1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot Com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:19,799 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland, and today we begin a journey. Friends. 4 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: We're going on a nice long hike through the history 5 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: of a massive tech company. We're gonna talk about Sony 6 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: and this is part one of a horror part series. 7 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,840 Speaker 1: I say horror because I don't know how many parts 8 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: it's going to end up being. By the end, I've 9 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: already got enough notes where I know it's gonna be 10 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: at least three. Uh. I'm trying desperately to keep it 11 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: fairly tight because I know you guys don't want to 12 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,440 Speaker 1: have this turn into the Sony Stuff Show, but I 13 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: want to be able to cover a lot of the 14 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: important moments in the history of this company. It is 15 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: a very interesting story, largely because of several factors. One 16 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: is that it's a Japanese company that came into being 17 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: after World War Two, so that was a very obviously 18 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: a very tumultuous time in Japan. And too, it ended 19 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: up being a huge influence in technology in multiple ways. 20 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: Three They introduced not just brand new types of technology 21 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,479 Speaker 1: to the rest of the consumer world, but they also 22 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 1: ended up incorporating other people's ideas into their technology in 23 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: ways that was innovative, and of course for they, they 24 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: are a company that is enormous and has an umbrella 25 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,039 Speaker 1: across multiple industries at this point, not just electronics but 26 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: entertainment as well. So we're gonna look at that. And Uh, 27 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: I won't go into full detail on all the different 28 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: subsidiaries of Sony because to do that would make this 29 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: turn into truly epic series. But I'm gonna focus primarily 30 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: on the main company, and I will mention when the 31 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,000 Speaker 1: company ended up making acquisitions or uh spinning off companies 32 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: that ended up being big players. But those entities will 33 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: get a full treatment in a future episode somewhere down 34 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: the line. So let's get started, shall we. So when 35 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: did it all begin? Okay, so that depends upon what 36 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: branch of Sony you're looking at, because some of the 37 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: subsidiaries actually pre date the company itself, because the company 38 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: would end up making acquisitions of other companies and those 39 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: other companies were older than Sony was. But let's concentrate 40 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 1: on just the core company of Sony. Uh. One thing 41 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: I can say right now, Sony was instrumental in getting 42 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: consumer electronics to where it is now, there's no doubt 43 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: about it on and it all really starts if you 44 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: go back to April eleven. Now, that's when a man 45 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: named Masaru Ibuka was born in Nico City, Japan. As 46 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: a young man, he became interested in engineering and invention, 47 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: and he even earned the nickname Genius inventor at Waseda University, 48 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: where he was part of the School of Science and Engineering. 49 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: He graduated in nineteen thirty three and he got a 50 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 1: job at the photochemical Laboratory which processed movie film. So 51 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: that's where he went after he uh, he graduated. Then 52 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: you've got another very important player who was born on 53 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: January twenty se that's Akio Morita, and he was born 54 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: in Nagoya, Japan. His family expected him to carry on 55 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: the family business, and that family business for many many 56 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: generations was the brewing of sake and soy sauce. But 57 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: he wasn't so interested in sake and soysas so he 58 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: wanted to look into science and engineering and he would 59 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: go on to attend Osaka Imperial University and he got 60 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: a degree in physics. But then we have a very 61 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: important event that happened that changed everything, and that of course, 62 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: is World War Two. Now, during the war, Marita would 63 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: end up joining the Japanese Navy and eventually achieved the 64 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: rank of lieutenant. He met Ibuka, who was working as 65 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: an electrical engineer. And now remember Abuca is the older 66 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: of the two, and so Ibuka was working as an 67 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: electrical engineer. Marita was a lieutenant in the navy, and 68 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: together they began to work on developing some wartime technologies, 69 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: including heat seeking, missile tech and night vision scopes. When 70 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: the war ended in nineteen forty five, they would end 71 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: up going their separate ways and for a while they 72 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:43,480 Speaker 1: lost touch. Now nine post war Japan was a very 73 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 1: different place from pre war Japan. The country was trying 74 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: to rebuild. It was really in shambles. At that point, 75 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: Ibuka opened up a radio repair shop in a building 76 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: that was not entirely ructurally sound. It was somewhat bombed out. 77 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: It was called the shiro Kira Department Store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. 78 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: So remember that radios in this era used vacuum tubes. 79 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: They didn't use transistors, so radio sets were enormous. They 80 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: were big, clunky things. Uh, your typical home radio was 81 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 1: a piece of furniture. It wasn't something that you would 82 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: move around. You would set it up, you know, in 83 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: some part of the home, and that's pretty much where 84 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: it lived. Because it was it tended to be big 85 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: and heavy, and because it has vacuum tubes in it 86 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: somewhat delicate as well, you obviously didn't want to knock 87 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,359 Speaker 1: it over or anything. Now, I Buca's workshop was on 88 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: the third floor of this department store building, and it 89 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: was in a narrow room that also had a telephone 90 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: switchboard inside it. He had a small staff working for him, 91 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: and he was paying them mostly out of his own savings. Uh. 92 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: And apparently the story goes that the staff was known 93 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: to work very long hours, stretching well into the night, 94 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: and that they would sometimes get locked into the department 95 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: store because everyone else would be leaving and they would 96 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: lock up and the folks over in a Buca's shop 97 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: would be stuck. Uh. It would force employees to have 98 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: to try and leave through fire exits, and according to 99 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,239 Speaker 1: one history I read, several employees never narrowly avoided getting 100 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 1: arrested by police because the police were convinced these were 101 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: actually thieves who had broken into the department store to 102 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: steal stuff. So that's what's going on in a Bucca's world. 