Some companies play well with others and work together to achieve success by adopting standards, some open some not.
Correct. and Sony have partnered with others several times before.
Compact Flash or SD are supported by many devices, Sony Memory Sticks are much more proprietary.
Technically, you would have to be referring to MMC, as SD didn't exist when Memory Stick was released. MS was definitely NOT Sony's crowning achievement.
MiniDV was a digital tape standard used by many manufacturers, Sony pushed the proprietary MicroMV format which was 2/3 the quality, stored less, cost more and could only be used in their devices.
possibly, I know nothing of those formats.
Compact Disc was the industry standard and Sony pushed the Sony Memory Disk.
Never heard of Memory Disk, and I know for a fact they joined with Phillips on the CD:
Sony first publicly demonstrated an optical digital audio disc in September 1976. In September 1978, they demonstrated an optical digital audio disc with a 150 minute playing time
...
On March 8, 1979 Philips publicly demonstrated a prototype of an optical digital audio disc at a press conference called "Philips Introduce Compact Disc"[3] in Eindhoven, Netherlands.[4]
Later in 1979, Sony and Philips Consumer Electronics (Philips) set up a joint task force of engineers to design a new digital audio disc. Led by Kees Schouhamer Immink and To****ada Doi, the research pushed forward laser and optical disc technology that began independently by Philips and Sony in 1977 and 1975, respectively.[3] After a year of experimentation and discussion, the taskforce produced the Red Book, the Compact Disc standard.
**source wikipedia
For a long time Sony refused to use any standardized power/charger connectors. They were all proprietary, even between different models from them in the same family of products.
No one uses the same power connectors/chargers. I can't hook a macbook charger up to anything else. Still, the macbook charger is the coolest thing about a macbook. I do know that sony has made some effort to have things like batteries and chargers be interchangeable between models in the same class (say, for cameras).
For many years Sony's laptops were loaded with bells and whistles but when you'd get into the specs on them, driver support, failure rates on power supplies and LCD's they were so problematic that businesses phased out all use of them everywhere I knew of. The failure rate of Sony laptops compared to others was huge. Every IT guy I knew hated them.
Overpriced garbage. Would NEVER buy a sony PC/laptop.
They even went so far as to install a virus on people's computers that would monitor their "illegal use" of their music.
Rootkit. definitely sketchy. No more sketchy than a Microsoft product or two (they make the xbox BTW).
I try to buy products that support standards like USB connectors rather than proprietary connectors that become worthless when the device breaks.
Funny, I have been using A sony provided usb A - mini B for like eight different devices right now, including my sandisk sansa clip+, eReader, ps3 peripherals and so-on.
Every company has problems, and I know Sony has made some great products but based on my own personal experience, not on what others have said, I choose not to use them because of their constant attempts to be proprietary.
I don't always have a choice and can't say I would never buy Sony, but if there is a comparable product from someone else, I would buy it first.
Some may have had a different experience and if it works for you, that's great. I just feel differently.
This is the thing, you are missing out for sure. I think, if you are purchasing a given product, you would do well to compare it against the others in it's class before looking at the badge and dismissing.
Some sony products I have personally owned that you would have been hard pressed to beat at the time:
- Sony Trinitron TV (This is not even their computer monitors. I never owned a sony computer monitor, but always wished I did (an artisan)): Was a beast, and the best way to watch 480 lines of resolution (read: dvd) EVER. Built-in 16:9 enhancement would literally squeeze all the lines of res from the 4:3 ratio into a 16:9 box for playing anamorphic dvds.
- Sony f717 (and the 707 and 828 - which I didnt own): A cult classic in the digital photography world. Before mere mortals could afford DSLRs (read: before the first digital rebel came out), this was IT, nothing else in the prosumer category could touch it.
- Sony R1: An amazing feat - first marketable and USABLE fixed-lens APS-C (dSLR sized) sensor. I regret to this day getting rid of this.
- Sony PRS-505 (and newer PRS-300 but NOT the PRS-600) eReader: Considered one of the best looking, toughest and most OPEN eReaders out there. Takes MS ... AND SD. Uses standard USB cable and works in linux (it shows up as a simple mass storage device (or three)).
- PS3: gods gift to non-gamers who love FPS but hate sitting at their computer. I am suffering from withdraw after not playing all summer. Gimme a beer, a comfy couch, and a playstation controller. nice.
Basically, we are both right, Sony is a sketchy company that often makes great consumer devices. As consumers, we owe it to ourselves to benefit from the good products.