Analyst anticipates future bankruptcy for Sony

[Avon_Implosion]

http://www.technologypundits.com/index.php?article_id=231

Sony’s Last Days

Anticipating Bankruptcy
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11/10/2005 by Rob Enderle

Sony hasn’t had a good year and things are about to get much worse. With litigation against the firm proliferating at an impressive pace and the danger of both astronomical penalties and criminal filings increasing it is becoming increasingly likely that we may be seeing the last days of this once great firm.

In case you missed it, Sony’s record label Sony BMG issued CDs with rootkits that, when installed, open Windows up to a variety of nasty attacks. Currently there are two Trojans and one Bot in the wild exploiting these Sony sourced weaknesses. In addition there is one class action law suite that has been filed in California and two pending in New York and Italy, with the potential for as many as there are States and countries very high.

Sony’s response has been “who caresâ€￾ http://www.theregister.co.uk making it likely that judges are not going to be kind in either their approach or the level of pain they inflict on the firm. Odds are we will see executive changes shortly.

Regardless, whether you agree with Dan Gillmor and want to make a point or simply want to protect yourself (getting service out of a bankrupt company can be really painful) avoiding Sony products would probably be a good idea right now.

Perhaps this should be retitled "Destruction of a Brand"

...(wrong forum, perhaps?)

 

[AlphaWolf]

I seriously doubt sony is going to go bankrupt, but I really hope they get punished in court for that rootkit bs.

 

[Avon_Implosion]

I seriously doubt sony is going to go bankrupt, but I really hope they get punished in court for that rootkit bs.

same, but i still found the article interesting....and a bit bold.

 

[zidane1strife]

They should ditch the music division, its not like it's going anywhere in the post-napster d/l age.

 

[Skrying]

Interesting, I too am very curious to see the reception of new Sony products as this rootkit stuff becomes more well known.

 

[lip2lip]

lol

(all hail microsoft, never been sued, always made a profit, obviously better choice)

 

[Avon_Implosion]

lol

(all hail microsoft, never been sued, always made a profit, obviously better choice)

obviously....

 

[nelg]

If it came to passed and MS picked up the remnants os Sony, would the PS3 automatically suck?

 

[DigitalSoul]

They should ditch the music division, its not like it's going anywhere in the post-napster d/l age.

Ditching the music division probably wouldn't such a huge loss for them? I assume.

This is probably just a bad year for Sony, but doesn't every company have a bad year(due to having big screw ups)? I mean we can't start anticipating their end based on all these fiascos.....especially for a company as big as Sony. They can probably rebound, make a comeback or whatever in the next year/coming years, but still who knows what might happen.

 

[Npl]

If it came to passed and MS picked up the remnants os Sony, would the PS3 automatically suck?

You can bet there wont be a linux kit... so yes

 

[Avon_Implosion]

Ditching the music division probably wouldn't such a huge loss for them? I assume.

This is probably just a bad year for Sony, but doesn't every company have a bad year(due to having big screw ups)? I mean we can't start anticipating their end based on all these fiascos.....especially for a company as big as Sony. They can probably rebound, make a comeback or whatever in the next year/coming years, but still who knows what might happen.

the success of big future projects will probably determine the final outcome of the electronics giant ...ie, blu-ray, cell, PS3, etc.

 

[ROG27]

http://www.technologypundits.com/index.php?article_id=231

Sony’s Last Days

Anticipating Bankruptcy
Go to a print-friendly version of this page. Print Friendly Version
11/10/2005 by Rob Enderle

Sony hasn’t had a good year and things are about to get much worse. With litigation against the firm proliferating at an impressive pace and the danger of both astronomical penalties and criminal filings increasing it is becoming increasingly likely that we may be seeing the last days of this once great firm.

In case you missed it, Sony’s record label Sony BMG issued CDs with rootkits that, when installed, open Windows up to a variety of nasty attacks. Currently there are two Trojans and one Bot in the wild exploiting these Sony sourced weaknesses. In addition there is one class action law suite that has been filed in California and two pending in New York and Italy, with the potential for as many as there are States and countries very high.

Sony’s response has been “who caresâ€￾ http://www.theregister.co.uk making it likely that judges are not going to be kind in either their approach or the level of pain they inflict on the firm. Odds are we will see executive changes shortly.

Regardless, whether you agree with Dan Gillmor and want to make a point or simply want to protect yourself (getting service out of a bankrupt company can be really painful) avoiding Sony products would probably be a good idea right now.

Perhaps this should be retitled "Destruction of a Brand"

...(wrong forum, perhaps?)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....
We love our FUD do we now. What's with all these diabolical Microsoft ******s on the internet now. You and I know Sony ain't going nowhere. That company can have 10 bad years and still be afloat. You've got to be a babbling monkey to believe that piece of crap excuse for journalism.

