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1977 - Development of the VCR

The first magnetic videotape recorder was demonstrated by Bing Crosby Enterprises in 1951.   Its use was purely for movie production purposes.  Although it performed poorly, it was predicted that such a recorder would eventually allow full color pictures and sound to be recorded on one strip of tape. RCA followed the next year with a demonstration of a color videotape recorder, but this demonstration was quickly overtaken by consumer interest in the television market.

Sony introduced its first Betamax machine for mass consumer use in 1975 for an initial price of $1,300.  With this introduction, consumers had the opportunity to record their own programming and move into the world of home movies. In 1977, Sony's monopoly ended when Japan Victor Company (JVC) introduced the VHS format video cassette recorder (VCR), that allowed consumers to record up to six hours on a single tape. RCA introduced VHS machines and were shortly joined by Panasonic (Matsushita). These machines offered a cassette format that was technically incompatible with Sony's Beta machines, forcing consumers to make a choice between the two formats

Other Events of 1977

• Jimmy Carter Elected U.S. president
• Movies are highlighted by Star Wars and John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever
• The historical mini drama Roots is watched by millions.
• New musical groups such as The Clash, Talking Heads, and Elvis Costello are popular around the world.  Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is extremely popular
• Disco is rapidly fading as a popular music form.
• Elvis Presley dies.
• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison is published.

• Apple presents the Apple II Computer for a sale price of $1298
• Commodore Computers offers it "Pet" for a reasonable $795
• The very first Computerland store opened in Morristown NJ, under the name Computershack.
• Radioshack releases its TRS-80 computer.

2015 - Digital Movie Purchase and Rental

With the gains in information transfer (BK3 Technology) at speeds of 2.0 megs per second and the success of the Internet dollar, consumers now purchase and rent digital films and music solely through the web.  The local Blockbuster or hometown video store has been overrun by the ease of BK3.  Consumers "shop" for titles and can rent with the option to purchase within 10 days.  After this 10 day wait, the film self deletes if the user does not enter the mastered code.  Download time for films are 2-3 minutes and are saved on hyper-CDs.  This change in industry sales saved retailers like Blockbuster millions of dollars, and continues the downward spiral of American physical fitness, as they sit in front of their grid and pig out on the new fad: Bologna flavored Doritos.

Other Events of 2015

• John F. Kennedy secretly cloned in early 1990's and becomes President at tender age of 24.
• Star Wars begins third trilogy, and John Travolta is successful televangelist on Internet TV.
• World is saddened by the loss of Annette Koss, founder of the cure for ADD/ADHD.
• Ringo Starr organizes a farewell Beatles tour.
• Internet schools extremely popular, teachers now face no discipline problems; simply log off "disruptive" users.

Technology Related Events of 2015

• Viper Technology Systems releases its latest creation: virtual vacation - a real-time, multi-sensory approach to time off from work.
• Bill Gates retires from MicroApple system, after a successful business and technology merger 10 years ago.
• Web Police Force apprehends and arrests over one million profile thieves, individuals that steal your virtual security identity and use it for their own lucrative gains.