103 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: There was a big demand for radio's, particularly shortwave radios. 104 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: During the war, the Japanese government had banned short wave radios, 105 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: mostly in an effort to prevent Japanese citizens from hearing 106 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: Allied propaganda. So the shortwave radio business was now starting 107 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: to pick up again because the war is over and 108 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: now that band had been lifted, So there was a demand. 109 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: There was, you know, business there. I Meanwhile, Akio Morita 110 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: uh was planning on taking a teaching position at the 111 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,840 Speaker 1: Tokyo Institute of Technology, but then he read an article 112 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 1: about Ubuka's radio repair shop, and he decided to contact 113 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: his old wartime buddy and see if he could possibly 114 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: end up working with Ibuka. In nineteen forty six, on 115 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: May seven, Ibuka and Marita would form a partnership and 116 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: create the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, also known as Tatsuko. 117 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: They name uh taman Meda, Ibuka's father in law, as 118 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 1: the president of the company, and they had a startup 119 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: capital of one d ninety thousand yen. Typically at this point, 120 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: I would tell you how much that costs in US 121 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,119 Speaker 1: dollars today. But it turns out this is really really 122 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: super tricky to do because you have to factor in 123 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: conversion rates between different currencies and inflation rates, and it's 124 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: not like inflation is the same in Japan as it 125 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: is in the United States. So they ended up getting 126 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: too complicated for me to do, sadly, but I did 127 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: read at least one source that said that the amount 128 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: that two borrowed was around five U S dollars to 129 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: launch the company back in ninet. Their goal was to develop, manufacture, 130 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: and sell products that were of a higher quality than 131 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: what was coming out of Japan's manufacturing centers at the time. 132 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: So post War Japan, there were other companies that are 133 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: making electronics, but they were largely known as creating things 134 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: that were knockoffs of products that were coming from other 135 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,239 Speaker 1: countries as well and then being sold for less money, 136 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: so essentially the cheap versions of stuff that you would 137 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: find elsewhere, and they didn't want to do that. They 138 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: wanted to create high quality products, like first run type stuff, 139 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: not knockoffs. But that's pretty tough to do. It's not 140 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: something that you just jump into. Um Ibuca actually drew 141 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:00,280 Speaker 1: up a prospectus to guide the company kind of like 142 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 1: their their mission statement and their guiding principles, and it 143 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: included passages like this one. We must avoid problems which 144 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: befall large corporations while we create and introduce technologies which 145 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:16,079 Speaker 1: large corporations cannot match. The reconstruction of Japan depends upon 146 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: the development of dynamic technologies. So this is you know, 147 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: I mean it sounds a little grandiose, but this was 148 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: really an effort to to take Japan out of the 149 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: ashes of World War two and have it take its 150 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: place as a leading economic power in the in the 151 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:39,079 Speaker 1: world and to make a real contribution to innovation in technology. Uh, 152 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: there's a big, big order, you know, especially coming from 153 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: a place where a lot of people were writing off 154 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: Japan as being it will always just be like a 155 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: place that that cheap stuff comes out of. Now, Abuca's 156 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 1: job was to develop products. Essentially, he was the engineer, 157 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,680 Speaker 1: and Akio Morita's job was to handle personnel, financing and 158 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: mark itting. They launched their first product. Actually technically this 159 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: came out before Marita even joined on. There was a 160 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: product that that Ibuco was working on, an electric rice cooker. Uh. 161 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,839 Speaker 1: This was a pretty funny thing. I mean, it was 162 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: essentially a wooden tub. If you look at a picture, 163 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: it looks kind of like a wooden tub or a 164 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: wooden bucket with some metal uh plates on the inside 165 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: of it. Not completely coding it, just like think of 166 00:10:27,679 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: bands of aluminum that are bolted down and wired uh 167 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:37,680 Speaker 1: to this wooden tub. The aluminum were actually electrodes. They 168 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: were screwed into the bottom of the tub, not really bolted. 169 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 1: And Japan actually had a surplus of electricity at this 170 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: point because during World War two the country had built 171 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:52,160 Speaker 1: more power plants in an effort to power the war. 172 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 1: Uh effort and effort to power the war effort. I 173 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: apologize for the redundancy, but they bought they built a 174 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: lot more our plants in order to create more capacity. 175 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: But then after the war, the country was essentially disarmed 176 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: and they didn't really have the demand that these power 177 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: plants could meet, Like they had more more supply than 178 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: they had to band. So Abukas thought was, how about 179 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: we create more stuff that uses power. Because we've got 180 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: the power, that's not a problem. We've got the capacity. 