Do you ever "Authenticate" the experience?

[Mirage1972]

I think this is referring to Mountain Dew being sold only in non-caffeinated form in Canada.

That is sheer insanity! That's no longer Mountain Dew! I'm aghast!

[wiskow]

I think this is referring to Mountain Dew being sold only in non-caffeinated form in Canada.

Apparently there is a regulation requiring beverages with caffeine to be dark in colour.

This is another fine example of government intervention telling us what we can eat, drink, or watch on TV, rather than letting the free market decide.

Really? When did this happen? I hadn't heard of this... So are drinks like Red Bull and other energy drinks not sold in Canada, too? Is is legal to bring Mountain Dew into Canada from the U.S.?

Oh... And what about Mello Yello (Coca-Cola's version of Mountain Dew)?

-Andrew

[gklinger]

Really? When did this happen?

It has been like that for decades.

So are drinks like Red Bull and other energy drinks not sold in Canada, too?

They're available. I'm not sure how they get around the regulation.

Is is legal to bring Mountain Dew into Canada from the U.S.?

Yes. About 15 years ago I crossed the border at Fort Erie and was asked if I had anything to declare. I told the guy I had more than 500 cans of Mountain Dew in the car. He paused and looked at me for about 10 seconds and then asked, "Are you kidding?" I said I wasn't. He then asked, "Is this something I should be concerned about?" I said it wasn't. He paused for another 10 seconds and then said, "Dont' drink them all at once" and let me through. Some border guards are cool.

Oh... And what about Mello Yello (Coca-Cola's version of Mountain Dew)?

I've never seen it for sale anywhere in Canada. We also don't have Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi anymore which causes me great distress as it is my beverage of choice. I'm forever asking people traveling to the U.S. to buy as much of it as they're comfortable transporting back.

I've broke down and had some shipped to me once. That was some expensive cola.

[wiskow]

Well, I've got to say that that's just wrong... Mountain Dew without caffeine isn't really Mountain Dew at all... They basterdized it!

Well, I just did some research on this, and apparently the way the energy drinks are able to get around this regulation in Canada is because they're marketed as a natural health product and not as a soft drink.

-Andrew

[Richard James]

Talking of quality and drinks my Father says that the feeling for coca-cola bottles with their shaped surface comes from the old days when cold bottles where stored in ice. As the ice melts as it gets to the customer the bottles become slippery. Coca-cola came out with these shaped bottles which are easier to hold when wet.

As for Mountain Dew it is decaffeinated in Australia too. I just don't know why, I don't think we have any silly law similar to Canada. But then I hear many Americans are aghast when they come over here and go to the supermarket because we have much less variety in Junk Food. So maybe there was some marketing decision or something.

[ral-clan]

What happened to Mountain Dew? They don't sell it in Quebec anymore? Or are you referring to something else?

-Andrew

I think this is referring to Mountain Dew being sold only in non-caffeinated form in Canada.

Apparently there is a regulation requiring beverages with caffeine to be dark in colour.

This is another fine example of government intervention telling us what we can eat, drink, or watch on TV, rather than letting the free market decide.

I had heard differently. Again, what I heard is general hearsay, but I was informed the reason that Mountain Dew in Canada doesn't have caffeine is that for caffeine to be legally part of a drink in Canada, it has to be an inherent part of one of the ingredients necessary to make the drink. i.e. Coffee beans already have coffee in them naturally, and you need coffee beans to make coffee....so therefore coffee can legally be served with caffeine.

In regard to cola soft drinks, the Kola nut naturally contains caffeine, and is a major incredient in the manufacture of this product.

In the case of Mountain Dew, the caffeine was just added as a stimulant so it could be marketed as giving you a buzz, etc. It was never a necessary ingredient for the flavour, or a natural part of one of the ingredients. Basically, you can't legally add caffeine to a drink product in Canada as a "gimmick". I guess that the "energy drinks" get around it because they are marketed as sort of a "health food" whose main function is to provide a burst of energy rather than a "recreational" food product which is for quenching thirst.

