CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 45

CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 45 • 11/10/2001
20 Years Ago In CED History:

November 11, 1981:
* USS OHIO, the first Trident class submarine, is commissioned at the
Electric Boat Division in Groton, Connecticut. The principal speaker,
George Bush, Vice President of the United States, remarks to the 8,000
assembled guests that the ship introduces a "new dimension in our
nation's strategic deterrence." During the ceremony, Admiral Hyman G.
Rickover notes that OHIO should "strike fear in the hearts of our
enemies."

November 12, 1981:
* David Stockman, director of the Office of Management and Budget,
offers to resign after a magazine article quotes him as saying that he
doubts the Administration's economic program will work. President Reagan
keeps him on the job.
* Four balloonists complete the first balloon voyage across the Pacific
Ocean. The balloon, Double Eagle V, left Japan and traveled nearly 6,000
miles to California in three and one half days.

November 13, 1981:
* The White House announces that national security advisor Richard Allen
is under investigation for accepting $1,000 from a Japanese magazine.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Strange Behavior.

November 14, 1981:
* Astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly end Space Shuttle Mission STS-2
aboard the Columbia. This was the second mission of the re-usable
vehicle and had to be ended early at 54 hours due to a fuel cell
failure.
* U.S. paratroopers bail out over Egypt, beginning the largest U.S.
military exercises in the Middle East since World War II.

November 15, 1981:
* Forty-eight persons die and 70 are injured in Merida, Mexico when a
bullring wall collapses during a political rally.

November 16, 1981:
* William Holden, one of the most popular male stars in motion picture
history, dies at age 63. Called by director Billy Wilder "the best movie
actor of his generation," he began in boy-next-door roles but went on to
play more complex, often cynical characters in such films as Sunset
Boulevard (CED), Stalag 17 (CED), for which he won an Oscar, The Bridge
on the River Kwai (CED), Network (CED), and The Earthling (CED).

November 17, 1981:
* Kathryn Whitmire is elected as the first female mayor of Houston,
Texas.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 03:59:10 -0800
To: digest@cedmagic.com
From: Tom Howe <tom@cedmagic.com>
Subject: State of the U.S. Economy in 1981

Hello All:

You may have heard last week's announcement that inflation rose from 4.9
to 5.4% in October 2001, and that the increasing rate is significantly
curtailing the purchase of fluff items like DVD's. Although this
represents a huge one-month increase, the overall rate is still a lot
less than the increase to 8.0% announced for October 1981. Another
factor in 1981 was the high inflation rate of over 10%. Indeed, the
so-called "misery index" combining unemployment and inflation reached
its highest historical value to date at about the same time RCA
introduced the CED system. In those terms RCA couldn't have picked a
worse time since the Great Depression to be introducing a new consumer
product, although the March 1981 intro had been set in early 1979 when
the economy was much better.

Until starting the History Column, I hadn't really been aware of the
1981-82 recession and how much it might have contributed to the demise
of CED. Imagine if CED had been introduced during a boom economy like
DVD enjoyed for several years after its 1997 introduction. The press
release posted last week continued to paint the system in glowing terms,
but RCA wasn't selling nearly as many players as hoped for. Although
inflation went down in 1983, unemployment was still up at 9.6% and was
only starting to go down when the CED system was canceled.

--Tom

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "resg" <resg>
To: digest@cedmagic.com
Subject: Help with a copy needed
Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 08:48:49 -0600

Does anyone know anyone who can transfer the CED laserdiscs
to video?

I recently bought a CED sight unseen thinking that it was a
normal laserdisc.  I'd really like to watch this CED but
can't.

Is there anyone who would be willing to make a VHS copy?

Thank you,
Rick Kelsey

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "nir ben moshe" <nir_ben_moshe>
To: digest@cedmagic.com
Subject: RCA VIDEO DISK-SALE
Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2001 01:06:57 +0200

my name is nir from israel.
iv'e send  this letter becuase i have a holl stack of RCA VIDEO
DISKS and 3 players (two work-and one for replasment parts) i want
to sale (about 1000 disks-600 different moveis)
if you want to bye them or know someone that can give me some advice
on what to do,
then please e-mail me at
nir_ben_moshe@hotmail.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "popper" <popper>
To: <digest@cedmagic.com>
Subject: Cleaning Discs
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 21:00:54 -0000

Has anyone got a tip to clean discs, some of the discs i have jump
really badly and i took a disc out to discove the glue from the
portective strip at the mouth had come loose and rubbed on the disc
 
cheers mike
Previous Digest | Next Digest | Volume 6 Index | CED Magic Home