Editing Telidon (section)

===Telidon development===

On 15 August 1978, the DoC (whose technical side is now part of the [[Industry Canada]]) held a press conference and formally announced the Telidon project to the public, demonstrating a large video display sending information to a [[minicomputer]] over an [[acoustic coupler]] [[modem]]. They outlined a four-year development plan that included funding for further technical development at the CRC, the production of several hundred terminals that would be lent out to industry for development studies, as well as funds for marketing and lobbying in videotex standards negotiations.<ref name=b/>

In 1979 the DoC formed the Canadian Videotex Consultative Committee to advise the Minister on ways to commercialize the CRC's work, and develop videotext services within Canada. The committee held four meetings during the initial four-year development plan, and coordinated a number of field trials with broadcasters, telephone companies, [[cable television]] firms, manufacturers and various information providers. During the same period, the Task Force on Service to the Public was given the job of using Telidon as a way to provide public access to government information and services.

By late 1979 Norpak had developed a version of the Telidon decoder that was housed in a box about the size of a modern [[digital cable]] [[set top box]]. A menu selection keyset, about the size and shape of a contemporary [[calculator]], connected to it using a [[ribbon cable]]. With the hardware in place, the CRC started working with telecommunications providers to test the system in production settings. Many of the major Canadian carriers expressed strong interest, and a number of test systems were ready to roll out by the early 1980s. Excitement was high; the 19 November 1981 issue of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' quoted a representative at the Canadian Computer Show and Conference in Toronto claiming that "Telidon may become as commonly used as the telephone and will have just as great a social impact." They were not alone in predicting great things for the technology:

{{cquote|It is no exaggeration to say that the telecommunications marketplace in Canada was gripped by Telidon fever from late 1979 to late 1982. Hope and belief displaced analysis and reason: hope and belief in technology&nbsp;– science-based technology&nbsp;– as an agent of change, a bringer of novelty, and enhancer of life. After all, there was a revolution taking place&nbsp;– the communications revolution. So we were told.<ref name="Gillies pp. 6-7">{{harvnb|Gillies|1990| pp=6–7}}</ref>}}

In a radio broadcast in 1980, [[Douglas Parkhill]], the deputy minister of research at the DoC outlined some of the potential uses, from financial information, to theatre reservations, with the ability to pay and print out tickets from the system.<ref>Telidon, the two-way television, [http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technology/computers/topics/1738-11993/], broadcast 6 June 1980</ref>