Online in Europe Before the Web

Each of the logos in the collage to the left represents a European online service. While (and before) consumer services such as CompuServe, The Source, and AOL were growing in the U.S., Prestel, CEEFAX, and ITV Oracle were online. In Germany. Bildshirmtext (literally "picture screen text") was providing computer owners with service in German. And before anyone else, France's Minitel reached into millions of homes with email, news, weather, telephone lookups, and premium services.

These are all covered in On the Way to the Web: The Secret History of the Internet and Its Founders. Along with these are services such as Eunet, Telset Finland, CIX in England, Japan's Junet and NHK, NABU in Canada, T-Net from Deutsch Telekom, and several more. You'll also learn about regional and often obscure online services around the U.S., such as INDAX, Electra, Covidea, California's Gateway, Keycom, and a bunch of others. Check out the book and see everything that was happening online during the Micro Decade.