181 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: Why not create stuff that allows people to take advantage 182 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: of that. And so they started really looking at doing 183 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 1: these electrical appliances like this rice cooker. But there was 184 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: a tight, teeny tiny problem, and that was that the 185 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 1: rice cooker did not work very well at all. For 186 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 1: one thing, not all rice is the same, you can't 187 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,079 Speaker 1: you know, just one type of rice does not necessarily 188 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,360 Speaker 1: cook at the same rate as a different type of rice. 189 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 1: So the results depended on the amount of water that 190 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 1: you had, the type of rice you put in the tub, 191 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: and odds were really really good that what you would 192 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,679 Speaker 1: get at the end of it would come out undercooked 193 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,320 Speaker 1: or overcooked. So the product was ultimately a failure, but 194 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: it taught them a lot while they were developing it. Now, 195 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 1: one thing that wasn't a failure was that Marita and 196 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: Abuca were able to bring on shows a Buro Tachikawa 197 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: to handle the general affairs of the company. Also, I 198 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 1: should just go ahead and say I'm doing my best 199 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 1: to pronounce these names correctly, but I do apologize because 200 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 1: I know I'm going to butcher some of them, but 201 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: I will again, it is not through lack of care. 202 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: It is only because I am not very good at 203 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: pronouncing Japanese names. So what were Tachikawa's duties. Well, for one, 204 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: he purchased rice on the black market, so they were 205 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: selling a product, this this electric rice cooker that depended 206 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 1: upon um having access to rice. But the issue was 207 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: that food rationing was in place for several years after 208 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: World War two in Japan, so Tachikawa would actually buy 209 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: rice on the black market in order to market it 210 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 1: along with the rice cooker. Japan's economy was still in 211 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: turmoil at after World War two, actually for several years 212 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,199 Speaker 1: after World War two, and so the company was focusing 213 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 1: on marketing products to an overseas market, not just the 214 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:23,079 Speaker 1: domestic market. They saw the need to cater to both. 215 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,520 Speaker 1: They knew that they were going to sell products in Japan, 216 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,040 Speaker 1: but they also knew that that was not going to 217 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: be enough to elevate this new company, especially since there 218 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: were a lot of established companies like Toshiba was already 219 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: a company at this point and was a company before 220 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:43,079 Speaker 1: World War two. So Sony, because it started so late, 221 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: or Totsuko, i should say, at this point, because they 222 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: had not adopted the name Sony, they knew they were 223 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: going to have to market their stuff to to an 224 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: audience beyond just Japan if they wanted to have success, 225 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:01,160 Speaker 1: so they started looking at having an overseas UH presence, 226 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: at least a market, not a physical presence. At this point, 227 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,319 Speaker 1: other Japanese companies were already doing this, but they were 228 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: again largely selling those cheaper products, and Marita and Abuca 229 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: wanted to go beyond that. But that wasn't easy because 230 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 1: the company, Tatsuko didn't have any real machinery to speak 231 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: of and not enough capital to purchase equipment, so instead, 232 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: the employees ended up salvaging stuff from rubble leftover from 233 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: the war, and they would use it in place of 234 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: normal tools, like there were stories about using springs that 235 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: they found as screwdrivers, so it's kind of crazy. They 236 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: also used telephone cables rather than electrical wires for some 237 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: of their prototypes, which created extra challenges engineering challenges, but 238 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 1: they did that because there were down to telephone wires 239 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: that they could salvage, and then since they were just 240 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: creating prototypes, not indo products, they figured, well, we might 241 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: as well just use this and wait until we've developed 242 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: a good product before we switch over to actual electrical wiring. 243 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: Another big challenge actually came from the Japanese government itself, 244 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 1: multiple challenges actually, because at this time, the Japanese government, 245 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: which they still had an emperor and impress at this time. Uh, 246 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: the Japanese government took a very hands on approach to 247 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: Japanese businesses and their operation. Uh. There was a Ministry 248 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: of Finance and there were other ministries as well that 249 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: all the businesses had to work with and obey, and 250 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 1: it made it really complicated, especially if you wanted to 251 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: have products sold overseas, and made it challenging. But even 252 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:43,200 Speaker 1: more than that, the Japanese government had also decided to 253 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: make a switch from one end currency to a new 254 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: yen currency. But that required all businesses to start to 255 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: earn new yen currency in order to stay solvent. You 256 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: couldn't just collect old yen notes. They wouldn't be good 257 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 1: for much longer. So uh, it kind of kind of 258 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 1: put a ticking time bomb on companies. They had to 259 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: make sure that they were selling enough products in that 260 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: time to gather enough new currency to remain afloat. So 261 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: that was something that most companies don't have to worry about, 262 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 1: and it's a little unique to this particular situation. One 263 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: of the products that did earn the company some money 264 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 1: was an electrically heated cushion. Now, that cushion was a 265 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 1: very simple design. It was a mesh wire grid sandwich 266 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: between sheets of paper inside a leather cushion with some padding. 267 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: So if you know your electronics, you know if you 268 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: pass current through an electrical wire, some of that energy 269 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: get is lost due to giving off of heat its resistance. Right, 270 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 1: the greater the resistance the wire, the more that electricity 271 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 1: is converted into heat. This is the basis for things 272 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: like electrical heaters, where you have a coil that is 273 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 1: really just a resistor that's coiled around and around and 274 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 1: around and around. You run electric through the coil and 275 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: the coil heats up as a result, and that's where 276 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 1: you generate electric heat. Well, that was the same basic 277 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: premise of the cushion, except instead of being a coil, 278 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:13,159 Speaker 1: it's a grid. But this particular product was maybe a 279 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: little too simple because it didn't have a thermostat or 280 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,479 Speaker 1: any way of controlling the temperature whatsoever, which meant that 281 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: the cushion could and did overheat. Also, the voltage from 282 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:28,120 Speaker 1: Japan's power plants wasn't steady, so at night you could 283 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: end up having power surges, and sometimes the cushions would 284 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:36,880 Speaker 1: short out and scorch things like people's pants, or their beds, 285 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:43,639 Speaker 1: or their grandmother's or you know, et cetera. Now, Ibuka 286 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: had said that it was not a good idea for 287 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:48,879 Speaker 1: his brand new company that he was trying to get 288 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:51,400 Speaker 1: off the ground to be associated with a substandard cushion, 289 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 1: So he did the reasonable thing. He marketed the cushion 290 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,120 Speaker 1: under a fictional company name called the Ginza Heating Company. 