<s>
Telidon	B-Device
(	O
from	O
the	O
Greek	O
words	O
τῆλε	O
,	O
tele	O
"	O
at	O
a	O
distance	O
"	O
and	O
ἰδών	O
,	O
idon	O
"	O
seeing	O
"	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
videotex/teletext	O
service	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
Canadian	O
Communications	O
Research	O
Centre	O
(	O
CRC	O
)	O
during	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
and	O
supported	O
by	O
commercial	O
enterprises	O
led	O
by	O
Infomart	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CRC	O
referred	O
to	O
Telidon	B-Device
as	O
a	O
"	O
second	O
generation	O
"	O
system	O
,	O
offering	O
improved	O
performance	O
,	O
2D	O
colour	O
graphics	O
,	O
multilingual	O
support	O
and	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
interactivity	O
options	O
supported	O
on	O
various	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
additional	O
features	O
added	O
by	O
AT&T	O
Corporation	O
,	O
and	O
16	O
other	O
contributors	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
supported	O
by	O
the	O
Federal	O
Government	O
,	O
Telidon	B-Device
was	O
redefined	O
as	O
a	O
protocol	O
and	O
became	O
the	O
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
in	O
multiple	O
tests	O
,	O
Telidon	B-Device
failed	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
compelling	O
functionality	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
auxiliary	O
equipment	O
costs	O
remained	O
high	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telidon	B-Device
saw	O
limited	O
use	O
after	O
that	O
,	O
in	O
niches	O
like	O
informational	O
displays	O
in	O
airports	O
and	O
similar	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
did	O
appear	O
in	O
several	O
other	O
products	O
,	O
notably	O
the	O
Prodigy	O
online	O
service	O
and	O
some	O
bulletin	O
boards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telidon	B-Device
had	O
a	O
lasting	O
legacy	O
on	O
the	O
hardware	O
side	O
;	O
its	O
NABTS	O
communications	O
system	O
found	O
re-use	O
years	O
later	O
in	O
WebTV	B-Device
for	I-Device
Windows	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Herb	O
Bown	O
is	O
widely	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
"	O
father	O
"	O
of	O
Telidon	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bown	O
had	O
been	O
working	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
graphics	O
field	O
since	O
the	O
late	O
1960s	O
,	O
originally	O
using	O
plotters	B-Operating_System
but	O
later	O
moving	O
to	O
video	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
several	O
European	O
countries	O
were	O
in	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
introducing	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
and	O
teletext	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Comments	O
to	O
the	O
effect	O
that	O
"	O
Within	O
the	O
next	O
few	O
decades	O
,	O
people	O
may	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
access	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
published	O
information	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
from	O
their	O
living	O
rooms	O
by	O
using	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
,	O
"	O
were	O
common	O
in	O
the	O
trade	O
press	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
CRC	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
interest	O
the	O
Department	O
of	O
Communications	O
(	O
DoC	O
)	O
,	O
their	O
superiors	O
within	O
the	O
federal	O
government	O
,	O
to	O
fund	O
development	O
of	O
their	O
system	O
into	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
a	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
systems	O
being	O
developed	O
in	O
Europe	O
and	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
the	O
Canadian	O
system	O
would	O
offer	O
high-quality	O
2D	O
graphics	O
,	O
higher	O
speed	O
,	O
and	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
one-way	O
fixed	O
or	O
menued	O
displays	O
(	O
teletext	O
)	O
,	O
two-way	O
systems	O
based	O
on	O
modems	B-Application
(	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
or	O
they	O
could	O
combine	O
the	O
two	O
,	O
allowing	O
information	O
to	O
be	O
sent	O
to	O
the	O
customer	O
in	O
the	O
video	O
signal	O
,	O
and	O
returned	O
via	O
modem	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
15	O
August	O
1978	O
,	O
the	O
DoC	O
(	O
whose	O
technical	O
side	O
is	O
now	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Industry	O
Canada	O
)	O
held	O
a	O
press	O
conference	O
and	O
formally	O
announced	O
the	O
Telidon	B-Device
project	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
,	O
demonstrating	O
a	O
large	O
video	O
display	O
sending	O
information	O
to	O
the	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
controlling	O
it	O
over	O
an	O
