello there, Arch-Wiz! ;) I lost 1000s of hours playing Prestel Shades... endlessly typing 'ret ls' at everyone and everything... ah those were the days. Hmm, I think I still owe my father a ton of money for all those MASSIVE phone bills!

walshemj 9y ago
Heh When I worked in the TEC tymnet engineering centre we had an ex phone phreak who had got done by BT security for hacking Prestel. One day the SD officer who arrested him bumped into him and freaked and demanded he be sacked - senior mangers told SD to piss off.
hazeii 9y ago
That'd be 'coder' to you, Sir! Sorry about the bills - I always felt bad about them.
- Jaruzel 9y ago
  Ah yeah, 'Hazeii the Coder' - I'm old, my memory is not what it was! Do you have anything to do with the Shades that runs at games.world.co.uk ?
  - hazeii 9y ago
    Yes, Perialaga hosts it and I look in from time to time. Write a message on the chattrack if you make it back there!

walshemj 9y ago

Ah that would explain the mintel terminal I found at tymnet house at hemel for my odd terminal collection :-) I used to work on billing for TG and latterly Prestel 80:BTG174 (Neuromancer on the NB) and I think I was Mouser on Shades

hazeii 9y ago
Your persona is almostly certainly still in there (unless you were naughty enough to get blotted). The Telecom Gold gateway was way better than the Prestel one; more gome users on the Prestel (Micronet) side though. What killed both Prestel - and the BT interest in Minitel - was the bad press they were getting for their premium rate business. So BT decided to 'de-emphasise' all the non-core business by treating the paying customers like sh!t; sort of bounced off the Shades players though, so eventually they did have to just shut it all down.
hazeii 9y ago
NB 'mouser' is still in the file; not giving too much away if I say you don't seem to have logged in this millennium :)