291 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,240 Speaker 1: You know, instead of not putting out a defective product, 292 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: just put a fake company name on the defective product 293 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: and your home free. That's brilliant, but BALTI are not. 294 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 1: The cushion actually sold well enough to keep the company 295 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:19,160 Speaker 1: kind of afloat. Meanwhile, when under their actual Totsuko name, 296 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:23,920 Speaker 1: the real company name, the company began to sell record pickups. Now, 297 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,960 Speaker 1: a record pickup is also known as a needle. It's 298 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,199 Speaker 1: what you would have on a on a turntable for 299 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:32,640 Speaker 1: vinyl albums. And I'm sure many of you are familiar 300 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: with this, but just in case you aren't, If you 301 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,920 Speaker 1: folks out there who have never really messed with a 302 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: a record player vinyl turntable type deal, what you have 303 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: is you've got an arm and on the end of 304 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 1: that arm is a needle. The needle actually fits within 305 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:54,199 Speaker 1: grooves inside the vinyl record, and it vibrates according to 306 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: changes in that groove, and there's a transducer that the 307 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,639 Speaker 1: needle is attached to, and the transducer job is to 308 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: take this kinetic energy, this vibration translated into electricity, send 309 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: that signal to an amp, which increases the power of 310 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: the signal, and then goes on to speakers which then 311 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,320 Speaker 1: can play this signal, and then we get to listen 312 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: to music or talk or whatever is on the vinyl album. 313 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:26,239 Speaker 1: So UH Tatsuko began to market these record pickups and 314 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: those also record players were not legal during the war, 315 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,360 Speaker 1: and the reason for them was nothing to do with propaganda. 316 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: It had to do with the fact that the components 317 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: that you would use to make record players UH could 318 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 1: be used for other things that the military could take 319 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 1: advantage of. UH. You know, resources were scarce, so you 320 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:50,400 Speaker 1: could not use them for frivolous purposes like creating record players. 321 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,399 Speaker 1: But now in the post war era, everything was changing. 322 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,960 Speaker 1: Towards the end of nineteen Totsuko had to move from 323 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,720 Speaker 1: the department store they had been in to a small 324 00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 1: factory uh. It was only temporary, however, as the factory 325 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: owner decided that they needed to leave, he actually ordered 326 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: Tatsuko to vacate the factory area that they he had 327 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:25,160 Speaker 1: set aside for them uh. And one of the reasons 328 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,520 Speaker 1: that might have played a part in this is that 329 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: there was some electricity ration ing going on at the time, 330 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:34,400 Speaker 1: and it was possible that the factory owner was worried 331 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,880 Speaker 1: that this company, which was known for having employees who 332 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: would work long into the night, might end up using 333 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 1: up his electricity ration and he wouldn't have or he'd 334 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: had to pay extra in order to conduct his own business. 335 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: So they got the boot um and Ibuca and Marita 336 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 1: were searching for a new facility, one that would be 337 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: large enough to have everyone in the company working in 338 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:01,439 Speaker 1: the same location at the same time, because they were 339 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: kind of spread out among three different locations at this 340 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:09,680 Speaker 1: point and it made collaborating very difficult. Uh. And then 341 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: they were able to finally create that, although it didn't 342 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 1: last for very long in the sense that the company 343 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:17,879 Speaker 1: kept growing and they would end up building news sites, 344 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: so you didn't have everybody under the same roof for 345 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: very long. You they grew too big for that. Meanwhile, 346 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: Japan's n h K, which was there that or is 347 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:33,439 Speaker 1: the National Broadcast Station, hired on Tutsuko to convert wire 348 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:38,480 Speaker 1: military wireless equipment into receivers for broadcasting. Uh So, in 349 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,399 Speaker 1: other words, the idea was that, well, we've got all 350 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,879 Speaker 1: these military radio installations that we could convert over to 351 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: broadcast installations, but we need some help. Um that work 352 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: was really steady, so Tutsuko began to make a profit. 353 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 1: They weren't just staying afloat, they were actually doing well 354 00:21:55,600 --> 00:22:00,920 Speaker 1: in the company would relocate to Shinagawa, Tokyo. They took 355 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 1: over warehouse space that had belonged to the Nipon Corburetor company, 356 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:09,080 Speaker 1: and the Sony Corporation is still at that location today, 357 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: or at least they have a location there today. Uh 358 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,480 Speaker 1: In the period between nineteen and nineteen fifty, Abuca wanted 359 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:21,000 Speaker 1: to make a successful consumer electronics product and not just 360 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: a radio, so he started by looking into the possibility 361 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: of producing wire recorders. Now, a wire recorder is sort 362 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: of like a tape recorder, but while tape stores information 363 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: magnetically onto plastic film that has a you know, ferromagnetic 364 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: material on it, like a powder essentially that's been bonded 365 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:45,160 Speaker 1: to the plastic film. Wire recorders use magnetic steel wire 366 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 1: to store info, so you're still storing the information magnetically, 367 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,360 Speaker 1: but instead of it being on tape, it's on an 368 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 1: actual physical wire. The company actually reverse engineered military wire 369 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: recorders and began to experiment with them, but then it 370 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:02,680 Speaker 1: Juca and Marita got a demonstration of a tape recorder 371 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: from occupation forces at the NHK headquarters, so they were 372 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: able to they had not seen this in person before. 