acoustic	B-Device
coupler	I-Device
modem	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
outlined	O
a	O
four-year	O
development	O
plan	O
that	O
included	O
funding	O
for	O
further	O
technical	O
development	O
at	O
the	O
CRC	O
,	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
several	O
hundred	O
terminals	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
lent	O
out	O
to	O
industry	O
for	O
development	O
studies	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
funds	O
for	O
marketing	O
and	O
lobbying	O
in	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
standards	O
negotiations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1979	O
the	O
DoC	O
formed	O
the	O
Canadian	O
Videotex	B-Operating_System
Consultative	O
Committee	O
to	O
advise	O
the	O
Minister	O
on	O
ways	O
to	O
commercialize	O
the	O
CRC	O
's	O
work	O
,	O
and	O
develop	O
videotext	O
services	O
within	O
Canada	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
same	O
period	O
,	O
the	O
Task	O
Force	O
on	O
Service	O
to	O
the	O
Public	O
was	O
given	O
the	O
job	O
of	O
using	O
Telidon	B-Device
as	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
provide	O
public	O
access	O
to	O
government	O
information	O
and	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
late	O
1979	O
Norpak	O
had	O
developed	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Telidon	B-Device
decoder	O
that	O
was	O
housed	O
in	O
a	O
box	O
about	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
modern	O
digital	B-Device
cable	I-Device
set	O
top	O
box	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
menu	O
selection	O
keyset	O
,	O
about	O
the	O
size	O
and	O
shape	O
of	O
a	O
contemporary	O
calculator	B-Application
,	O
connected	O
to	O
it	O
using	O
a	O
ribbon	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Excitement	O
was	O
high	O
;	O
the	O
19	O
November	O
1981	O
issue	O
of	O
The	O
Globe	O
and	O
Mail	O
quoted	O
a	O
representative	O
at	O
the	O
Canadian	O
Computer	O
Show	O
and	O
Conference	O
in	O
Toronto	O
claiming	O
that	O
"	O
Telidon	B-Device
may	O
become	O
as	O
commonly	O
used	O
as	O
the	O
telephone	O
and	O
will	O
have	O
just	O
as	O
great	O
a	O
social	O
impact.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
release	O
of	O
Norpac	O
's	O
Telidon	B-Device
terminal	O
led	O
to	O
announcements	O
by	O
broadcasters	O
and	O
news	O
organizations	O
who	O
would	O
be	O
rolling	O
out	O
test	O
systems	O
starting	O
late	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Services	O
included	O
Telidon	B-Device
,	O
cable	O
telephony	O
,	O
pay	O
TV	O
service	O
using	O
outdoor	O
converters	O
(	O
instead	O
of	O
set	O
top	O
boxes	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
low-bandwidth	O
backchannel	O
data	O
services	O
for	O
gas	O
and	O
electrical	O
billing	O
and	O
alarm	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Telidon	B-Device
services	O
that	O
formed	O
part	O
of	O
Project	O
Ida	O
were	O
created	O
by	O
Infomart	O
,	O
a	O
Toronto-based	O
company	O
set	O
up	O
to	O
provide	O
Telidon	B-Device
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
1980	O
,	O
TVOntario	O
,	O
the	O
educational	O
television	O
channel	O
run	O
by	O
the	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
government	O
,	O
set	O
up	O
45	O
terminals	O
in	O
the	O
Toronto	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
month	O
,	O
Alberta	B-Protocol
Government	O
Telephones	O
started	O
"	O
Project	O
VIDON	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
smaller	O
modem-based	O
test	O
in	O
the	O
Calgary	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telidon	B-Device
generated	O
interest	O
outside	O
Canada	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
U.S.	O
companies	O
also	O
expressed	O
an	O
interest	O
,	O
and	O
started	O
plans	O
for	O
their	O
own	O
Telidon-based	O
teletext	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
early	O
as	O
1978	O
,	O
AT&T	O
Corporation	O
and	O
CBS	O
had	O
been	O
experimenting	O
with	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
a	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
service	O
,	O
and	O
were	O
drawn	O
towards	O
the	O
Telidon	B-Device
efforts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
particular	O
project	O
was	O
the	O
single	O
largest	O
sale	O
of	O
Telidon	B-Device
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
examine	O
car	O
models	O
without	O
speaking	O
with	O
a	O
car	O
salesperson	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AT&T	O
contributed	O
two	O
major	O
additions	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
;	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
define	O
your	O
own	O
character	B-General_Concept
sets	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
wrap	O
