Is it worth investing in a Minitel?

What that guy says, the network has been shutdown
Also if you want one for decoration it's not much of an investment, i got mine for 1€ on a flea market

only you plan to run gentoo

Attached: minitel.jpg (1600x1200, 593K)

Yes, makes for a comfy Pi sleeper.

I forgot about these things, kind of want to see if I've got an old busted modem around and throw one inside of it now.

>tfw born too late to be a french boomer in the 80s having hot chats with ladies over a glorified terminal

wtf is that possible?

a minitel is basically a terminal user...

Shit now I want one
What can I do with this? Could it do video playback?

They're simple terminals, best you'll get are graphics drawn with pre-defined characters.

The service closed down in 2012, so no, they're not worth investing in.

Useless than.

are there private servers run by individuals?

After a quick research it seems that it's possible and at least two guys set up one, it's doesn't seem really lively though.

There is one on ebay right now for £23 but it has a huge crack in the back

You lads think it's worth buying?

Attached: s-l1600.jpg (1600x1200, 290K)

if you speak french then yes

What are the differences between the models?
All the text data is stored on servers no?

What's useless about being able to display and enter information into a computer system? Do you just sit on your ass and waste away in front of YouTube all day?

The model OP provided is a variant of the TELIC-1 Alcatel model looks like a pre 1985 model

I can't tell what model is the one of the pic you provided since it looks like a pic of the bottom of the monitor so i can't tell you the difference between the two

>All the text data is stored on servers no?
I believe so mon ami from what i have seen from my research

>that thing
>raspberry pi
>?
>profit

ebay.co.uk/itm/Old-MINITEL-1-vintage-Alcatel-TELIC-with-record-deco-computer/153067790104?hash=item23a38d1f18:g:5OMAAOSwRhNbKMlf

Here's a link to the listing
Tempted but not sure how much work would be involved with getting it to work

since the original server owned by the company is no longer online i imagine it would be a bit of work, you would have to check to see if your phone service could connect to it but since it was made primarily for France there might be some limitations there, but since it is just a terminal as user explained you could just install gentoo or some other operating system that would be compatible for it

that is all i really know much about it, any further info would be me talking out of my ass

terminal for $5 ? nice!

Attached: wantTHIS.jpg (1416x1424, 464K)

>zx spectrum keyboard
please stop giving me Vietnam flashbacks

there's a bunch of guides on using these as regular dumb terminals
xseignard.github.io/2013/05/20/plug-your-minitel-on-your-raspberry-pi/
raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44932
chapelierfou.org/blog/a-minitel-as-a-linux-terminal.html
with a little work you can hang it off of anything with a serial port

you're a dumb terminal

same
but for real these things aren't entirely useless, the last link looks like the best one now that I've read it

it's gonna cost 120+ to get one to the US

have you thought of looking for something somewhat similar like a DEC VT220? they definitely have different history but they're small and iconic and don't need to really be modified to use with a standard computer

either way hope you figure something out

>have you thought of looking for something somewhat similar like a DEC VT220?
have you seen the prices of those things lately? even later terminals like the vt320 are expensive as shit nowadays

getting yourself a minitel isn't too cheap either though from the sound of it, if you live in a populated/tech-y area you might be able to get lucky locally though

just saying, might be worth checking out if the minitel is too much of a bitch

Same, but French flea markets are amazing. I got mine for €5 as well as a 19th century hunting rifle for €65

>basically a terminal
>gentoo

Attached: 199.jpg (600x618, 42K)

go be retarded somewhere else

I should get a cheap minitel for fun

Attached: file.png (542x986, 307K)

It depends. Do you like stuff like BBSes and the likes? 'cause there are still a few servers online. The 1B models can be set in ANSI mode too. I wouldn't advise using them as unix/linux terminals though, the keyboard aint that great.
So if BBSes are your thing, go ahead. Just don't pay more than 10€ for a minitel 1.
The network they were made to access might have been shutdown, but the terminals themselves are merely terminals. Said network was accessed thanks to access points you'd call, and you can still call any other server.