373 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 1: But then they saw a tape recorder, which had already 374 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: been invented obviously, but they had not had experience with it, 375 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 1: and they were so impressed by the quality of the 376 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: tape recorder, which seemed so much better than the wire 377 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: recorders of the day, they decided their company should produce 378 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: the first Japanese tape recorder, and they abandoned the idea 379 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: of the wire recorder entirely. Their first experiments with tape 380 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:36,359 Speaker 1: recorders involved using rice paste to add here magnetic dust 381 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:40,159 Speaker 1: to paper strips. Now the prototype didn't work because the 382 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,879 Speaker 1: magnetic dust they used was actually too strong for the 383 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: tape head to write to. So in other words, they 384 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:52,720 Speaker 1: created a tape that had very um electro magnetic magnetic 385 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 1: doest well really just magnetic dost, not electro magnetic dust. 386 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:57,680 Speaker 1: But they had magnetic dust that was so strong that 387 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: you couldn't you couldn't use a tape head to right 388 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 1: new information to it. You would just get this loud 389 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:08,879 Speaker 1: noise because the magnetic properties were too strong. So they 390 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,879 Speaker 1: started looking around for an alternative to the dust that 391 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: they had been using, and they decided that they should 392 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 1: use ferric oxide. But there was a problem. They didn't 393 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,960 Speaker 1: have a supply of ferric oxide. So they did the 394 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:22,960 Speaker 1: next best thing. They bought a couple of bottles of 395 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: ox oxalic ferrite and then they processed it to create 396 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:31,399 Speaker 1: ferric oxide. And by processing, I mean they poured the 397 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 1: oxalic ferrite into a frying pan and they heated the 398 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 1: frying pan on a stovetop until it converted into ferric 399 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:41,840 Speaker 1: oxide oxalic farright. By the way, it's kind of like 400 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 1: a yellowish powder, So essentially they were uh cooking this 401 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: until it turned sort of a brownish black. They actually 402 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: had one person who was particularly good at spotting changes 403 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:54,440 Speaker 1: in color, and it was his job to monitor the 404 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: stuff to make sure that they took it off the 405 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: heat once it reached a certain level of processing. Now 406 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,679 Speaker 1: it took more time for the engineers to find a 407 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:07,359 Speaker 1: way to produce powder fine enough to be useful and 408 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,959 Speaker 1: then find a way to adhere it to the actual tape. 409 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:15,640 Speaker 1: They even consulted with a cosmetics company that was known 410 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,480 Speaker 1: for making a face powder for women and tried to 411 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: see if they had any hints as to create a 412 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: powder fine enough for the purposes of creating tape. But 413 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,440 Speaker 1: when the cosmetics company heard how fine a powder they needed, 414 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: they said, we would never make that because it's so 415 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:33,560 Speaker 1: fine that it would just blow right off of a 416 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: lady's cheek. It wouldn't do any good, so we can't 417 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,200 Speaker 1: help you. It took them a lot of trial, trial 418 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,919 Speaker 1: and error experiments, but they were able to produce a 419 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:47,439 Speaker 1: tape that could record and reproduce sound. So by the 420 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,560 Speaker 1: company had created a prototype, and the following year nine 421 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,440 Speaker 1: fifty they had early models of what would become their 422 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: actual consumer tape recorder, the first in Japan and one 423 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,199 Speaker 1: of the earliest for consumers. That prototype they had was 424 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:02,679 Speaker 1: not so great. I mean, it could record and it 425 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: could replay sound, but if the quality wasn't really there, 426 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: which is why they had to continue developing. So n 427 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:14,440 Speaker 1: SoC creates the sawny tape recording medium s o in 428 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 1: I dash tape. They also launched the G type tape recorder, 429 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:23,959 Speaker 1: which they intended for institutional use, like it was going 430 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: to be used in medical facilities and educational facilities that 431 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,119 Speaker 1: sort of stuff. It was not the G type was 432 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 1: not being marketed to home consumers. Instead, they developed a 433 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: second type of recorder called the H type recorder that 434 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,880 Speaker 1: was for home use, and the press for the products 435 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,440 Speaker 1: said that they would be useful for talking paper and 436 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 1: talking magazines and that they might one day replace the phonograph, 437 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: which turned out to be true, but it was one 438 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:57,400 Speaker 1: of those times where the the pr was kind of 439 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,119 Speaker 1: making some grandiose promises. It just so happens that it 440 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: did work out that way. Eventually took some time, though, 441 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,399 Speaker 1: and and of course the type of tape that they 442 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: were using at that time was very different than the 443 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: plastic film tape that would be used later on. During 444 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: the era where cassettes became huge, uh figuratively speaking, literally, 445 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,919 Speaker 1: they were actually fairly small. In nineteen fifty, news of 446 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: how Bell Labs employees had pioneered the transistor had made 447 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:28,600 Speaker 1: it to Japan. So the transistor does the same job 448 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,919 Speaker 1: as vacuum tubes, but is a much smaller form factor 449 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,400 Speaker 1: and it's a solid state type of electronic as opposed 450 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,800 Speaker 1: to the vacuum tube approach. And Abuca and Marita had 451 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 1: heard of it, and initially they were kind of skeptical 452 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: that transistor would ever be practical, that you would ever 453 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: use it in anything beyond like some experimental prototype type stuff. 454 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 1: But in nineteen fifty two, Ibuka would actually make a 455 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:53,879 Speaker 1: trip to the United States. It was his first trip there. 456 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,720 Speaker 1: Started off a bit rough. Ibuka was not fluent in English, 457 00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:59,639 Speaker 1: and he had some challenges getting to New York. He 458 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 1: actually flew into Anchorage, Alaska first, and he experienced some 459 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: things that were shocking to him, including some xenophobia, uh 460 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,479 Speaker 1: some sphere of foreigners in the United States that he 461 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: wasn't anticipating when he got there. Um. But he made 462 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:19,280 Speaker 1: his way to New York and then he was informed 463 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:23,200 Speaker 1: that Western Electric, the parent company of Bell Labs, would 464 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:26,679 Speaker 1: be happy to license the transistor technology to companies willing 465 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 1: to pay royalties. So, in other words, instead of having 466 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: this technology and keeping it proprietary. Uh Western Electric was saying, no, no, 467 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,880 Speaker 1: anyone can use this technology. You just have to pay 468 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: us a licensing fee and then you'll be allowed to 469 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,960 Speaker 1: uh TO to manufacture transistors and and you can completely 470 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: you can totally use the methodologies that we're talking about. 