On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 2:48 PM, John Shutt <shuttj@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > extension, eCommerce began well before the Worldwide Web began, and it began > on those "walled gardens" AOL and CompuServe, before there was anything to > be walled against. I know you yanks like to believe you invented everything ;), but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitel It was launched in France in 1982 by the PTT (Poste, Téléphone et Télécommunications; divided since 1991 between France Télécom and La Poste). From its early days, users could make online purchases, make train reservations, check stock prices, search the telephone directory, and chat in a similar way to that now made possible by the Internet. Cheers Kon ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.