Questions about anything

[Mo Frackle]

On the subject of Evolution:
If we evolved from apes, how come there are still apes? 8)

I remember Richard Dawkins once saying something to the effect of "we didn't evolve from apes. Rather, both we and apes evolved from a long-gone common ancestor."

For the record, I'm not a Dawkins follower; I'm merely repeating what he said. Like D'Snowth said, it's one of those mysteries we may never know the answer to.

 

[D'Snowth]

Why is it whenever Madonna intentionally does something stupid, everybody automatically dismisses it as a "mistake" and forgives her for it? "Oh, it's okay, she's Madonna, Madonna makes mistakes, it happens."

 

[D'Snowth]

Did CBS and FOX have some kind of a joint venture or something in the 80s? I was at Goodwill the other day and found a VHS of GMC that was released by CBS-FOX, and found that to be extremely strange.

 

[mr3urious]

Did CBS and FOX have some kind of a joint venture or something in the 80s? I was at Goodwill the other day and found a VHS of GMC that was released by CBS-FOX, and found that to be extremely strange.

It was indeed a joint venture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS/Fox_Video

 

[minor muppetz]

I've read that when home video began, many video releases were rental-only. I know video was expensive at the beginning, but did so many early releases have to be rental-only? Couldn't companies have made the videos available for sale if retailers wanted to make them for sale? Like just produce them and offer them to any place regardless of whether it's to rent or buy?

Then again, I doubt there were video rental stores the moment the first commercial video came out. That must have been available for purchase (unless retailers had video rental sections).

And it seems like videos continued to have rental-only releases after home video had become signficantly popular, VHS getting cheaper and nearly everyone having a VCR. I remember seeing Dumb and Dumber at the video store for a long time before I saw it available for purchase, and one time I wanted to get my dad Grumpier Old Men for father's day only to learn that it was only available for rent at the time.

 

[mr3urious]

I've read that when home video began, many video releases were rental-only. I know video was expensive at the beginning, but did so many early releases have to be rental-only? Couldn't companies have made the videos available for sale if retailers wanted to make them for sale? Like just produce them and offer them to any place regardless of whether it's to rent or buy?

That's because the movie studios were still paranoid about the idea of movies being available to own on video, believing they would cause piracy to run rampant.

 

[minor muppetz]

That's because the movie studios were still paranoid about the idea of movies being available to own on video, believing they would cause piracy to run rampant.

And they weren't worried that people would just copy rented videos?

 

[Sgt Floyd]

And they weren't worried that people would just copy rented videos?

copying a vhs tape was a nightmare in itself. You needed two vcrs, for one thing, and you had to have the cables to hook them together.

im willing to bet back then people couldnt exactly afford to have one, let alone two vcrs.

 

[D'Snowth]

copying a vhs tape was a nightmare in itself. You needed two vcrs, for one thing, and you had to have the cables to hook them together.

im willing to bet back then people couldnt exactly afford to have one, let alone two vcrs.

My parents were evidently affluent prior to the 1989 White Collar Recession (which happened just weeks after I was born . . . maybe I caused the recession, I dunno) - not to mention they used to work for Magnavox, so yeah, they had a couple of VCRs - I can attest to that, because most of my oldest tapes I have from my childhood, like those My Sesame Street Home Videos, and Disney movies and such, were all copied from rental tapes.

 

[fuzzygobo]

copying a vhs tape was a nightmare in itself. You needed two vcrs, for one thing, and you had to have the cables to hook them together.

im willing to bet back then people couldnt exactly afford to have one, let alone two vcrs.

Back around 1985, when we got our first VCR, they cost around $400 (about the same price as a new microwave back then). Video stores let you rent VCR's, so it was possible to dub your own movies. There seemed to be some legal wiggle room. It wasn't considered criminal to dub a copy for your own viewing, only if you were trying to sell it. Then they'd throw the book at you.