Miguel Mennig, L'Indispensable pour Minitel (1987)
Miguel Mennig's <em>L'Indispensable pour Minitel</em> (1987) is a guide to the world of Minitel with material aimed at both the casual and hardcore <em>miniteliste</em>. In addition to a directory of services and peripheral buyer's guide, Mennig's book features instructions for connecting a PC to Minitel and building one's own micro-server.
l-indispensable-pour-minitel
Christian Tavernier, Les Secrets du Minitel (1985)
<em>Les Secrets du Minitel</em> is another trade book aimed at the Minitel enthusiast. Editions Techniques et Scientifiques Françaises published the first edition in 1985 and a second edition in 1988.
les-secrets-du-minitel
Pierrick Bourgault, Minitel et Micro-Ordinateur (1985)
This how-to book was aimed at tech-savvy microcomputer owners. It offered information about using Minitel terminals as modems and running DIY Minitel services out of the home. Published in 1985 by SYBEX.
minitel-et-micro-ordinateur
Simon Nora and Alain Minc, The Computerization of Society (1978)
The 1978 "Nora-Minc report" to the French President of the Republic, named "The Computerization of Society," was a landmark document that helped define French telecommunications policy, and was the precusor to the introduction of Minitel in the eighties. This English edition was published in 1980 by The MIT Press with an introduction by Daniel Bell.
the-computerization-of-society
Marie Marchand, The Minitel Saga: A French Success Story (1988)
<em>The Minitel Saga</em> by Marie Marchand is one of the few books about Minitel published in English. In 2016, Lori Emerson, founding director of the Media Archaeology Lab, scanned and shared a copy of this hard-to-find book. For more information, see: <a href="https://loriemerson.net/2016/03/14/minitel-an-other-network/">Minitel, 1976-2012 // an other network</a>.
marchand-the-minitel-saga
France Telecom letter, 1991
A 1991 letter from France Telecom to its clients lauding the French telecommunications system as one of the most modern in the world. Indeed, "[i]n 1989, Minitel made France the world's most 'wired' country" - (James Gillies & Robert Cailliau, How the Web Was Born, 2000)
france-telecom-letter-1991
France Telecom Price List (1991)
The 1991 France Telecom Price list, including Minitel's access and per-minute prices. Connecting to the online phone book for 3 minutes was free (for multiple searches, one would just disconnect and reconnect every 3 minutes to avoid being charged), but the popular "3615" services, including the "pink-Minitel" chat rooms cost from 0.874 to 1.25 FF per minute -- (0.3 to 0.19 EUR per minute). Minitel was expensive!
france-telecom-price-list-1991
France Telecom, Envoi: Les Pages Minitel (1994)
One of the original overt motivations behind the Minitel project was to digitize the phone book and save money on paper, printing, and distribution costs. Ironically, Minitel became so popular that France Telecom started printing a paper-based Minitel directory.
france-telecom-les-pages-minitel-1994
Julien Mailland and Kevin Driscoll, Minitel: Welcome to the Internet (2017)
<em>Minitel: Welcome to the Internet</em> grew out of this very lab. It was <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/minitel">published in 2017 by The MIT Press</a> as a part of the <a href="http://platformstudies.com/">Platform Studies</a> series. For more information, click on "About our book" at the left.
minitel-welcome-to-the-internet-2017
Envoi: L'Annuaire des Services Minitel (France Telecom, 1993)
This Minitel guidebook was published in 1993 by France Telecom. The preamble includes a short insert consisting of 16 full-color, glossy pages with technical details about various terminals, the schedule of fees, how-to information for beginners, and details on the Minicom messaging service. The remaining 278 pages, printed in grayscale on newsprint, list services by category and short code. Each service is given a very brief description, no more than a few words. The index lists approximately 700 services.
envoi-l-annuaire-des-services-1993
Le Guide du Minitel No. 3 (Fevrier 1988)
Another third party guidebook for Minitel. This edition of the "Le Guide" promises 4,500 services.
le-guide-du-minitel-no3-1988
Listel: Repertoire des Services Teletel No. 5 (Janvier 1987)
Listel was a guidebook for Minitel services produced by a third party. It includes a much larger and broader range of services than the official directory published by France Telecom. The cover boasts 2,335 services.
listel-repertoire-des-services-teletel-no5-1987