Matches in DBpedia 2014 for { ?s ?p Viewtron was an online service offered by Knight-Ridder and AT&T from 1983 to 1986. Patterned after the British Post Office's Prestel system, it started as a videotex service requiring users to have a special terminal, the AT&T Sceptre. It began to be offered on IBM, Apple and Commodore computers as home computers and other personal computers became important in the marketplace.Viewtron differed from contemporary services like CompuServe and The Source by emphasizing news from the Miami Herald and Associated Press and e-commerce services from JC Penney and other merchants over computer-oriented services such as file downloads or online chat. Intended to be "the McDonald's of videotex", Viewtron was specifically targeted toward users who would be apprehensive about using a computer.Viewtron also offered airline schedules from the Official Airline Guide (OAG), real estate research from Century 21, e-cards from Hallmark, product information from Consumer Reports, educational software from Scott Foresman, online auctions, financial services from American Express and EF Hutton, as well as limited online banking services as part of a research program into the uses and costs of banking online that included 20 US and Canadian banks.At its height, Viewtron was operated in at least 15 cities by various newspaper companies. After six years of research and an investment reportedly in excess of $50 million, Viewtron never turned a profit, and Knight Ridder did not expect it ever would be profitable. Viewtron closed on March 31, 1986, after an attempt by the Independent Commodore Users Group to buy the service failed.A feature tying Viewtron to local newspapers was envisioned, with printed text instructing users how to access further information online, but it was never implemented.In 2008, PCWorld magazine named Viewtron to a list of the biggest project failures in information technology (IT) history.. }
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- Viewtron abstract "Viewtron was an online service offered by Knight-Ridder and AT&T from 1983 to 1986. Patterned after the British Post Office's Prestel system, it started as a videotex service requiring users to have a special terminal, the AT&T Sceptre. It began to be offered on IBM, Apple and Commodore computers as home computers and other personal computers became important in the marketplace.Viewtron differed from contemporary services like CompuServe and The Source by emphasizing news from the Miami Herald and Associated Press and e-commerce services from JC Penney and other merchants over computer-oriented services such as file downloads or online chat. Intended to be "the McDonald's of videotex", Viewtron was specifically targeted toward users who would be apprehensive about using a computer.Viewtron also offered airline schedules from the Official Airline Guide (OAG), real estate research from Century 21, e-cards from Hallmark, product information from Consumer Reports, educational software from Scott Foresman, online auctions, financial services from American Express and EF Hutton, as well as limited online banking services as part of a research program into the uses and costs of banking online that included 20 US and Canadian banks.At its height, Viewtron was operated in at least 15 cities by various newspaper companies. After six years of research and an investment reportedly in excess of $50 million, Viewtron never turned a profit, and Knight Ridder did not expect it ever would be profitable. Viewtron closed on March 31, 1986, after an attempt by the Independent Commodore Users Group to buy the service failed.A feature tying Viewtron to local newspapers was envisioned, with printed text instructing users how to access further information online, but it was never implemented.In 2008, PCWorld magazine named Viewtron to a list of the biggest project failures in information technology (IT) history.".