So....in Canada, you can't just add extra caffeine to a product. You can make a drink that naturally contains a lot of caffiene, if one of the ingredients does already carry it, and it is necessary to the flavour, etc. (I guess this is how Coke and all those energy drinks like Jolt are marketable).

[Mayhem]

That... might explain why it seemed different when I tried a few cans here in the UK compared to the US many years back. Never knew it had caffeine in it, I drink a bit of it when I've over Stateside...

[ral-clan]

Talking of quality and drinks my Father says that the feeling for coca-cola bottles with their shaped surface comes from the old days when cold bottles where stored in ice. As the ice melts as it gets to the customer the bottles become slippery. Coca-cola came out with these shaped bottles which are easier to hold when wet.

I'd also heard that it was designed that way because it was based on a woman's figure. Don't know if this is true or not.

[PaulQ]

Talking of quality and drinks my Father says that the feeling for coca-cola bottles with their shaped surface comes from the old days when cold bottles where stored in ice. As the ice melts as it gets to the customer the bottles become slippery. Coca-cola came out with these shaped bottles which are easier to hold when wet.

I'd also heard that it was designed that way because it was based on a woman's figure. Don't know if this is true or not.

A woman's figure is easier to hold when wet if it's shaped that way as well...

[carlsson]

To get back on topic: while I respect your desires to authenticate the VIC experience once in a while, myself I'm so proud of what the VIC community has accomplished in the last 10 years that I'd hesitate to look back. The basic hardware is the same, a few add-ons are new but it is in the software department most of the additions are.

As for the hardware, while a floppy drive might not be authentic for a 1982 experience, it is a God given right today, unless you have some even more clever means of mass storage. Composite colour monitor or perhaps even S-Video after the mod outperforms any blurry old B&W television. No more need to grit your teeth at games requiring more expansion memory than you own, just plug in your memory expansion of choice including one of those newly produced ones.

I can still enjoy the old games, but don't need a special setup, or to drink anything particular.

[wiskow]

As for the hardware, while a floppy drive might not be authentic for a 1982 experience, it is a God given right today, unless you have some even more clever means of mass storage. Composite colour monitor or perhaps even S-Video after the mod outperforms any blurry old B&W television.

The VIC-1540 drive was released at the same time as the VIC-20, wasn't it? And it was designed for color output to a monitor, too... So I wouldn't say that using a disk drive and color monitor wouldn't be "authentic"... They're just things that the majority of people who bought VIC-20's couldn't afford at the time. So you could just pretend that you were a rich VIC-20 owner in 1982.

-Andrew

[carlsson]

Exactly! But only a few (less than 50?) programs seem to have been distributed on floppy disks.

Yeah, I will role play being a rich VIC-20 owner in 1982.. nah, make that 1981. I will smoke a cigar, have a glass of whiskey and tell my servant to bring me today's newspaper.

[pitcalco]

Well, I do remember the old TV ads (you can see them today on YouTube) for the VIC-20 saying that you could end up owning the neighbourhood if you bought a VIC 20.

Has anyone here ending up owning his own neighbourhood after getting a VIC?

Just trying to authenticate the experience.

[Richard James]

I believe the correct term here is "historical recreation" or "historical re-enactment". It is different from role play I believe in that the people undertaking it are not trying to be someone else but rather trying to live as people from that period might have lived. Which is why it is so important to have things from that era as the more like that era it is the more authentic the experience is.

I don't go in for it myself, nor do I really like role-playing but I do like to reminisce about the old days. To each his own.

[PaulQ]

I believe the correct term here is "historical recreation" or "historical re-enactment".

That's the term I'm looking for. It's like I can immerse myself entirely into a different era.

We usually see it in people re-enacting certain battles or wars:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_reenactment

Personally, I always enjoyed going to various Pioneer Villages; that, too, is like taking a step back in time. However, these are often "Living Museums" where I am simply an observer.

I do confess, it's not something I want to do every time I sit down to use my Vic 20. I, too, like the modern conveniences. I just think it's nice that I can step through that portal back to the early 1980's every once in a while for an hour or two.