What influence has the Computer Science Lab had on Sonys evolution?
When Mr. Idei became president, he started talking about the convergence of audio, video, and information technology. Sony Computer Science Lab is the force behind this convergence. Also, we’ve been working here on networks, and that has helped Sony see the way. Q: What are you attempting to accomplish here at the CSL? A: In 1987, when we started shipments of our small and inexpensive workstation, it immediately took the No. 1 spot in the Japanese market. But when I opened up the box, I found that almost all the technology belonged to other companies. We bought the central processing unit from Motorola, the operating system from at&t and the University of California at Berkeley, and the memory chips from Japanese vendors. There was no special technology that belonged to Sony. I realized then that it would be very difficult for us to run a good business. So that’s why I immediately decided to establish a new lab. Of course, we have a point of reference–Xerox parc–and we have adopted i
