Sony stock slides to 30-year low after record loss Sony shares dropped to a 30-year low on the Tokyo Stock Exchange today after reporting a record loss of $5.7bn. The Japanese tech goliath predicts the first profit in five years in 2013, but investors seem unconvinced that the company can turn around its TV business and make any inroads into the smartphone market. Its shares …
Yes.
I was loyal to Sony for Analogue electronics: clever, straightforward, mini hi-fi, Trinitron CRT tvs, a car radio/cassette player. All solid, reliable, high quality sound (& picture). Then came the first Sony Tv with teletext/viewdata/whatever it was called that week. I had to have 4 before I got one that worked. They argued all the time that there was nothing wrong.
Then the removal men dropped a 1 year old telly. It was 4 years before the insurers returned it, because of problems with Sony supplying parts.
I'd stopped believing in them long before the rootkit fiasco, although that was when I stopped buying anything, already annoyed by a lock-in policy that covered cameras, audio players, etc.
They made their name with good quality affordable well supported products, Once they had the name they dropped the other 3 things. And I dropped them.
Let's see if we can wrap this up in 3 paragraphs shall we?
Rootkit - Sony BMG, not Sony corporation, makes a true stupid move because they haven't got the first clue about the implications of the DRM software that they have been sold by a British company. When those implications become painfully clear they recall all the affected CDs and destroy all the 3 million unsold discs with the pernicious software on it. They issue a quick fix to help remove the offending DRM, which turns out to be insecure itself, and then finally they get it right and remove it. This all happened within 6 months of them acquiring the DRM software BTW, so it's not like they sold this stuff for years and did nothing to correct it. The decisions with respect to XCP and the whole DRM on CD fiasco were entirely local to Sony BMG and the 100,000 other employees of Sony didn;t have a clue it was happening, and I suspect some of those 100,000 might even have been affected by the XCP software themselves. Of course this happened some 8 years ago and Sony corporation not only recalled the CDs and made some restitution, they also recognized it was wrong.
Sony did not demand the IP addresses of anyone to do with anything. Their lawyers did. It's not a technical distinction it's a huge distinction. The IP addresses were requested by Sony's lawyers so that they could be used to determine how many people that had viewed GeoHots published information actually were in the jurisdiction of the court. that was the only purpose that the information could serve. The list of addresses was never given to Sony, nor could it have been. The ip addresses themselves are hardly a private piece of information and do not contain any personally identifying information in any case. As usual the media and ill-informed fanbois who still have a rootkit stuck halfway up their nether regions jumped up and down and waved their hands n the air without bothering to look at the scope of request, the limitations imposed by the court or the purpose of the request in the first place.
I always love it when people say that launching the PS3 at $600 was somehow an offense worthy of putting people out of a job. First of all, the PS3 debuted at $500, not $600, get that through your thick skulls please. Secondly, the build cost of the least expensive PS3 at the time of launch was approximately $850. So at the launch prices Sony was losing anything up to $400 per unit (about $350 per 20GB system) sold. Sounds to me like that launch price was quite a gift to consumers that were getting a $1000 system for half the price. My, how totally offensive it was of them to do that.
What's that? You want to talk about their lack of security on PSN? OK, so let me ask a few questions before we break into that discussion... Was the PSN hack the largest data breach ever? No, it wasn't. Were passwords stored in plain text (as often alleged by ill-informed morons)? No, they were not. Were Credit Card numbers and verification codes stolen from PSN? No, there is no indication that the CC processing systems were penetrated. 1 old development database was plundered at SEO that had a small number of expired card numbers on it, but that's about it. besides the CC database was encrypted. Did Sony take an unconscionable amount of time to reveal the hack? No, they didn't within 48 hours of confirming there was an attack they issued a public statement that they had been attacked, within about another 48 hours they issued a statement based on the preliminary third party analysis that they could not find any reason to believe that credit card information was stolen, but advised out of an "abundance of caution" that people check their accounts anyway. It did not take weeks or even months for Sony to come forward with this information. Nor did Sony stint on the counter measures used to protect customers since they shut down their entire network to ensure the security of their customers. Ah, but let's not let facts get in the way of accusing Sony of mistreating customers data and having no security...
What? You think that there is still more? Because you don;t like their phones they should fail and people should be out of a job? Really? Because I'm pretty sure that the folks working at Sony did not mean to offend you so mightily by not being the ones to deliver you an iPhone.
Oh, wait, I know, you were one of the 10 people world wide outside of the USAF and a couple of academic establishments using Linux on a PS3. Nasty Sony, imagine trying to protect their PS3 against pirates and hackers. Why they should have issued an optional firmware that maintained the security of the PS3 by optionally removing Linux. that way you would have had the choice of removing Linux and staying on the PSN, or keeping Linux and leaving PSN for the moment. Oh, hang on they did do that and you *did* have the choice. And as it happens, Sony was absolutely damned well right considering that Linux was used as a vector of attack which ultimately broke through the hypervisor and beyond.. almost as if Sony was trying to protect their system against security threats wasn't it?