up	O
multiple	O
graphics	O
commands	O
into	O
a	O
"	O
macro	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
resulting	O
system	O
emerged	O
in	O
early	O
1983	O
as	O
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
,	O
while	O
the	O
transmission	O
method	O
that	O
encoded	O
information	O
into	O
the	O
vertical	O
blank	O
interrupt	O
of	O
a	O
TV	O
signal	O
became	O
the	O
NABTS	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
articles	O
in	O
Byte	O
Magazine	O
introduced	O
the	O
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
system	O
to	O
a	O
wider	O
audience	O
,	O
spread	O
over	O
a	O
four-month	O
period	O
in	O
the	O
February	O
,	O
March	O
,	O
April	O
,	O
and	O
May	O
1983	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
 '	O
ability	O
to	O
draw	O
complex	O
graphics	O
was	O
particularly	O
interesting	O
to	O
U.S.	O
information	O
vendors	O
such	O
as	O
Compuserve	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
allowed	O
them	O
to	O
draw	O
network	O
or	O
advertiser	O
logos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
this	O
point	O
the	O
technical	O
development	O
of	O
Telidon	B-Device
was	O
complete	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
Canadian	O
government	O
's	O
involvement	O
wound	O
down	O
in	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
efforts	O
were	O
aimed	O
at	O
helping	O
develop	O
a	O
commercial	O
marketplace	O
for	O
Telidon	B-Device
systems	O
and	O
content	O
,	O
running	O
for	O
another	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
longest-lived	O
Telidon	B-Device
deployments	O
was	O
"	O
Project	O
Grassroots	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
follow-on	O
to	O
the	O
services	O
developed	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
earlier	O
Project	O
Ida	O
and	O
run	O
on	O
its	O
machines	O
in	O
Winnipeg	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Ida	O
,	O
Grassroots	O
ran	O
on	O
geographically	O
distributed	O
modems	B-Application
instead	O
of	O
cable	O
links	O
and	O
was	O
aimed	O
specifically	O
at	O
farmers	O
,	O
providing	O
weather	O
reports	O
,	O
agrochemicals	O
notices	O
and	O
other	O
information	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
optional	O
links	O
to	O
live	O
commodities	O
pricing	O
on	O
various	O
exchanges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
in	O
Winnipeg	O
,	O
Grassroots	O
expanded	O
to	O
serve	O
Alberta	B-Protocol
,	O
Saskatchewan	O
,	O
northern	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
in	O
1985	O
,	O
the	O
northern	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
effort	O
to	O
introduce	O
Telidon	B-Device
in	O
a	O
public	O
setting	O
was	O
the	O
NABU	O
Network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
traditional	O
Telidon	B-Device
systems	O
,	O
NABU	O
terminals	O
were	O
complete	O
home	O
computers	O
in	O
their	O
own	O
right	O
,	O
using	O
the	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
CPU	O
and	O
running	O
a	O
CP/M	B-Application
clone	O
,	O
but	O
booting	O
and	O
launching	O
programs	O
over	O
the	O
cable	B-Device
modem	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
launched	O
with	O
about	O
100	O
programs	O
,	O
mostly	O
games	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
including	O
personal	O
finance	O
packages	O
and	O
such	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
using	O
Telidon	B-Device
for	O
online	B-Application
banking	I-Application
and	O
other	O
consumer	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
official	O
launch	O
on	O
Ottawa	O
Cablevision	O
in	O
October	O
1983	O
,	O
the	O
NABU	O
Network	O
was	O
introduced	O
by	O
Ottawa	O
's	O
Skyline	O
Cablevision	O
in	O
1984	O
and	O
a	O
year	O
later	O
in	O
Sowa	O
,	O
Japan	O
,	O
via	O
a	O
collaboration	O
between	O
NABU	O
and	O
ASCII	O
Corp	O
.	O
NABU	O
machines	O
used	O
Telidon	B-Device
for	O
online	B-Application
banking	I-Application
and	O
other	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
significant	O
showcase	O
for	O
the	O
Telidon	B-Device
system	O
was	O
set	O
up	O
for	O
the	O
Third	O
General	O
Assembly	O
of	O
the	O
Inuit	O
Circumpolar	O
Council	O
,	O
hosted	O
in	O
Frobisher	O
Bay	O
on	O
Baffin	O
Island	O
in	O
July	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sixteen	O
Telidon	B-Device
terminals	O
,	O
supplied	O
by	O
Microtel	O
,	O
were	O
located	O
at	O
various	O
sites	O
in	O
Frobisher	O
Bay	O
,	O
with	O
additional	O
terminals	O
in	O
Vancouver	O
,	O
Washington	O
,	O
D.C.	O
,	O
Copenhagen	O
,	O
Anchorage	O
,	O
Bethel	O
,	O
Utqiagvik	O
,	O
Nuuk	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
other	O
northern	O
communities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Canadian	O
government	O
also	O
invested	O
in	O
Telidon	B-Device
as	O
a	O
way	O
