Computer Memory

Sony is a name known around the world and it is one that is synonymous with innovations in the field of consumer electronics. Its full name Soni Kabushiki Kaisha is a bit of a mouthful, which is why they settled on the name they did and the corporation has its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

This Japanese giant is a diverse manufacturer, with operations in gaming, financial services, entertainment and electronic components and hardware. Sony Corporation is the parent company and there are four operating subsidiaries which include:

• Electronics
• Motion Pictures
• Music
• Financial Service

Sony Computers
Sony entered the computer market back in the 1980s with its NEWS workstations and MSX home computers, but at this time, their machines were only for sale in Japan. Having enjoyed limited success during this period, Sony decided to withdraw from the production of computers in 1990, but this was by no means the end for its computer production.

Sony Vaio 
Sony entered the global computer market in 1996 with their proprietary VAIO brand, which stands for ‘Video Audio Integrated Operation’. This new line of computers was the first to focus on the visual and audio output aspect.

Controversy
There were troubled times ahead in 2006, as the company experienced what was then the largest computer industry recall in history due to malfunctioning batteries on some of its laptops. Poor sales and an increasingly crowded marketplace led to Sony selling its VAIO PC arm to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) in 2014, but it still retained a minority state in this new and independent enterprise. Amidst this era of big change, Sony entered the world of tablets, marketing the palm held devices under the Xperia brand it uses for its range of smartphones.

Modern Day Sony
Diversification has been the watchword for Sony over the last decade. It has made great strides in the UHD TV market with its BRAVIA range and has its name behind many films and albums, as well as photography and medical equipment. The company is also a large producer of components and semiconductors which include a wide array of devices that include OLED display panels, laser diodes, image processors and CMOS image sensors that are used in many tablets, cameras, and smartphones.

Sony will likely be with us in another 30 years, as it is a serial innovator. Devices like the Sony Walkman and the Playstation are just a couple of examples of how this amazing company has helped change the way we live our lives forever.

Laptops, as we know them today, are ubiquitous, affordable and a large part of everyday life for many people, but the effort and technical know-how that went into making the whole concept possible is staggering. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, home computers were only an idea and there was a burning desire in the industry to create a viable portable version.

Dodgy Displays
Whilst much of the groundwork had gone into making computer components with a small enough form factor to make laptops possible had been done by the end of the 1980s, there was still much work to do in respect to laptop displays. An article in PC magazine at the time described screens of the day as something like 80s kids toy ‘Etch-a-sketch’. The writer of that particular story stated that until this aspect improved, laptops would never be part of the mainstream market.

Improving Technology
During the 1990s, great strides were made in the development of the laptop and as this increased so did their popularity. This also meant that prices dropped, further driving sales and mainstream uptake. Advances had been made in performance which included a much improved battery life.

Bulky lead-acid batteries were superseded by lighter nickel cadmium varieties, which were then replaced by nickel metal hydride batteries. Then another evolution of battery technology saw the rise of Lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries.

Widespread Appeal
By the year 2000, almost 30 million laptops were sold globally each year and the device was a staple of the business world. Any self-respecting business person had one for working on the way to and from work and models were manufactured by all major producers like Acer, Toshiba, Compaq, Fujitsu, NEC and many more.

Innovation and refinement of technology were the order of the day and Toshiba were cited as producing the thinnest laptop of the day, the Portege 2000, which was just a then incredible ¾ of an inch thick.

Modern laptops are quite something to behold, with storage capacities exceeding 1 Terabyte, 8th generation Intel processors and battery life far exceeding what was possible even just 10 years ago. Whilst many might look at their predecessors and scoff, it’s important to remember that modern machines wouldn’t have been possible without them.

Isaac Newton, one of the fathers of modern physics, once said “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”, citing eminent scientists that had gone before him, without whom, his work would not have been realised. This principle is most certainly applicable to the evolution of the modern marvel that is the laptop computer.