N.Y. Times discovers Sony has dropped the ball.

I think the N.Y Times reads my blog. See January's "What's the Matter With Sony?"

Now look at this:How the Tech Parade Passed Sony By

By HIROKO TABUCHI

Sony once wowed the world with the Walkman and the Trinitron TV. But its fortunes have taken a sharp turn amid disruptive new technologies and unforeseen rivals.

Cruise Lines Throw Baby Out With Bathwater

Today's Globe and Mail article - "Cruise lines update old ships with new tricks" detail the efforts they are making to keep up with the times. But not all changes are improvements.

The demise of "the formerly sedate piano bar" is lamentable and I for one only cruise on ships with such a bar. There has been a sea-change in music, from melodic, interesting songs to monotonous thump-thump which the younger set like to dance to now. The cruise lines vigorously market to this younger set but the fact is repeat cruisers are people with disposable income and available time, and this tends to be the older generation and this older generation likes pre-thump music.

The same change in music is closing cafes by the score along the Mediterranean coast as music licenses are cancelled due to complaints by nearby residents. Once upon a time it was pleasant to listen to the music from afar but not now, all that can be heard is the relentless thump of the bass.

I know this makes me sound like a dinosaur but dinosaurs have rights too and one is to have access to pleasant music and not to be assailed with music volume turned up to the threshold of pain.

What's the matter with Sony?

In 1979 Sony gave us the Walkman and in 1992 the Minidisk recorder/playback system which I love. Then I suppose they had a big downsizing and fired all their development staff because since that date they have sat on their rears and watched Apple do all the innovating.

Sony make beautiful hardware but their software is pathetic. Their big flatscreen TVs look handsome but have a tiny and backward brain. They flaunt net access in their promotion but the TV comes without WIFI or Bluetooth built in, WIFI is an expensive extra, Bluetooth is not available at all so a keyboard is not attachable. Trying to input URLs or searching on Youtube is a hunt and peck affair reminiscent of the computers of 1980.

It's inexcusable. How could they make such beautiful hardware with such crappy software to run it? Wake up, Sony!

Do they think we are idiots?

Buy one DVD for $9.95 and get a second one free.

Or buy three for so much and get a fourth one free. I will absolutely never, ever, buy anything that is priced like that.

London Bobby

Time traveller from the last century, when you could buy one necessary nut in a hardware store for a few cents, not a packet of twelve, eleven of which are still cluttering my workspace years later.

About not feeling old

I don't think old, I still appreciate a well-turned ankle, to use an old phrase. ('Cute bum', to use my terminology, 'cool frame' for today?) But every now and then I get hornswoggled. When I think I am playing more modern music I find there are people in the audience who think Elton John and Billy Joel are from the last century, which they are, like me.

Here is what clobbered me today. In an effort to keep up with eReaders I am installing 'calibre', a program to create or convert eBooks. I am happily reading along until I come to this:

A great example of this is the old books people read back in the 90's on their PDAs.

Whoa! What do you mean, back in the 90's? That is just yesterday, earlier today, to me. I only found out what PDA meant about a year ago so steady on, there. Anyway, I am convinced I will soon have converted all the text files on my "English Lit." CD to ebook form and then I can enjoy reading them on my iPad. So there.

Bob, time traveller from the last century.