Sony is a company which is not exactly loved by technologists, despite the fact it has come up with some damn fine technology - with my personal favourite being the MiniDisc format. The problem with Sony has always been that it was stuck in the old ways of doing things (proprietary, closed, DRM), and of course things like the rootkit scandal didn't help either. It seems like things are about to change, with Sony's CEO announcing a new direction for the company - focussed on openness.
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Member since:2006-07-14
I will forever hate sony for the MiniDisc. I remember its introduction to the US. I saved up my money for an incredibly expensive product, under the hopes the prices would come down. They never did. If they had reached even a 20% price premium over cds, I would have paid. But it was always at least 2-3x more expensive for a player.
Expensive, but awesome hardware that never becomes cheap before obsolescence always draws my ire. Neo Geo, 3D0, Itanium, most smart phones, I'm looking at you.
Member since:2005-06-29
I still swear by MiniDisc. A few years ago I moved to HiMD, and am still hapy. The quality and ruggedness of the medium as well as the players themselves is unparalleled.
My previous MD portable MD player once got a coca cola bath, and still worked afterwards. I had a plastic bottle of coke in my bag, and for some mysterious reason, it started leaking (didn't screw the cap on properly, I guess). My MD player bathed in cola for like an hour, and I was preparing for the worst.
The thing continued to function for years after that, until I finally threw it away because I bought that portable HiMD recorder.
It did always retain its sugary smell, though.
Member since:2007-05-05
Expensive, but awesome hardware that never becomes cheap before obsolescence always draws my ire. Neo Geo, 3D0, Itanium, most smart phones, I'm looking at you.
lol. The only thing there that was somewhat awesome is 3DO, but it wasn't considered a game console so it was never really going to be price competitive with the game consoles of the same era.
Member since:
2006-02-06
Minidisc was probably one of the best technologies to come out of Sony's hardware people relative to music and storage (HiMD), but the DRM surrounding it was downright NAGGING.
Too bad. So sad.
Edited 2009-05-12 14:21 UTC