Yeah, Betamax! and don't forget Mini-disc. Those bastards at Sony obviously had it coming for producing those those products. Oh, let's not forget BluRay. How exactly was developing a superior high definition video format for the home an offensive action? Good grief they sod their main BluRay player at a huge loss for years, is that forcing it down your throats? You had a choice, buy or do not buy. Not to mention the fact that BluRay isn;t Sony proprietary technology, there is a whole industry group behind it that includes everyone except Toshiba. Although Since Toshiba failed to spoil the Bluray party with their HD-DVD proprietary format, Toshiba might have rejoined the BluRay group again.
See, this Sony hatred really is odd to me. I think it's interesting that the real Sony hate started in 2005, at about the same time as the BluRay/HD-DVD struggle started, and about the same time as the Xbox 360 fell into the market. It's almost as if on cue there was an increase in Sony hate in the year before PS3 arrived. almost like it was orchestrated by a group that just didn;t want the PS3, or Sony to do well... With a PR gift like the BMG rootkit it was pretty easy going for that movement of hate. What amazes me is just how many people really buy into the Sony hate without really having any objective reasons for doing so.
Your wall of text would be much more interesting if you had any idea what you're talking about.
Unfortunately, that wall of text looks like a product of 100 monkeys hitting the keyboard.
I really liked the "it was not Sony, it was Sony's lawyers" part.
I thought well of Sony until their obtuse management let go the rootkit. I still like my PS3, which hasn't had a firmware upgrade to disable OtherOS; and I still run Yellow Dog Linux on it from time to time. When they strong armed NetFlix to disable the DVD software load for streaming, I bought a Samsung - not Sony - network enabled BD player, although I still use the PS3 to play DVD and BD discs. When they took their action against George Hotz, I resolved never to buy another of their products, which by then had little left to recommend them beyond excessive price for a name that no longer indicates above average design and build quality.
@Highlander
I am not your "usual anti-Sony fanboi", but it cannot escape my notice that until late last year, anything on Youtube that was copyrighted by Sony would refuse to play, issuing a message to the effect that I wasn't allowed to view it based on the country I live in.
Well, I can view those now, but it is surely no coincidence that the law got changed in my country so that even if you have no TV or radio in your home, you are forced to buy a TV and radio licence if you wish to have an internet connection. That doesn't hurt me personally, but I know quite a few folks it does hurt. It isn't cheap either,
Sony stereo - still works great.
Sony 300-CD changer - still works great.
Sony VAIO netbookish-thing (PCG-161L) - HD died right after one year warranty expired.
PS/2 - still works great.
PS/3 - still works, though less-great.
Sony VAIO big-screen laptop - still works great; P.O.S. BIOS a disappointment, exterior lid plastic has abraded and now looks like shit, just from being carried in my padded, designed-for-laptops-backpack.
So why my anti-SONY-rage?
http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/model-find.pl?mdl=PCG-161L&PRODTYPE=32,33,63,71,7,102,26,80,72,44,55,84,74,27,57,61,108,115,109,103,89,10,113,35,78,48,77,106,29,50,39,64,114,41,12,58,52,81,60,45,66,73,101,76,86,62,54,67,70,68,2,17,1,116,88,100,110,82,25,28,83,112,59,69,49,24,104,53,79,22,42,46,13,105,6,85,3,36,51,9,111,47,38,4,34,37,43,5
Product Information PCG161L
Only the following information is currently available for the PCG161L.
Manuals Not currently posted for this model.
Specs Not currently posted for this model.
Warranty Card Limited Warranty for VAIO Products Summary
(The drivers are no longer available for this model.)
I bought a brand-new PS/2 specifically to run Linux via their special kit, but Sony yanked the kit off the market, just after I'd bought the PS/2, but before I could buy the kit.
The PS/3 came out. I read about this cool OTHEROS feature. I checked carefully that no external hardware was required to use it. I bought a new PS/3 specifically to run Linux on and mess about with CELL programming. I got it running Ubuntu. Sony yanked the OTHEROS feature with a firmware update.
Sony is earning the hate they are getting. They earn it by their fuck-you-Mr/Ms-Customer attitude, which they exhibit in so many ways.
As for the anti-piracy OtherOS-removal-excuse I've seen posted, I'm sure you'd be unhappy with Sony if they put "the boot" (car immobiliser) on your auto and told you it was "to prevent pirates from hot-wiring your car, crashing it through the front window of a record shop, and stealing a bunch of Sony-intellectual-property CDs/DVDs."
Main point from your post - "You had a choice, buy or do not buy."