471 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: You have to develop your own manufacturing system. You know, 472 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 1: you don't get to use our our factories or anything, 473 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: but you can use the technology without fear of being sued, 474 00:28:57,280 --> 00:28:59,600 Speaker 1: which is that's the way patents are supposed to work. 475 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 1: Uh Abuka realized that the transistor could serve as an 476 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: engineering challenge for his team and in a sense keep 477 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,680 Speaker 1: up their morale, which is kind of funny, like he 478 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 1: looked at the transistor and thought, well, it may not 479 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 1: ever work for consumer technology, but if I give my 480 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: team the challenge of take this type of technology and 481 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:22,800 Speaker 1: develop it so that we can put it into a 482 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: radio in a couple of years and sell that to consumers, 483 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,200 Speaker 1: it would be the type of challenge that would occupy 484 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,560 Speaker 1: his team, keep them busy, keep their minds active, keep 485 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 1: their morale up. Because his worry was that the tape 486 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 1: recorder business had become defined. They knew what they were 487 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 1: doing they were no longer innovating in that space. They 488 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,200 Speaker 1: were producing in that space, and he was worried that 489 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:49,920 Speaker 1: just producing would not keep his team happy because they 490 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: were creative individuals and he needed to make sure that 491 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 1: they were doing something that they found fulfilling, which apparently 492 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: involves giving them really tough engine herring challenges. It's kind 493 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,080 Speaker 1: of an interesting approach. Now, this was all easier said 494 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:08,720 Speaker 1: than done because of economic and political issues. You know 495 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier. In Japan, you have these ministries that 496 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:17,720 Speaker 1: end up being involved in corporate business, and that is 497 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:20,440 Speaker 1: an impediment. Also, there were several large companies in Japan 498 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:23,560 Speaker 1: that had already started to work on the transistor. They 499 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,840 Speaker 1: were paying our CIA for technical expertise to guide them 500 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,040 Speaker 1: in that and the Ministry of Trade and Industry representatives 501 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:35,400 Speaker 1: were skeptical that Tatsuko, which was a very small company 502 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,680 Speaker 1: compared to these larger ones in Japan, would ever be 503 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: able to make a significant contribution using the transistor. And 504 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 1: since the Ministry of Trade and Industry would issue licenses 505 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,560 Speaker 1: for manufacturing transistors, this was a problem. If they don't 506 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 1: have confidence in the company, they won't grant the license. Now, 507 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:57,959 Speaker 1: Marita would later visit the U s Ibuca had already visited, 508 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:02,640 Speaker 1: now Marita's visiting and Uh and he visited Western Electric 509 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:06,720 Speaker 1: and eventually the company received permission from the Ministry of 510 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: Trade and Industry to manufacture transistors, although they almost didn't 511 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: because when their representatives found out that Tatsuko executives had 512 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 1: met with Americans to talk about licensing the patent without 513 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:24,200 Speaker 1: first getting permission from the Japanese government, they had a 514 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,479 Speaker 1: little bit of a fit and it was almost the 515 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 1: case that they would forbid Tatsuko from going forward with this. 516 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: But fortunately for Tatsuko, that department was reorganized in nineteen 517 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: fifty three, so once that reorg happened, things became a 518 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 1: little more favorable towards Trtsuko and other Japanese companies trying 519 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 1: to work with foreign companies, and so a Buca decided 520 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 1: that the first application of the transistor technology should be 521 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:56,640 Speaker 1: a transistor radio, and the company started to work on 522 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:01,400 Speaker 1: that idea. In nineteen fifty four, a United States company 523 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 1: called Regency would market the first commercial transistor radio. This 524 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,360 Speaker 1: actually came as a blow to Abuka, who really wanted 525 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: his company to create the first commercial transistor radio, and 526 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: they would do so, but they would do it the 527 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: next year in nineteen UH. They first were going to 528 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:23,960 Speaker 1: launch a radio earlier than that, but it turned out 529 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:27,760 Speaker 1: that their design had a major flaw. UH. They had 530 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:32,040 Speaker 1: a plastic grill on the front of these radios, and 531 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:35,000 Speaker 1: it turned out that when the temperatures would get warm enough, 532 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: the grill would just peel away from the radio, so 533 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 1: that launch was completely botched. They had to scrap it. UH. 534 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 1: This would actually become an issue multiple times throughout the 535 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: history of Sony, where in those early days, UH, they 536 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,480 Speaker 1: would develop a type of technology in one time, one 537 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 1: part of the year, and it would work fine because 538 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: they were designing it in that time of year. They 539 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,160 Speaker 1: would get it to the performance that they wanted, and 540 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:05,440 Speaker 1: then the seasons would change and the temperature would either 541 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:07,760 Speaker 1: increase or decrease, you know, you go into summer or 542 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:10,360 Speaker 1: you go into winter or whatever, and then they would 543 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:13,120 Speaker 1: find out that the product they had designed no longer 544 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 1: worked the way they intended it to because the temperatures 545 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 1: were too different. So it took a while before they 546 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:22,440 Speaker 1: had found an approach where they could develop technology at 547 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 1: different temperatures and make sure it's still worked properly. That's 548 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,480 Speaker 1: one of those things about especially about early electronics, but 549 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 1: really anytime, the more precise you get, the narrower your 550 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:37,040 Speaker 1: parameters are, and you have to start really working with 551 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:39,560 Speaker 1: a lot of engineering challenges to make sure that the 552 