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| CED Digest Vol. 3 No. 11 • 3/14/1998 | ||||||||||||||
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 13:56:38 -0800
From: Tom Howe
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: CED/Newton Parallels
Hello All:
If you follow the technology press, you may have heard that Apple announced they
are discontinuing their Newton personal digital assistant, and are now
liquidating the existing product inventory. You may be familiar with this
product as there's a Newton version of the CED Title Database available for
download at CED Magic. I've had one of these since they first came out in 1993,
and although I don't make extensive use of it, there are some cool functions
available, like using it as a television remote control. I have even been
considering programming it as a full-function SJT400 interactive remote. But in
thinking about this, there are some striking similarities between CED and
Newton:
-Both products were introduced with much fanfare, and RCA and Apple made
convincing arguments that the products would be in use by a large portion of the
population within a few years.
-Both were essentially released in the BETA stage. RCA had the skipping problem
mainly attributable to too much disc lubricant, and the player design flaw where
people would flip the function lever from load to play with the caddy still in
the player, messing up the switch cams. The Newton had laughably bad handwriting
recognition, that the press had a field day with.
- Both products were discontinued when they were selling in the Black. RCA was
making a profit on disc sales when they discontinued CED, and the Newton by some
accounts is the second best selling PDA (although it's way behind the Palm
Pilot).
-Both products were essentially killed rather than spun off. A consortium
attempted to buy CED pressing rights in 1985, but the deal fell through because
of RCA's high asking price. It sounds like they wanted CED to disappear
completely so everyone would forget about it. Apple has decided to sit on their
Newton technology rather than sell it, possibly with the plan to introduce a new
PDA some time in the future.
More info on Apple's announcement can be found at http://www.newton-inc.com
--Tom Howe
http://www.cedmagic.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 09:35:43 -0800
From: Neil Wagner
To: *CED Digest <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: Videodisc History Part 18
>From the December 1981 "Popular Science"
by William J. Hawkins
VIDEODISCS - new alternatives to movies at home -- Part 3
---------------------------------------------------------
Are they worth it?
Remember, videodisc players don't record. That makes
videotape recorders--available for about $100 more--their
stiffest competition.
But with the videodisc player, you'll save money later--
on the cost of the disc. A first-run movie is about $30.
That's not exactly cheap, but a prerecorded videotape of
the same movie is at least twice that. Also, disc players
offer more in special effects and, with the right discs,
could be much more than just movie players. Instructional
discs are available at present; future discs could mean an
entirely new way of gaining information.
All this will hang on the programming material available.
There is no doubt in my mind that videodisc players will
survive alongside videotape--just as audio discs and audio
tape recorders can be companions in a hi-fi system. But
now we're in the midst of a Catch-22. Programming devel-
opers are waiting for more videodisc players to be sold
before they begin producing more material, while videodisc
buyers are waiting for a fuller library before they're
willing to buy. And everybody's waiting to see what effect
a third incompatible format will have this spring. Need-
less to say, for the videodisc to become a box-office smash,
something has to give.
[The main picture accompanying this story shows an unsleeved
DiscoVision disc in the background (no movie title, just the
word "DiscoVision" on the label), and 7 different videodisc
players in the foreground. The caption reads:
"New videodisc players offer excellent picture and sound
quality. Units simply attach to TV antenna terminals.
(Antenna is automatically switched to TV when player is
turned off.) Some units have separate audio and video
outputs for higher quality signals when used with a
projection TV and hi-fi. A few offer stereo. Remote
control is optionally available on some. Top to bottom
are: Sanyo, Zenith, Radio Shack, RCA, Toshiba, Pioneer,
and Magnavox."
The Pioneer and Magnavox units are clearly laserdisc players.]
[Two other photos appear, one showing a CED being inserted
into a player and the other showing a laserdisc ("DiscoVision")
being placed into the top-loading Pioneer player. Caption reads:
"Square plastic record jacket contains round CED disc above.
CED machines, like this Toshiba, play an hour per side. The
Pioneer LV system, right, gets a half-hour per side in the
normal mode. Extended-play discs in the LV system get an
hour per side, but only the fast-scan feature will work on
these shows."]
[The following comparison table also appeared.]
Videodisc-player manufacturers--now and future
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | Controls |
|Manuf. |Model |Format|Price|Pause|Still|Slow |Fast |Random|Remote|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|Elmo |VEC 200| CED | 500 | X | X | | 2 | | X |
|Fisher | U* | LV | U | X | X | X | 2 | X | X |
|G.E. | U | VHD | U | X | X | X | X | | U |
|Gold Star| U | LV | U | X | X | X | X | U | X |
|Hitachi |VIP1000| CED | 530 | X | | | 2 | | X |
|JVC | U | VHD | U | X | X | X | X | X | X |
|Magnavox | 8000 | LV | 699 | X | X | X | X | | |
| | 8005 | LV | 769 | X | X | X | X | | X |
|M. Ward | 10301 | CED | 430 | X | X | | 2 | | X |
|NEC | U | VHD | U | X | X | X | X | | X |
|Panasonic| U | VHD | U | X | X | X | 2 | | X |
|Pioneer |VP-1000| LV | 749 | X | X | X | 2 | X | X |
|Quasar | U | VHD | U | X | X | X | 2 | | X |
|R. Shack | CED-1 | CED | 500 | X | | | 2 | | X |
|RCA |SFT100W| CED | 500 | X | | | 2 | | |
|Samsung | U | LV | U | X | X | X | 2 | U | X |
|Sanyo |VDR3000| CED | 500 | X | X | | 3 | | X |
|Sears | 5474 | CED | 480 | X | | | 2 | | |
| | 5478 | CED | 500 | X | | | 2 | | X |
|Sharp | U | VHD | U | X | X | X | 2 | X | X |
|Toshiba |VP-100 | CED | 525 | X | X | | 3 | | |
|Zenith |VP-2000| CED | 500 | X | | | 2 | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
*Undecided
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Output | | |
|Manuf. |Model |RF |Video|Audio|Available|Remarks |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|Elmo |VEC-200| X | | | Now |Stereo adapter jack |
|Fisher | U | X | X | X | March | |
|G.E. | U | X | X | X | June |Variable speed |
|Gold Star| U | X | X | X |End of 82| |
|Hitachi |VIP1000| X | X | X | Now |Remote optional; two |
| | | | | | |visual-search speeds |
|JVC | U | X | X | X | June |Variable speed |
|Magnavox | 8000 | X | X | X | Now |Variable speed |
| | 8005 | X | X | X | Now |Variable speed |
|M. Ward | 10301 | X | X | X | Now |Stereo adaptable; remote|
| | | | | | |control optional |
|NEC | U | X | X | X | June |Prototype info only |
|Panasonic| U | X | X | X | June |Prototype info only |
|Pioneer |VP-1000| X | X | X | Now |Variable speed |
|Quasar | U | X | X | X | June |Prototype info only |
|R. Shack | CED-1 | X | X | X | Now | |
|RCA |SFT100W| X | | | Now | |
|Samsung | U | X | X | X | June |Prototype info only |
|Sanyo |VDR3000| X | X | X | Now |Comb filtering; direct- |
| | | | | | |drive motor |
|Sears | 5474 | X | | | Now | |
| | 5478 | X | X | X | Now |Two visual-search speeds|
|Sharp | U | X | X | X | June |Random access requires |
| | | | | | |optional unit |
|Toshiba |VP-100 | X | X | X | Now |Stereo adapter jack |
|Zenith |VP-2000| X | | | Now | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
*Undecided
--
Neil - nw@ix.netcom.com
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