Is Sony really going to become more “open”? [PR move?]

Yesterday you may recall how Sony’s CEO Howard Stringer claimed that Sony should in fact have gone “more open” several years ago.  He even says that if they had done so they could be in a much better place right now, maybe even better than iTunes.  While I doubt they would be as big or bigger than iTunes due to the whole closed-ecosystem approach which Apple has more or less mastered, they would I believe still be a much bigger force to be reckoned with.  Coming off the woo is me we should have been more open speech, Stringer goes on to say that Sony is in fact the process of doing just that: becoming more open.  However, does Sony really mean it, or are they just talking out of their *kid friendly* rear end for a grand display of PR?

Now some of you may not know that Sony did in fact say the same thing a not too distant 4 years ago.  Sony’s head honcho even at that time realized that their restrictive DRM policies and actions associated with DRM were “hurting innovation” and causing the company to grow much slower than other music related businesses in the industry.  He even proclaimed that Sony was going to “focus on more open technologies”.

Fast forward 4 years and we can all see that didn’t happen as Sony is right back at the same place they were saying the exact same thing.  Sadly, their love for the (possibly more sonically enhanced) lossy ATRAC-3 format kept customers locked to Sony/Walkman devices, other players were riding the “open” wave with support for many different formats such as MP3, WMA, WAV, and AAC just to name a few.  Not to mention, Sony’s subsidiary BMG putting the much hated “rootkit DRM” on every CD they produced pushed away and alienated many customers.  The irony was that the rootkit fiasco occured many months after the CEO’s ramblings onstage of impending openness.

So, while Sony’s intentions seem good hearted, just remember the past, (it will set you free you know).  Sony pulled a quick on us once before.  What’s to say that they are just blowing more PR smoke up are arse again?  It is sad really, as far as sound quality goes, Sony’s line of MP3 players are actually top of the line.  Granted in the last couple of years they have gotten much better with format support are starting to make strides concerning desktop software.  You know what the best desktop software is?  No desktop software.  Drag and drop FTW!

So what’s your take on the whole issue?  Were you pushed away in years past with Sony’s anti-consumer and over restrictive policies?  You know first impressions can often turn out to be lasting impressions.  Is that sour taste still left in your mouth?  Or will you give good ‘ol Sony another chance at coming back into your life and heart?  These things I’ve got to know.

Source: Tech Dirt, Image Source