The Minitel 미니텔
[Power Dialog]
Look what I bought on an online auction site. It was a steal at $200.
What is that thing? it looks like an ancient computer!
Believe it or not, it's the world's first Internet. It was called the Minitel and it started in France in 1978.
Talk about being ahead of the curve!
By 1986, 1.4 million of these terminals were connected. Even more amazing, people were still logging on until 2012, when they shut it down.
I'm surprised it's the first time I've heard about it.
I guess it wasn't a big deal from a global perspective.
[Power Note]
1. a steal - a cost that is lower than something's value
A: Did you see the one-day sale on sofas at the department store?
B: Yeah, my wife and I bought a leather couch. It was a steal at $500!
* Two-for-one shoes? What a steal!
2. ahead of the curve - at the forefront of something
A: My new cell phone has a TV projector built in.
B: Wow, that electronics company is always ahead of the curve.
* My son's high school is ahead of the curve and teaches app design courses.
3. shut something down - to discontinue operations of something
A: I just downloaded the latest action movie off of MovieStealer.com.
B: I thought the government shut that website down five times already.
* The government shut down the circus when they found out animals were being abused.
[Power Pattern & Vocabulary]
Believe it or not, ...
믿거나 말거나 ~, 믿기 힘들겠지만 사실 ~
Believe it or not, parrots can live to 80!
Believe it or not, your mother was once a fashion model.
perspective 관점