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The BBC Ceefax Telesoftware service ran for six years, broadcasting computer news and software, predominantly for the BBC Micro.
The pages were named after BBC BASIC
commands. The software was sent as ordinary teletext pages, and the data was specially encoded so that the binary data would result in ordinary characters on the teletext page - it was not very interesting to watch! (Ooh look - a NEW service for the IBM PC!!!) |
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Here's what a typical Telesoftware program
looked like to the casual viewer. Anyone care to guess what this program is? |
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A copyright notice for the Telesoftware, broadcast as part of the REM magazine from 1983 | |
The next three frames were saved by Mark Cook... | |
The ROM referred to here was not a CD-ROM but a ROM chip to plug into your BBC Model B. | |
*CAT - the index page of telesoftware you could download. | |
The Telesoftware service closed in 1989, having performed its job. The computer literacy
project had ended, the BBC Micro had been replaced by new Acorn machines, bulletin boards
were the rage, and the internet was not far off. The BBC could no longer justify the
service as it was used by very few. Knowing how devoted those few were, the BBC let them down gently with this Telesoftware announcement |
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No prevaricating about the bush for Ceefax, two pages on and they are getting to the point... | |
Ah! There it is, two and a half pages on
we get that historic paragraph! Click here for the full text of the downloadable version of the statement |
Telesoftware for the Sinclair Spectrum was transmitted on Channel 4 for a while and an ITV micro was also planned... Can anyone fill us in on any of the details?
Ceefax on BBC1
and BBC2 | BBC teletext from their newer services
Ceefax
Regional-Extra | Ceefax In Vision | An Evening
with Ceefax
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