of	O
distributing	O
graphical	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Statistics	O
Canada	O
also	O
used	O
Telidon	B-Device
as	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
distribute	O
graphs	O
and	O
other	O
information	O
in	O
their	O
CANSIM	O
system	O
using	O
their	O
TELICHART	O
software	O
that	O
converted	O
tables	O
of	O
data	O
into	O
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Environment	O
Canada	O
used	O
Telidon	B-Device
terminals	O
to	O
produce	O
video	O
feeds	O
that	O
could	O
then	O
be	O
broadcast	O
on	O
local	O
cable	O
feeds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Run	O
by	O
London	O
,	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
's	O
Cableshare	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
relied	O
on	O
an	O
8085-based	O
microcomputer	O
which	O
drove	O
several	O
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
terminals	O
fitted	O
with	O
touch	O
screens	O
,	O
all	O
communicating	O
via	O
Datapac	B-Protocol
to	O
a	O
back-end	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
Venture	O
One	O
experiments	O
in	O
1982/3	O
,	O
AT&T	O
decided	O
not	O
to	O
pursue	O
a	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
service	O
of	O
its	O
own	O
,	O
but	O
instead	O
provide	O
service	O
and	O
support	O
to	O
other	O
companies	O
who	O
wanted	O
to	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CBS	O
invested	O
considerable	O
capital	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
their	O
ExtraVision	O
service	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
included	O
closed	O
captioning	O
and	O
channel	O
information	O
along	O
with	O
more	O
traditional	O
Telidon	B-Device
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AT&T	O
also	O
partnered	O
with	O
Knight-Ridder	O
Newspapers	O
to	O
form	O
Viewdata	B-Application
,	O
a	O
holding	O
company	O
that	O
operated	O
the	O
"	O
Viewtron	O
"	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Viewdata	B-Application
started	O
primarily	O
as	O
a	O
news	O
service	O
,	O
but	O
over	O
time	O
included	O
more	O
and	O
more	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
it	O
operated	O
over	O
modems	B-Application
in	O
a	O
pure	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
format	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
offer	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
two-way	O
services	O
including	O
e-mail	O
and	O
bulletin	O
boards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1984	O
Tribune	O
Media	O
Services	O
(	O
TMS	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
Associated	O
Press	O
operated	O
a	O
cable	O
television	O
channel	O
called	O
"	O
AP	O
News	O
Plus	O
"	O
that	O
provided	O
NAPLPS-based	O
news	O
screens	O
to	O
cable	O
television	O
subscribers	O
in	O
many	O
U.S.	O
cities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
news	O
pages	O
were	O
created	O
and	O
edited	O
by	O
TMS	O
staffers	O
working	O
on	O
an	O
Atex	O
editing	O
system	O
in	O
Orlando	O
,	O
Florida	O
,	O
and	O
sent	O
by	O
satellite	O
to	O
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
decoder	O
devices	O
located	O
at	O
the	O
local	O
cable	O
television	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
large	O
Telidon	B-Device
deployments	O
might	O
hold	O
tens	O
of	O
thousands	O
of	O
pages	O
,	O
users	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
quickly	O
exhaust	O
the	O
content	O
in	O
their	O
particular	O
areas	O
of	O
interest	O
,	O
suggesting	O
that	O
systems	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
contain	O
hundreds	O
of	O
thousands	O
of	O
pages	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
remain	O
interesting	O
for	O
longer	O
periods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
teletext	O
systems	O
,	O
Telidon	B-Device
included	O
,	O
were	O
created	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
the	O
broadcast	O
model	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
content	O
would	O
be	O
provided	O
by	O
large	O
vendors	O
and	O
then	O
pushed	O
one-way	O
to	O
the	O
user	O
in	O
a	O
fashion	O
similar	O
to	O
television	O
or	O
newspapers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Interactivity	O
was	O
generally	O
limited	O
to	O
menu	O
selections	O
or	O
providing	O
information	O
on	O
forms	O
(	O
like	O
online	B-Application
banking	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telidon	B-Device
was	O
also	O
expensive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
home	O
computers	O
with	O
graphics	O
capabilities	O
similar	O
to	O
Telidon	B-Device
had	O
already	O
come	O
and	O
gone	O
,	O
driving	O
prices	O
to	O
points	O
far	O
below	O
even	O
the	O
simplest	O
Telidon	B-Device
terminal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
