Videotex, an early interactive information service for households and kiosks, combined which foundational technologies to let users select on-screen content on demand?

Introduction / Context:
Before the modern World Wide Web, several systems delivered interactive pages to users over telephone or cable lines. Videotex was among the most notable, enabling users to browse information, shop, and message using a TV or dedicated terminal. Understanding what technologies Videotex brought together gives historical perspective on today’s web and smart TV platforms.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Videotex presented on-screen pages and menus.
• Users navigated interactively, selecting content to view.
• The service worked over telecommunications networks to remote databases.

Concept / Approach:
Videotex blended: (1) television display hardware for rendering pages on consumer screens; (2) communications over the public network for two-way interactivity; and (3) computer technology to store, generate, and serve the information. This trio together enabled an early form of on-demand, menu-driven digital content long before broadband and HTML browsers became ubiquitous.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Well-known deployments such as Minitel (France) and Prestel (UK) illustrate this mix: TV/terminal displays, modems/lines for connectivity, and central computers offering directories, banking, and messaging—validating “All of the above.”

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Television alone: lacks interactivity and remote data.
• Communication alone: needs a display and computing to present content.
• Computer technology alone: without home displays and networks, there is no consumer service.
• None: incorrect because Videotex inherently combined all three.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing Videotex with Teletext (a one-way broadcast overlay carried in TV signals). Videotex was two-way and interactive, whereas Teletext was not.

Final Answer:
All of the above