CED Digest Vol. 7 No. 16

CED Digest Vol. 7 No. 16 • 4/20/2002
20 Years Ago In CED History:

April 21, 1982:
* Israeli fighter planes attack Palestinian-controlled villages in southern and
coastal Lebanon, breaking a nine-month-old cease-fire between Israel and the
PLO.

April 22, 1982:
* Ending rumors of a serious illness, Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev appears
in a rally in Moscow marking the 112th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir
Lenin.
* During the first national congress of the Social Democratic Party since 1979,
West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt wins a major political battle when his
party votes down a nuclear freeze motion.
* Roberto d'Aubuisson, an extreme right-wing leader, is elected president of El
Salvador's Constituent Assembly.

April 23, 1982:
* The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that consumer prices declined in
March for the first monthly decline in almost 17 years; consumer prices rose in
the first quarter of 1982 by only 1 percent annually, the lowest quarterly rate
since 1965.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Amateur.

April 24, 1982:
* Vietnam reshuffles its Cabinet, apparently because of economic problems.

April 25, 1982:
* In a simple but significant ceremony, Egypt regains control over the eastern
portion of the Sinai as had been stipulated in the peace treaty signed with
Israel in 1979. The Israeli withdrawal follows days of turmoil in the northern
settlement of Yamit, the stronghold of militant nationalistic and religious
opposition to the pullout. Israel had occupied the territory since seizing it
during the 1967 war.
* British troops recapture the principal port on South Georgia, the island also
occupied by Argentina and located some 500 miles to the East of the Falkland
Islands.

April 26, 1982:
* The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service begins a week-long roundup of
illegal aliens working in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los
Angeles, Newark, New York, and San Francisco. Of the 5,635 persons taken into
custody, a few are able to produce proper documentation and return to work, but
more than 4,000 agree to leave the country voluntarily.
* The trial of John Hinckley for the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan
begins in Washington, D.C.

April 27, 1982:
* China proposes a new constitution that would radically alter the structure of
the national government.

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To: digest@cedmagic.com
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 12:14:48 -0800
From: "Tom Howe" <tom@cedmagic.com>
Subject: RE: CueCat

>I didn't know about the need to contact the manufacturer to activate the
>software (as Tom mentioned, their Web site seems to be gone) and it doesn't
>seem to be doing the job without it.

There actually isn't a need to have the CueCat software installed for the
scanner to simply read regular UPC's. All that is needed is one of the
third-party software products, like Catnip for Windows machines, or MacCat for
the Macintosh, which have download links in the step-by-step instructions on
the CueCat page. The CueCat software doesn't even work any longer, returning
the rather cryptic message "Your computer is not online with the Internet.
Please check your Internet connection" whenever a barcode is scanned with the
software running. This message could more accurately be stated "The web site
www.crq.com cannot be located. Either your Internet connection is inactive or
the web site is down. The CueCat software requires access to this web site so
demographic data on your scanning habits can be gathered."

Is there anyone on the list in Dallas who knows more about the ultimate fate of
the Digital Convergence company? I haven't seen any up-to-date info on the
web, and since the company was/is privately owned, the owners don't have to
make public statements about their status.

--Tom

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Thompson Bob <Bob.Thompson>
To: "'digest@cedmagic.com'" <digest@cedmagic.com>
Subject: Hand cleaning CED's
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 10:01:32 +0100

I did a search on cleaning CED's in archives of this digest and didn't find
a lot. Some say it's ok, some say don't do it. Is there anyone here who does
clean them by hand and what techniques and materials do you use? I have a
lot of CED's that have spots on them probably from damp conditions (I live
in the UK BTW which may have something to do with it) and I'm sure they
would play better if cleaned. I also have some with finger marks, due to
curious previous owners, which I would also like to clean off as they
attract dust like a magnet.
I already clean clean vynil LP's by hand with great success (I also realise
it's like comparing chalk and cheese) so hopefully there is some way of
doing it without damaging the discs or the player.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
                   Bob Thompson.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Allen wolf" <wolfallen>
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: CED'S Going Fast !!!!
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 12:24:53 -0500

Hello All,
    In the past six month's,the ced format has bin rather hard to find on the
used market! the only people that i know who have them will not part with them.
this is scary!!!! are we seeing the final nail in the old ced coffin lid?
                   Allen Wolf.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: digest@cedmagic.com
Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 10:32:12 -0800
From: "Tom Howe" <tom@cedmagic.com>
Subject: CED Player Parts Disposed Of

Hello All:

I heard indirectly through the grapevine that Thomson closed their Parts and
Accessory Division in Deptford, New Jersey last month and disposed of many
older parts. Thomson owns what used to be the RCA Consumer Electronics
Division, and apparently this place still had some "player critical" parts.
This would include the unique CED parts we need today like stylus cartridges
and custom IC's, motors,and gears.

It's not clear what "disposed of" means, whether these parts were thrown in the
dumpster or somehow formally surplused. If there's anyone in New Jersey near
that facility it might be worth checking with some of the electronic surplus
places in the phone book to see if they dealt with Thomson.

--Tom
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