Viewtron
![Viewtron opening menu screen](/Images/godic/202502/19/Viewtron_main_menu_screen4756.jpg")
![Viewtron published news from the Associated Press and Knight-Ridder-owned newspapers](/Images/godic/202502/19/Viewtron_news_screen4756.jpg")
![The Viewtron bulletin board section was presented as an online 'Letters to the Editor' system](/Images/godic/202502/19/Viewtron_bulletin_board4756.jpg")
![Florida weather map](/Images/godic/202502/19/Viewtron_weather_map4756.jpg")
Viewtron was an online service offered by Knight-Ridder and AT&T from 1983 to 1986. Patterned after the British Post Office's Prestel system, it started as a videotex service requiring users to have a special terminal, the AT&T Sceptre. As home computers became important in the marketplace, the development focus shifted to IBM, Apple, Commodore and other personal computers.