Yes it is - they always try to introduce their own proprietary "standard" even if there are perfectly adequate ones in place. MiniDisc, UMD, Memory Stick...

if it has to almost touch, why not just use a connector? seems to defeat the whole point of wireless if you have to actually get up from your seat to go over and touch one object to another.

ATRAC, memory-stick, UMD, Minidisc.... No thanks.

I no longer buy anything Sony (or indeed Apple for their funny connectors, lock-ins and hideously awful itunes) for this reason.

Well Sony only had 10% input to the CD standard(s) & it proved such a success it had to be improved, Laser Disk then* CD then DVD then Bluray.

When Sony's partner in the CD project, Philips, developed the VC2000 standard# to beat the Betamax/VHS war, where was Sony when Philips needed them?

* Saw a whole pile of them in my Local Oxfam shop a few months a go. Not one of them was made before 2002! I was surprised that people still used such old kit, let alone the fact that modern titles are still being published in this format. They were sold in six days

# Better in IMHO than either Betamax or VHS.

I don't think i will bring devices using proprietary network standard which are made by a company who is part of the MAFIAA in to my house thanks, not that i would buy their stuff anyways.

Nowhere in the Gizmodo article does it mention TransferJet or UWB, but much more specifically Internet streaming for Bravias and a WiFi connected Ebook reader.

None of which would do anything with TransferJet.

(Actually, Sony has been pretty much using 'open' standards for network transferred files lately, using DLNA, MP4 and others.)

The article seems to be a copy of the blurb, mixed with a rant against Transferjet.

More like "Skynet"......maybe that was taken already.

Mine's the leather one ...."I'll be back"

I see that the anti-Sony fanbois are out in force again.

The usual list of supposed failures. Tell you what, try listing Sony's successes as well, it might enlighten you. You have to wonder though why people think that a list of failures is all that important. Do we honestly expect 100% or new products and standards to be a success? If not, then we have to expect some failures, and if you are a high profile company considered a leader in the consumer electronics space, you are going to have some pretty good failures over the years. I guess that in a few years time every time Toshiba launches something new the name HD-DVD will be banded about as some kind of talisman of failure that will some how doom whatever idea they have to failure. What stupidity.

Mini-disc was a good idea, UMD was a development of it, and despite limited use, hasn't been a bad thing on balance. When the PSP launched with it, there were two alternate technologies capable of putting nearly 2GB into a hand held. Flash and DVD. DVDs are too big for a device the size of the PSP, and Flash was not (at the time) anything like mature enough - or cheap enough - to be viable. UMD was a logical move considering that the design was probably a couple of years old at launch (based on how long it takes to develope a consumer device such as the PSP).

Memory-sticks. Um, yeah, a real failure....not. There are three 'standards' for flash you can buy right now. USB, SD and Memory Stick. None of the others really matter much any more, they either have too low a capacity or have simple been overtaken. They're widely available, and relatively inexpensive, though clearly the 'commodity' nature of SD and USB devices results in them having a lower cost.

As someone else mentioned Sony is doing better on standards. So, let's wait and see whether Sony comes with products that have some 'standard' features as well asn their own proprietary ones. The thing about the proprietary ones is that they offer a premium benefit to people who invest in Sony only components. Including both industry standards and proprietary ones leave an option for people who want to buy matching components to get enhanced performance. Kind of like way back when home audio seperates from one brand would work better with each other than with third party components. But, rant on fanbois, rant on.

I haven't purchased a Sony product since thier digital rights root kit fiasco, which left individuals computers vulnerable. The way they handled it left a bad taste in my mouth which isn't going to go away any time soon.

I had high hope for miniDisc - small, fairly good sound, good battery life. I can't understand why so expensive - it could be a huge success, if, only if, Sony used the business "give away razor, profit from blade". Oh, well, rest in peace, rest in pieces, my once beloved Sony.

Well done, you missed the only anti-Sony argument not rolled out. Pointless though it is since Sony BMG is not the same as Sony Consumer Electronics or Sony Computer Entertainment. But you go ahead and tar the entire Sony brand name with that particular event - not that Sony BMG was unique in it's attempts to put DRM onto CDs. I'm waiting for someone to make a quip about exploding batteries - as if they are exclusive to Sony.

@Chippy-Minton:

At least memory stick formats had no stupid 2GB limit like all the SD formats do. In order to give SD the same capabilities as memory stick the SD people had to invent the completely incompatible 'SD-HC'. In this case Sony had the better technology right from the start.