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,840 Speaker 1: thing that you're creating actually works the way you wanted 553 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:56,600 Speaker 1: to in all reasonable conditions. Uh. One thing that Tatsuko 554 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:03,280 Speaker 1: really prided itself on was that their transistor radio included 555 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:07,560 Speaker 1: transistors that the company itself had made. Tatsuko had made 556 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,880 Speaker 1: the transistors found in the transistor radio that they marketed, 557 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:15,240 Speaker 1: whereas Regency, the first company to bring transistor radios to market, 558 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:19,280 Speaker 1: we're actually purchasing their transistors from Texas Instruments. They weren't 559 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 1: making the transistors themselves, they were buying it from another 560 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 1: company and then using it in their products. So that 561 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:27,240 Speaker 1: was one source of pride for the BUCA. His company 562 00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 1: was actually making both the transistors and the radio, which 563 00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:35,880 Speaker 1: in him his mind, meant it was superior. In Abuka 564 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:41,360 Speaker 1: realized that Americans had trouble pronouncing Totsuko or Tokyo sushin Kogyo, 565 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 1: which was the full name, and so he met with 566 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:47,879 Speaker 1: his team and started to say discuss alternate names for 567 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:50,880 Speaker 1: the company, or at least for a brand. At that time, 568 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:53,719 Speaker 1: they wanted to be able to market their products under 569 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,160 Speaker 1: a brand name that people would be able to say, 570 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:58,319 Speaker 1: and not just in the United States but all around 571 00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:00,360 Speaker 1: the world. So they tried to find a word that 572 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,400 Speaker 1: would be easy to pronounce in any dialect. And the 573 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:07,719 Speaker 1: word that they created really was sony. And according to 574 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:11,600 Speaker 1: pretty much every record I can find, Sony got its 575 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:15,760 Speaker 1: inspiration from two things. One was the Latin words sonas, 576 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:19,960 Speaker 1: from which the words sound and sonic originate, and the 577 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,759 Speaker 1: other was the name Sonny, for the nickname Sonny, which 578 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:26,880 Speaker 1: you would tend to get of a young person who 579 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:30,439 Speaker 1: has a lot of pluck, specifically young boys at the time, 580 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: because I mean, this is the nineteen fifties, um, and 581 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:38,879 Speaker 1: there was just that kind of a philosophy, I guess 582 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,640 Speaker 1: is the way word all used to be kind. So, yeah, 583 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:45,160 Speaker 1: sonny and sonas were the the inspiration, and so they 584 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:47,640 Speaker 1: came up with the name Sony for the brand name. Now, 585 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:51,480 Speaker 1: the company still stayed as Tatsuko for the time being, 586 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:55,480 Speaker 1: but the brand they would use on their products was Sony. 587 00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:01,399 Speaker 1: Around that same time, Tatsuko also began to manufacture transistors 588 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 1: for other Japanese companies, and this was a big deal 589 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,880 Speaker 1: because again Tatsuka was a much smaller company than some 590 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:10,440 Speaker 1: of these other ones, so it almost seemed like it 591 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:14,600 Speaker 1: was boastful for a little company to make transistors for 592 00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:19,560 Speaker 1: other Japanese companies. They also needed to expand their operations 593 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:21,759 Speaker 1: in order to meet demand, and that meant hiring on 594 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:25,080 Speaker 1: more employees. So what was their strategy. How would they 595 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:28,440 Speaker 1: get more people to help create transistors. Well, their strategy 596 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,680 Speaker 1: was to hire what they started to call transistor girls. Now, 597 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,319 Speaker 1: these were young ladies who were seeking employment to help 598 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:37,680 Speaker 1: their families. Many of them were opting to go into 599 00:36:37,719 --> 00:36:41,799 Speaker 1: the workforce rather than attend senior high school, so they 600 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:43,600 Speaker 1: would go to high school, but instead of going to 601 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 1: senior high school, they would essentially drop out of school 602 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:49,799 Speaker 1: and then go into the workforce to help their families out. 603 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:53,480 Speaker 1: And they mainly came from outlying areas in Japan, more 604 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:58,000 Speaker 1: rural areas in Japan. So Tatsuko ended up purchasing and 605 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:01,239 Speaker 1: renovating a building not far from the factory for the 606 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 1: young ladies to live in. It was a dormitory, and 607 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:06,839 Speaker 1: this is something that was not uncommon in Japan at 608 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,920 Speaker 1: the time. To build dormitories for employees. Uh So, it 609 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,440 Speaker 1: almost sounds like a lot of these companies had almost 610 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:16,839 Speaker 1: a collegiate atmosphere. You had your workplace and then you 611 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,840 Speaker 1: had your dormitory and you just pretty much stayed there. 612 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 1: Um in the history about the company, there's actually an 613 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:28,040 Speaker 1: amusing story about this first dormitory. One of the executives 614 00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:31,600 Speaker 1: from Sony was put in charge of escorting the ladies 615 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:35,239 Speaker 1: to their new dorm but got the message that the 616 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,480 Speaker 1: dorm wasn't quite ready yet, so he needed to stall 617 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:42,480 Speaker 1: for time. So instead he got all the ladies onto 618 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:45,120 Speaker 1: a bus and they took a bus tour of Tokyo. 619 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,280 Speaker 1: And apparently the young ladies thought the tour was really exciting. 620 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:51,120 Speaker 1: Most of them came from areas well outside of Tokyo, 621 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:53,640 Speaker 1: so to them the city was just exciting and interesting. 622 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,719 Speaker 1: But the executive the entire time was apparently freaking out 623 00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:58,080 Speaker 1: that there was not going to be any place where 624 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: the stay once the tour was overly it all worked out. 625 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,600 Speaker 1: Employment at that time in Japan was a regulated process, 626 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:09,520 Speaker 1: and again we're getting into this idea of the government 627 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:15,160 Speaker 1: really being hands on with the way companies behave. Typically 628 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:19,320 Speaker 1: companies in Tokyo could not hire on people all by themselves. 