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Comment by Macsenour | Hacker News Reader

I think from a larger view, it has always been easy to beat SONY. SONY as a company doesn't care about the customer AFTER they have purchased the item. Look at ANY software that comes with a device, it's simply awful if it works at all. Even the PS3 has iffy UI. I had a fantastic device for recording for my podcast, but getting the recording OFF the machine was almost impossible. The last version, ver. 3.2, had menu options that didn't do anything. Absolutely NOTHING, and that was version 3!

Beat SONY by making the inside as good as the outside. Simple.

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I actually like the XMB UI and I like that it's consistent amongst my two different Sony TVs and my PS3. The remotes for the two TVs are the same too, except the extra button for 3D stuff on one and the way in which you open the battery compartment.

This is a good a customer experience. I can upgrade my TV or DVD player or whatever I don't have to learn how to use a new remote or UI other than the new features.

The PS3 and the PSP both have a great UI, perfectly tuned to be used with their controllers.

Their new portable UI, though? An abomination.

Sony of the late 70s early 80s was different.

You don't remember how bad everyone else's industrial design and build quality was compared to Sony - it was like Audi or BMW in a world of Buicks.

I feel like Sony hardware has almost always been really good and, for the most part, still is today. Sony software though... not so much. Which worked fine for decades where their products didn't include any software, but it puts them in a really bad place in a world where software quality has become at least as important as hardware quality. I don't know what I'd do if I were in charge of Sony, though - you can't just mandate "we're going to become great at software."

yes - the software is the most horrible code you can get - I bought the most expensive notebook Sony has and the only way to make it usable is to deinstall everything from Sony, I bought a Sony reader - the Reader Software is the most horrible rubbish... I bought a Sony camera ... it's unbelievable - but I think it shows what makes Apple different - they do both. There are not many companies who manage to be good at software and hardware. Maybe there is some startup advice in this: Don't try to be a software and hardware company. You double your complexity.

This. People don't understand how revolutionary some of the products were in that era, especially the cheap, light, and high-fidelity headphones that made the Walkman possible.

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