...coz for years, most Japanese consumer electronics firms have produced products that whilst mainstream in terms of their specific role, have perhaps had one or two "proprietary" features or functions that could only be used if, for instance another product (from the same brand) was purchased....

I can remember, for instance, the numerous (Japanese developed) quadraphonic systems, such as QS, SQ, CD-4 and UD-4.....and to use any one of them, you had to buy the right software to play on it.....hence there were 5 versions of any particular album - and you had to buy the right one (that was "pressed" with the right format) so as to benefit from it.

So, 30+ years later....and there's been a hole load of products (the list is endless....!) that have been designed, developed, produced, sold and are now on the scrap heap (or in landfill), due to "incompatibilities" coz no-one else adopted their competitors standard.

...and the Jap's (and others) are still at it.....developing proprietary systems and functions that supposedly make their "products" better than others...

One has to wonder why the manufacturers can't work together more often.....OK - so, competition is a good thing....but where an existing technology is already in the pipeline and someone produces something similar (and not "better") then one has to wonder WHY on Earth they bother ??

PH - coz no one invented her - she is most definitely as "one-off"....(well, at least for one generation !!).

Arrgh , come with a rootkit as a standard fitting do they !

@Highlander, they are all part of the same company, and yes, I will boycott a whole company for actions of one portion of it. The company as a whole could have owned up to this problem and fixed it, instead they ignored it until they were sued and lost money on it.

"DVDs are too big for a device the size of the PSP" -- not if you used a smaller one. Of course then it's still non-standard, but you wouldn't have the whole "let's make a whole new disc for no reason" going on -- you'd just use a "mini-DVD" essentially, similar to how there are some mini-CDs.

Actually, no. The first MemoryStick was limited to 128Mb, which they then kludged to 256Mb by making a switchable 2x128Mb design.

Sony decided then, in their infinite wisdom, to introduce MagicGate, their DRM enabled MemoryStick. You could have a MagicGate or non-MagicGate MemoryStick. Music players required cards with MagicGate to work.

Getting confused yet? At this point they introduced the smaller MemoryStickDuo cards. Which also came in two flavours, MagicGate or not.

To get around the 128Mb limit Sony introduced MemoryStick Pro, which unfortunately wasn't backwards compatible with older devices. That was also launched in Duo or not. At least they removed a layer of confusion here, as all subsequent MemoryStick Pro cards were MagicGate enabled by default.

So now we have six different and in many cases incompatible variants: MemoryStick, MemoryStick Duo, MemoryStick MagicGate, MemoryStick Duo MagicGate, MemoryStick Pro, and MemoryStick Pro Duo.

Some are physically incompatible, for example a MemoryStick Pro won't fit in a MemoryStick Duo socket as it's too big, others are electronically incompatible, for example a MemoryStickPro won't work in a MemoryStick 128Mb device.

Sony then decided to confuse things even further by launching some *more* electronic variants and physical types...

By this point the mainstream variants are MemoryStick Pro, and MemoryStick Pro Duo. Devices using the older types were rendered obsolete overnight without warning.

Now they've decided that Duo is too big, so they introduce Micro. We're now up to three physical standards. That's OK though, as they've introduced some new incompatibility types too. Mark2 and PRO-HG.

Then there are special MemoryStick variants, like the ones specifically for the AIBO.

MemoryStick is probably the single messiest memory card format out there.

@ Paul

Nope. According to the official specification summary for non-licensees, the original memory stick format had a limit of 128MB. You need a pro stick to get larger. At a block level, MMC and SD had a limit of 4GB. The filing system specified for MMC and SD (FAT 16) has a limit of one byte less.

@ Highlander

Compact flash isn't quite dead yet, some very high end cameras still use them. The interface is less of a bottleneck than the other standards. (I imagine this is why PATA drives lasted as long...)

Looking at one flash device sales firm, (And only one, to be fair) USB would be out ahead with higher maximum capacity of device (32 GB) and larger selection of devices with SD, compact flash and memory stick being second in capacity with 16GB but being ordered compact flash, SD and then memory stick in the diversity of devices. (To be fair, the shop still has (multiple) XD cards and a (singular) smartmedia card)

As for memory sticks being a standard, Sony is still the main company pushing it and even the PS3 has an SD card slot in it. And any company with the gall to produce a product with packaging stating it to be a "Memory stick reader with mouse functionality" deserves a laugh in my book.