My choice is to not buy Sony branded items, not even the £2.49 CD's at Lidl. It may seem irrational to you, but it is MY choice & MY money, and I won't give it to a company that I have no trust in.
I agree with all the railing at Sony, they deserve it.
Regarding nVidia/AMD drivers for Sony, I discovered this when I upgraded a Sony PC (not mine) from Vista to 7. No nVidia driver from Sony and the stock nVidia driver wouldn't install because it said it wasn't the correct driver for the GPU.
I added the HWID and description to the inf according to a blog somewhere on the web and voila! The driver installed.
Fuck you Sony!
As far as I'm aware, every single Reg article about Sony (certainly in recent memory) has ended with comments expressing exactly the same sentiment. There seems to be a unanimous opinion that their arrogance is just unbearable from a consumer point of view.
For me it was them forcing Lik-Sang out of business that sealed their fate in my mind.
As per a few people here, I held Sony in high regard and was on the verge of buying a mini-laptop, an aibo robodog and a projector from them in the early noughties (Year 2000 work FTW!). Unfortunately an experience with a £330 Sony DVD player (13 months old, under 20 discs played needing a new laser assembley at a cost of £105) put paid to those plans.
They really have to make a choice...become the high quality company that they were, with high profit items (they may have taken a step towards this with their 4K projector IMO) or become another "stack them high sell them cheap" company. What they cant do is sell junk at quality prices as that will just alienate them from their buyers. They also have to stop alienating their customers by pulling these crazy DRM/inbuilt obsolescence/rootkit stunts.
Personally, I think they could be damned either way. The damage to their quality name has probably already been done and they will find it tough going trying to compete with the el-cheapo brands.
FFS Sony, here's a lesson from history - Grundig! Just don't, OK. In their case though, seems the Turks rescued them but they were awfully close to generic-rebadging oblivion....
Better to wig out and buy some wild-tech startups -for the tech, not the patents- and push the tech as far as humanly possible and beyond, at least folks will remember "those crazy Sony guys" fondly!
Embrace-extend-supernova!
Perhaps just rose tinted memories but I won't forget that Sony replaced a damaged front fascia for an amplifier by getting one from Japan and charging (as I recall) just £12 all in.
In fact, I presently listen to a Sony MP3 player -- cheaper than an iPod and no vile iTunes to contend with. .
I had. With UX380n. Motherboard died after warranty period had ended, of course, but why the fsck anyway? It's pretty expensive kit, but not very well designed, it appears. Also, its USB port is underpowered and I messed up several DVD+R blanks using it with LG and Samsung burners. Why, Sony? Was it so hard to implement USB spec properly? Also: firmware for UX's fingerprint scanner is non-standard, custom made for Sony with incompatible interface; EDGE modem is locked; front/back camera switch doesn't work in Linux, Intel Core Solo's VT bit is disabled and there's no way to turn it on in BIOS; etc
They were one of the companies who let their business products "bleed into" their consumer lines. I think they even had things like a TV-set which was just a low-end professional monitor with an added tuner.
Betamax, Sony's most popular consumer format (which doesn't say a lot) was just a scaled down U-Matic. U-Matic was aimed as a format for the budget conscious user who wanted to carry around his VCR, in case you don't know.
You always got the idea that a Sony product was just a bit better than something cheap. This may have been true in the analogue age, however when they switched to digital, they failed to grasp what this would mean. A Sony DVD or Blu-Ray Player cannot have a better picture or sound than its cheap Chinese version. If Sony would have been smart, they would have targeted the technical user and added a networked media player which can access NFS and SMB shares and auto discover them, playing as many formats as humanly possible. They would have made the NetMD Players to support as many formats as possible given the constraints and being as open as possible.
Perhaps if Sony would stop screwing its customers....
While I love my PS3, it is certainly a cheap piece of crap. The first one I had failed thanks to Sony's bad computer engineering and overall product design. The constant erosion of our legal rights through forced changes to their terms of service, and the elimination of core features from the product didn't help me feel like Sony had it out for users - never a good thing in business. Make peace with your customers, not war, you idiots!
I won't touch their TV's, stereos, speakers, desktop/laptop/tablet/smartphone computers, or anything else Sony. I've pretty much stopped buying movies and music that are under the Sony label.
When they stop trying to screw us, and when they start putting out quality again, then maybe..... naw, screw Sony. They will never change.
Sony - losing customers hand over fist, because that's what they're best at.
I read a lot of comments on Android market posted by experia phone owners simply saying "it doesn't work" under popular software, games.
Thousands of engineers work at Sony who has access to everything. Bandwidth, devices, blue prints. Wouldn't be nice if a _single_ engineer got curious and press "install" to see what didn't work and why?
Believe or not, they don't. Too large? It isn't the issue, there are independent developers who gets mail from Microsoft and Apple in regards to their crash reports if they made a very obvious mistake.
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