The terminal of the predecessor network of the Internet Alcatel Minitel 2, rescued during a fire, put up for auction on eBay in France. The melted computer case leaves no chances for its practical use. However, it is being sold at auction for €430, as an affordable work smartphone, or a very budget laptop.
- Minitel was an online service provided by France Telecom from 1982 to 2012. Started in 1980 as an experiment to reduce the cost of printing phone book pages, it became a popular way to make online purchases, book trains, send emails, and more. It worked almost like the internet does now, and was the most successful online service in the world.
The Alcatel Minitel 2 model being auctioned was manufactured in 1993 to replace the Minitel 1B. The terminal had a monitor capable of displaying monochrome text, although color models were later available for an additional fee. The basic model of Minitel was provided for free to France Telecom customers in exchange for not receiving paper copies of phone directories.
The item is described as being rescued from a fire, and there is some truth to this. Although the screen and keyboard were almost unaffected, the case melted almost to the base. In one of the images, a fragment of a document can be seen, which, according to the seller, could have been printed by the terminal.
The seller of the terminal has many other items on eBay, most of which are antiques or works of art. He positions the melted Minitel precisely as a work of art. Apparently, the auction is not very successful. The starting bid for the item was €450, and now you can see the price €20 lower. The auction ends on Sunday, June 23.
Source: Tom's Hardware
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