"Tell you what, try listing Sony's successes as well, it might enlighten you."

Okay, go ahead. Enlighten me. Lets see if I can get some of them myself. Walkman, CD - Joint venture with Philips, SP/DIF - Not entirely divorced from CDs, Trinitron, Playstation, Playstation 2.

*Shrugs* Not a bad list, I suppose. (Mini-disc, Playstation 3, PSP and blu-ray aren't on there. While, I'll agree, they aren't failures, I don't see them as successes, (yet) either)

My other experiences of Sony appear to be DVD drives that almost, but don't quite, work and being told by their technical support that the internet is a network when my argument was that not every network is connected to the internet...

Sony successes?

A few more for you.

Lithium Ion batteries (originally a joint venture with Union Carbide) - go on, mention them exploding - dare ya. You'd still be worse off without them, and Sony was the first to commercialize them.

Betacam (not Betamax).

The 3.5 inch 'floppy disk'.

Of course they made their name selling high quality transistor radios in the days before the Walkman when most people had no idea what a transistor was. Not bad for a company that started out as a radio repair shop in a bombed out building eh?

My experiences with Sony include a Walkman from the mid-80s that still works. A Sony Trinitron color TV that worked to my knowledge for more than 25 years (and may still be working is my brother still has it.) An original Playstation still working. An original launch model PS2 that still works just fine, A couple of PSPs and a couple of PS3s that get regular hammerings. Not to mention a truly horrid number of 3.5 inch disks over the years of working in tech support and installing Windows 3.1/3.11 and Office. Frisbee-net anyone!?

While people are blasting Sony BMG over the root kit fiasco, they might want to consider that Windows enables all the things that it did, and Microsoft works closely with the companies that built the various DRM technologies applied to audio CDs. They may also want to consider just how much DRM Microsoft attempted to ram down consumer's throats with Vista. It's all fine and well to get pissed at BMG for doing what they did, but perhaps the blame does not belong exclusively to Sony? (MS were aware of the technology being deployed by BMG).

I've just bought a New TV its Not Sony (Pana tx37lzd85 since you ask not a w4000 thingy), I've just bought a new Camera, Its Not sony (canon eos 450 not an alpha) the Missus wants a new MP3 Payer for her birthday its Not going to be a Sony either (maybe zen? oh no thats craptive, and we all remember Daniel_k.. cowan?) . Why you ask? because when I upgraded my Phone from Sony A to Sony B what I got was a not newer and better, it was a crippled piece of cack, and now I dont buy Sony.

Re: Anti-Sony fabois oppportunity?

Your usage of 'fanbois' is incorrect 'fanbois' are fans not haters, (there is a clue in the name). unless you mean a chance to knock sony fans, but that makes no sense as its Sony in the sight.

As you have commented, Sony are not perfect in fact, like other corporate behemoths (yes those you mentioned + others) they are about as far from perfect as the rest. a few good products does not make them good, a few bad products does not make them bad. but depending on what you get depends on your opinion. Having opinions doesn't make one the scum of the earth. here's my opinion Sony are just another Greedy Corporate Shit. They stifle progress to make a few bucks... That opinion comes from the last Sony Product I bought, I regret it! go on see if you can change my mind.

I bought a Sony TV (Flat screen CRT not LCD) which broke just outside warranty. I am aware of all the special proprietary standards they've implemented and tried to charge for licensing to other companies; meaning no take-up.

I'm aware of DRM.

It is, however, a consumer market. I currently own a new Sony LCD Bravia because they equipment is fantastic. I bought a Sony PS3 because of Blu-ray and various other reasons including media centre, having already owned, and discarded, an xbox 360.

I don't have to buy Sony gear and I don't if it is a load of rubbish. Neither do any of you. So don't!

As i said, consumer market. Enjoy the Sony products if they are any good and leave them be if they are crap.

No one can deny they are innovative if nothing else.

""DVDs are too big for a device the size of the PSP" -- not if you used a smaller one. Of course then it's still non-standard, but you wouldn't have the whole "let's make a whole new disc for no reason" going on -- you'd just use a "mini-DVD" essentially, similar to how there are some mini-CDs."

You mean like these? http://supermediastore.com/mini-blank-dvd-r-media-1-4gb-2-8gb.html