I remember Sony for things like TA3650, the Walkman and their (excellent) reel-to-reel recorders. By the time they got into media (and don't forget betamax) they'd already lost their spirit, even though financially they had not yet peaked.
I think we agree. You remember Sony for things which have no software component. The only software Sony was very good at was embedded software. I still have an original AIBO which sort of exemplifies that.
I just realized that from my window here in Tokyo I can see and recognize the tops of 2 large buildings: NTT (Japanese hardware) and Oracle Japan (foreign software). This is why I was so encouraged by the large acquisition of a foreign software company by Recruit this past week.
I remember Sony for things like TA3650, the Walkman and their (excellent) reel-to-reel recorders. By the time they got into media (and don't forget betamax) they'd already lost their spirit, even though financially they had not yet peaked.