Sony CEO Brushes Off Rootkit Fiasco
from the eh.--consumers.--who-needs-'em? dept
Sony's CEO Sir Howard Stringer was at CES last week, and it gave a chance for reporters to finally ask him about the Sony BMG rootkit fiasco -- to which he seemed rather dismissive. "Clearly the perception out there is that we shouldn't be doing too much of that copy protection stuff." The perception? A more accurate statement would be that the perception is that you shouldn't treat all your customers like criminals, while opening up huge security holes on their computers. That's a bit different -- and suggests he doesn't actually see the seriousness of this whole thing. He then trots out the corporate line about "balance": "We have to walk the line at Sony between the needs and technology of the customer and the rights of the artist." Which artists are those? The ones fighting back against their own label to make sure copy protection isn't included on their CDs? The ones who feel the need to recall their own CDs and offer burned CDs in exchange, because Sony pissed off all of their fans? Apparently, he's been talking to different artists. As for the PR hit from the rootkit fiasco, Stringer is somewhat upset... not because of the bad PR, but because the bad PR focused on Sony and not Sony BMG. He literally complains that it "was somewhat unfair" that Sony's name got dragged down, and he wished all of it was focused on the company that still is a subsidiary of Sony last we checked.
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Sony still does not get it.
people who now avoid Sony products.
If the CEO does not see the PR disaster now - then he may not realise there is a problem till he is looking for a new job!
The internet may be the greatest tool for having people reward firms who treat customers well and punish those who voilate their trust - and many have lost their trust in the Sony brand.
Let's check in 6 months to see how Sony is
doing. The result could be surprising!
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Didn't handle it well, but..
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Where's the offline uninstaller?
Sir Howie, this is NOT a drill - Sony is failing, miserably, and you are losing customers faster than you can imagine. This is happening right now, as we speak, and you're just fiddling around while Tokyo burns all around you.
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I can't imagine the amount of internal fingerpointing over the rootkit fiasco, but I'll bet $100 nobody got fired, reprimanded, or even got so much as a stern lecture.
Sad to see that the CEO is buying the same line of crap from Sony Music that Sony Music has been selling to the public about how piracy is destroying their business. Look at yourselves, YOU are destroying YOUR business.
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In the end it wont matter
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Re: In the end it wont matter
Well, at four different Christmas get-togethers in my family (Mother, Parents-in-law, a step-daughter with step-granddaughters, and an aunt and uncle), I was pleased to see no Sony products as gifts this year.
I won't forget, and articles like this only tend to remind me of why I urged the boycott in the first place.
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