Submitted by Sony Pictures Imageworks has released five digital image-manipulation software tools under open source licenses. Imageworks (the unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions that handles visual effects and digital character animation) has contributed other open source software in the past. However, the release of five tools at once brings its involvement in open source to a new level. The new effort includes a Web site aimed at keeping open source developers up to date on the projects. All five of the tools are licensed under the new BSD license, and are hosted on Google Code.
I usually look at Apple and Sony as being the two least consumer friendly companies. Another point for apple (at least Sony has released code as OSS in a useful way, not just profited from it).
Edited 2009-08-04 17:04 UTC
Unlike Apple, you cannot really think of Sony as a company. They’re really a collection of more or less independant companies that happen to share a name and some common infrastructure. While some parts of Sony are very consumer unfriendly, others are very open.
For example when I bought my new MP3 player a few month ago, Sony was one of the very few companies that had a flash based 16GB mp3 player where I could access and manage my music via USB mass storage. No proprietary software needed to get my music on and off my mp3 player. That is quite a change from a few years ago when Sony ‘mp3’ players couldn’t even play mp3s.
Here is the software
http://code.google.com/hosting/search?q=Sony+Pictures+Imageworks&pr…
Wish I could edit
This link is better
http://opensource.imageworks.com/