 

[one]

Was the article updated?
I see no "Anticipating Bankruptcy" in http://www.technologypundits.com/index.php?article_id=231
but only see "11/11/05 Update: Sony Suspends Rootkit CD Production".

 

[Vince]

They should ditch the music division, its not like it's going anywhere in the post-napster d/l age.

Are you serious? In the current P2P and upcoming post-P2P age in which DRM and broadband reaches near total pervasiveness and connectivity; Sony's Digital Media (be it music, movies, TV shows, etc) are going to be a goldmine for the company. Information is amorphous; unlike their electronics products, there are no fixed-costs per unit sold. But past that initial cost, everything is pure profit. Sony ( and TimeWarner, etc) will enter a period in which they rival Microsoft's ability to generate profits based off the sale of digital information.

 

[Vince]

I seriously doubt sony is going to go bankrupt, but I really hope they get punished in court for that rootkit bs.

Why? I'm genuinly curious, it's stated in the EULA and isn't a propietary Sony (or BMG) solution but is from a UK-based company AFAIK: http://www.first4internet.com/

 

[AlphaWolf]

Why? I'm genuinly curious, it's stated in the EULA and isn't a propietary Sony (or BMG) solution but is from a UK-based company AFAIK: http://www.first4internet.com/

Saying in eula that it will install some proprietary software is not the same as warning the user that it will install a rootkit which is detrimental to system performance and security and is not removable (although now it is removable, if you jump through the required number of hoops).

Sony distributed the rootkit they are responsible for the damage it causes/caused, if any other media outlets distributed it they should be held equally accountable. I don't know how culpable first4internet is, but they can burn also for all I care.

 

[MoeStooge]

Are you serious? In the current P2P and upcoming post-P2P age in which DRM and broadband reaches near total pervasiveness and connectivity; Sony's Digital Media (be it music, movies, TV shows, etc) are going to be a goldmine for the company. Information is amorphous; unlike their electronics products, there are no fixed-costs per unit sold. But past that initial cost, everything is pure profit. Sony ( and TimeWarner, etc) will enter a period in which they rival Microsoft's ability to generate profits based off the sale of digital information.

I am stockpiling porn so I can survive the long, cold winter of DRM.

 

[Vince]

Sony distributed the rootkit they are responsible for the damage it causes/caused, if any other media outlets distributed it they should be held equally accountable. I don't know how culpable first4internet is, but they can burn also for all I care.

Sony sold a DRM scheme which, used legally, would cause no problems. It's the illegal manipulation of this program which is causing problems, but this isn't an isolated occurance. So are you also against, say, P2P filesharing because it can be manipulated and used for illegal and often harmful purposes? What about the Internet at large? Are we to be against all entities which, when abused, cause harm? Why stop at data... should we sue Lexus and BMW everytime someone unfortunatly dies due to being hit by a drunk driver? I mean, they did enable the event by producing the vehicle. I find that to be quite a bad policy, if you were to take a step back and look at the ramifications of the policy you are advocating before attacking a single company.

Or, are you one which is against the free distribution of information and a proponent of strict controls on a person'sactions. In which case, why not sue Microsoft for allowing such access to a system which is, ostensibly moderated by their OS? (If it was OSX, I would have stated Apple, I'm not picking on MS here)

It goes without saying that I find your position asinine and that instead of holding companies that produce information-sharing programs or data in general responcible, we hold those who are manipulating and absuing their power responcible.

 

[Readykilowatt]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....
We love our FUD do we now. What's with all these diabolical Microsoft ******s on the internet now. You and I know Sony ain't going nowhere. That company can have 10 bad years and still be afloat. You've got to be a babbling monkey to believe that piece of crap excuse for journalism.

Didn't you know? Both Sony and Nintendo are doomed. Forget about the Revolution/PS3 and buy a Xbox 360.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Sony sold a DRM scheme which, used legally, would cause no problems.

Incorrect. It is a program which creates a security vulnerability on a computer which it then exploits to run a program to steal cpu cycles. Another issue is if the user attempts to remove the software normally (deleting) from his system he could cause system failure.

It's the illegal manipulation of this program which is causing problems, but this isn't an isolated occurance. So are you also against, say, P2P filesharing because it can be manipulated and used for illegal and often harmful purposes?

Filesharing has risks which you can protect yourself against as the risks are known, if any p2p software is modifying system files on systems the distributers should be equally accountable. What the Sony distributed rootkit is doing, it is secretly modifying vital system files so that it can hide itself.