generation	O
of	O
machines	O
like	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
,	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
were	O
entering	O
the	O
market	O
with	O
capabilities	O
Telidon	B-Device
systems	O
could	O
not	O
match	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
information	O
services	O
like	O
CompuServe	O
and	O
The	O
Source	O
were	O
offering	O
a	O
usable	O
online	O
experience	O
that	O
Telidon	B-Device
failed	O
to	O
offer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
all	O
of	O
these	O
reasons	O
,	O
interest	O
in	O
Telidon	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Videotex	B-Operating_System
in	O
general	O
,	O
quickly	O
faded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
latter	O
part	O
of	O
1983	O
and	O
early	O
1984	O
of	O
the	O
Informart	O
CEO	O
Dave	O
Carlisle	O
's	O
reign	O
,	O
private	O
publishing	O
corporations	O
could	O
n't	O
find	O
a	O
suitable	O
approach	O
and	O
this	O
resulted	O
in	O
D	O
.	O
Carlisle	O
's	O
resignation	O
with	O
severe	O
impact	O
on	O
Infomart	O
,	O
the	O
flagship	O
of	O
Telidon	B-Device
in	O
rough	O
seas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
government	O
's	O
funding	O
of	O
the	O
Telidon	B-Device
efforts	O
came	O
to	O
an	O
official	O
end	O
on	O
31	O
March	O
1985	O
,	O
at	O
which	O
point	O
$69	O
million	O
had	O
been	O
spent	O
not	O
counting	O
the	O
revenue	O
expended	O
by	O
Infomart	O
who	O
had	O
made	O
national	O
and	O
international	O
sales	O
in	O
excess	O
of	O
$20M	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telidon	B-Device
systems	O
continued	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
one-way	O
medium	O
for	O
some	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
use	O
was	O
to	O
use	O
Telidon	B-Device
terminals	O
to	O
produce	O
video	O
that	O
was	O
then	O
broadcast	O
for	O
viewing	O
as	O
closed-circuit	O
television	O
signals	O
to	O
conventional	O
televisions	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
sending	O
the	O
digital	O
information	O
to	O
terminals	O
connected	O
to	O
those	O
televisions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
the	O
failure	O
of	O
Telidon	B-Device
as	O
a	O
promising	O
technology	O
or	O
efforts	O
made	O
,	O
Telidon	B-Device
's	O
seemingly	O
slow	O
international	O
acceptance	O
and	O
North	O
America	O
's	O
sluggishness	O
in	O
pushing	O
it	O
to	O
higher	O
level	O
of	O
functionality	O
was	O
a	O
topic	O
of	O
considerable	O
discussion	O
and	O
disappointment	O
in	O
Canada	O
,	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
similar	O
and	O
wider	O
conversation	O
on	O
the	O
entire	O
concept	O
of	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
that	O
took	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
and	O
early	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
Telidon	B-Device
criticisms	O
focused	O
on	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
government	O
in	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
systems	O
,	O
pushing	O
a	O
technology	O
that	O
no	O
one	O
really	O
wanted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
commercial	O
efforts	O
had	O
ended	O
,	O
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
received	O
a	O
fresh	O
breath	O
of	O
life	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
the	O
Prodigy	O
online	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
time	O
between	O
efforts	O
like	O
Viewtron	O
and	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
Prodigy	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
with	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
view	O
NAPLPS	B-Protocol
graphics	O
with	O
ease	O
had	O
become	O
common	O
,	O
and	O
modem	B-Application
speeds	O
had	O
increased	O
to	O
the	O
point	O
where	O
the	O
data	O
was	O
no	O
longer	O
overwhelming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NABTS	O
,	O
the	O
communications	O
protocol	O
for	O
embedding	O
data	O
in	O
the	O
TV	O
signal	O
,	O
also	O
saw	O
continued	O
use	O
after	O
the	O
Telidon	B-Device
project	O
ended	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
WebTV	B-Device
for	I-Device
Windows	I-Device
and	O
Intel	O
's	O
Intercast	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
used	O
custom	O
tuners	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
plug-in	O
cards	O
for	O
PCs	B-Device
,	O
that	O
captured	O
the	O
information	O
encoded	O
into	O
the	O
VBI	O
or	O
even	O
an	O
entire	O
TV	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
his	O
work	O
on	O
Telidon	B-Device
,	O
Herb	O
Bown	O
received	O
the	O
Order	O
of	O
Canada	O
and	O
the	O
gold	O
medal	O
for	O
engineering	O
excellence	O
from	O
the	O
Association	O
of	O
Professional	O
Engineers	O
of	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