629 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:21,520 Speaker 1: They couldn't do it just go out there and put 630 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:25,280 Speaker 1: out a notice and hire people and interview them. Instead, 631 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:30,120 Speaker 1: all potential hires and all requests had to go through 632 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 1: a governmental ministry. But because Tatsuko recruited from areas outside Tokyo, 633 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,880 Speaker 1: the company could take on more of this responsibility. Now 634 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:43,239 Speaker 1: that wasn't because these outlying areas had a different law 635 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 1: to cover it. They were still under the same law. 636 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:49,839 Speaker 1: But the issue was that in those rural regions. Rather 637 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:53,080 Speaker 1: in those rural regions, they just lacked the resources to 638 00:38:53,920 --> 00:39:00,920 Speaker 1: to follow the official procedure. You didn't have necessarily representatives 639 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,720 Speaker 1: of the government out in all of these outlying regions, 640 00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:07,560 Speaker 1: so there literally was no way to follow the rules 641 00:39:07,719 --> 00:39:10,120 Speaker 1: if you were recruiting from out there. And that was 642 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:12,160 Speaker 1: a little convenient. And by the way, Tatsuka was not 643 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:14,680 Speaker 1: like the only company to do this, and they weren't 644 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:17,040 Speaker 1: trying to be sneaky or anything. They just they had 645 00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:20,640 Speaker 1: a real need for it to hire more people, and 646 00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:26,080 Speaker 1: uh going through the official government chain would have slowed 647 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:30,720 Speaker 1: things down considerably. In nineteen fifty seven, Totsuka would introduce 648 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 1: the t R sixty three, a k a. The pocketable radio. Now, 649 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:40,960 Speaker 1: the word pocketable didn't exist before n It was coined 650 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:43,799 Speaker 1: by Toutsuko upon the launch of the product. And here's 651 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 1: some interesting trivia. Fifty of the t R sixty three 652 00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:49,680 Speaker 1: radios were being sold as the first off the line, 653 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,280 Speaker 1: So you could get the first ever TR sixty three radio. 654 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:56,719 Speaker 1: But don't worry if you didn't buy it, you had 655 00:39:56,800 --> 00:40:00,600 Speaker 1: forty nine more chances to buy the first one. It's 656 00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:03,600 Speaker 1: kind of like something being very unique. You can't be 657 00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:08,879 Speaker 1: very unique. You're either unique or you're not. You're either 658 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,120 Speaker 1: the first or you aren't the first. But in in 659 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:15,120 Speaker 1: Tatsuko's history there were fifty one of the t R 660 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,680 Speaker 1: sixty three. The export price of the t R sixty 661 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:22,920 Speaker 1: three was thirty nine dollars and nine cents, which, if 662 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,160 Speaker 1: you adjusted for inflation according to the calculator I used 663 00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:29,600 Speaker 1: from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that would be about 664 00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:34,359 Speaker 1: three hundred forty two dollars, So a three forty two 665 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:41,520 Speaker 1: dollar pocket radio pretty expensive, I would say. In night, 666 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:46,600 Speaker 1: Tutsuko would officially change its name to the Sony Corporation. 667 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:49,920 Speaker 1: Now that was not a change that everybody was crazy 668 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:53,880 Speaker 1: about the company's bank took exception to this move, and 669 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:57,640 Speaker 1: so did some of the employees of Tatsuko, But ultimately 670 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:00,239 Speaker 1: the top brass decided the name change was necessar Serry 671 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:03,840 Speaker 1: to take a top spot in the global electronics market, 672 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:06,919 Speaker 1: they had to have a name that people could recognize 673 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:10,560 Speaker 1: and say easily. Moreover, they felt like calling the company 674 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:13,919 Speaker 1: Sony Corporation would provide for flexibility if the company ever 675 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,600 Speaker 1: decided to branch out beyond electronics, the name wouldn't cause 676 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:21,680 Speaker 1: brand confusion the way something like Sony Electronic Industries might, 677 00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:25,160 Speaker 1: which turned out to be a really smart decision because, 678 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:28,520 Speaker 1: as we know today, Sony is in a lot more 679 00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:34,640 Speaker 1: businesses than just the electronics world. They have a presence 680 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:37,920 Speaker 1: in lots of different places, So it ended up being 681 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:41,200 Speaker 1: a smart move to go with Sony Corporation rather than 682 00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:46,200 Speaker 1: something more specific like Sony Electronics Industries. Now that brings 683 00:41:46,239 --> 00:41:50,400 Speaker 1: me to the end of this particular episode of episode one. 684 00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:53,680 Speaker 1: I've got so much more to say, but I wanted 685 00:41:53,719 --> 00:41:56,200 Speaker 1: to get at least to the point where Tatsuko changed 686 00:41:56,239 --> 00:41:59,960 Speaker 1: its name to Sony um And remember we're at nineteen 687 00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:02,279 Speaker 1: fifty eight at that point, and the company launched in 688 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:05,160 Speaker 1: nineteen six, So it's just been a little bit more 689 00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:08,640 Speaker 1: than a decade and that's all we've been able to cover. 690 00:42:08,719 --> 00:42:10,320 Speaker 1: And I haven't really even gotten into a lot of 691 00:42:10,360 --> 00:42:13,279 Speaker 1: their big products yet. So in our next episode, we're 692 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 1: gonna look at some of the products that got Sony 693 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:21,440 Speaker 1: recognition around the world, as well as the philosophy and 694 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:24,520 Speaker 1: some of the weird stories around it, uh and how 695 00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:29,600 Speaker 1: Sony really kind of began to shape itself over the 696 00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:32,720 Speaker 1: next part of its history. So make sure you tune 697 00:42:32,719 --> 00:42:36,239 Speaker 1: in next week to hear part two. And um, I 698 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:37,960 Speaker 1: don't know when I'll have a good idea of how 699 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:40,080 Speaker 1: many parts this is going to be. I'm aiming for 700 00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:44,640 Speaker 1: three parts, but based upon how much I've done with 701 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:47,840 Speaker 1: the first two parts, it may be a four parter 702 00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:51,120 Speaker 1: simply because there's just so much to cover. Even if 703 00:42:51,160 --> 00:42:55,640 Speaker 1: I skip over major product launches, you know, I just 704 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:59,920 Speaker 1: concentrate on the first of that particular type of product, 705 00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:03,280 Speaker 1: it's still a ton of material, like here's the first 706 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:07,239 Speaker 1: oh LED television and here's the first three D television. 707 00:43:07,880 --> 00:43:10,560 Speaker 1: After a while, that list gets super long because Sony 708 00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:12,719 Speaker 1: has just developed so many different products. But I will 709 00:43:12,719 --> 00:43:14,480 Speaker 1: do my best to get through as much of it 710 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:17,680 Speaker 1: as I can without making again, without making this the 711 00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:20,040 Speaker 1: Sony Stuff Show, because I know you guys. You know 712 00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:23,120 Speaker 1: you're very patient, and uh I appreciate that, but I 713 00:43:23,160 --> 00:43:27,480 Speaker 1: don't want to concentrate on one topic forever. If you 714 00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:30,680 Speaker 1: guys have suggestions for topics I should cover in the future, 715 00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:33,320 Speaker 1: maybe there's something that you've always wanted to know about 716 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:35,359 Speaker 1: in the tech space that I haven't covered, or maybe 717 00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:37,319 Speaker 1: there's something that I have covered in the past but 718 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:40,440 Speaker 1: I really should do an update to it. Let me know. 719 00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:44,040 Speaker 1: Send me a message. My email is text stuff at 720 00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:46,799 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com, or you can contact me 721 00:43:46,840 --> 00:43:50,239 Speaker 1: on Twitter or Facebook. It's tech Stuff hs W at 722 00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:52,960 Speaker 1: both of those and uh I will talk to you 723 00:43:53,000 --> 00:44:00,480 Speaker 1: again really see for more on this and thousands of 724 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:12,160 Speaker 1: other topics. Is that how stuff Works dot com m