Apple Recruiting Sony VAIO Engineers?

[Lucky736]

Had 2 VAIO Notebooks. One had a bad hinge, bad battery, and a couple keys toward the bottom stop working within 2.5 years. Battery was gone in 6 mos. Barely used it as more than a desktop. Second one ended up with loose hinges, battery so so, and screen was nowhere near what it was when new. Cosmetically other than the loose hinge they looked new. Again, barely moved around. Sony makes great LOOKING laptops, but underneath they are caca.

If they are having trouble with design, why don't they go steal people from the ASUS design team who made their intel Powerbook already. 🙂 If you don't know what I am talking about goto their site. Even looks like they used some of the same buttons, not to mention VERY similiar case design. They have obviously already worked out the quirks. 😀

 

[QFace]

EEK, yeah sure, if you like horrible battery life and outdated overpriced hardware.

Everyone I know with a Sony portable has these problems + others.

I second that... I've known several people w/ sony laptops and most claim they are plagued w/ problems/design flaws

 

[shadowfax]

I guess this is better than recruiting Microsoft programmers for the next version of OSX...

I don't think talent has ever been a problem at microsoft. Their problem is leadership and design philosophy...

 

[AidenShaw]

hope they don't bring Sony "quality" with them

We've virtually de-listed VAIO laptops from our list of laptops - way too many quality problems with them.

But then, considering the number of bugs in Tiger (and the rapid 10.4.1, 10.4.2, 10.4.3) maybe Apple's decided to "think different" about quality.

Our Dell's might not look as exciting as the VAIOs, but they spend more time with their owners....

 

[Dr. Dastardly]

The outside design of the laptops wont change dramtically. I think they are recruiting Sony's goons for just internal components. The form and appearance will be all Apple.

 

[pubwvj]

Apple, which curently produce the best looking hardware need help form Sony engineers this Bull**** I mean come on, how challenging can Intel chips be after having experience with PPCs

Every chip set has it's little quirks. Having people on board who have worked with the chips before on a very nice design like Sony's Vaio increase the odds of version one being more kink free. Sounds good!

 

[0098386]

thats not a bad idea. If i were to buy a new laptop it would be a Sony. very stylish looking (well... maybe. really dont like the new 'curvy trim' look). seem like the sly bad boys compared to Apples clean living iBook and Powerbook.

i say this is a good thing. doubt they will have ANY effect on the outer appearance of the new mactels though. Jonathan Ive wont have a job 🙁

 

[7on]

The outside design of the laptops wont change dramtically. I think they are recruiting Sony's goons for just internal components. The form and appearance will be all Apple.

Yeah, I think that the outside Sony team will be doing mostly interior development. Remember, not only is the processor going to change but we're getting a faster (hotter?) FSB. The current PPC bus might be in a position where an Intel bus might not be able to be cooler as needed. And not having confronted this problem before, Apple most likely is looking at those who have had this problem.

That or they're just advising/training the PPC staff the ways of the Intel.

 

[bhertz]

I sure hope that apple does not use any sony designs. I recommend against their laptops and desktops. They look nice but are plagued by design problems like non standard parts in their desktops - if power supply breaks throw out the whole machine because there are no replacement parts (happened to friend). I work in a large university and have had to work on a few of the sony laptops and every one had broken hinges. Before using an IBM laptop myself I hated them (the look) but now I know they are what you want if you want a real none apple laptop. They are built like tanks.

 

[mymemory]

Be sure I wont buy the rev A PBs

Those things are going to come with so many problems, but I am acious to get the nex 12" PB revision. Usually when Apple is going for a new line it trhows the house out the window with the latest line. That happened with the Pismos before the Ti.

 

[lordmac]

What I have heard is the main problem with the sony vios is not that they aren't designed well its that they not built very well and that sony is very bad about support for them. But this powerbook won't have these problems because we all know even if sony helps them with the design, apple will still be the ones giving support for them. And apple will probably use the same manufactures as they use now not whom ever sony uses. So the only thing these powerbooks will have in common is more then likely internal engineering and design. Which is very good. 🙂 😉

 

[mvc]

"...apparently they’ve hired a headhunting firm in Japan which has been trying to recruit as many current Sony VAIO and ex-Sony VAIO engineers..."

This sounds like some kind of hi-tech adventure movie... and do you think these Sony engineers are just going to jump ship to join Apple? 🙄

They will if they have been keeping up with Sony's financial forecasts

 

[SeaFox]

Well...I will say this...Vaio's probably the best built PC laptop...

EEK, yeah sure, if you like horrible battery life and outdated overpriced hardware.

LMAO. You realize that's exactly what owners of cheap PC laptops say when you mention Powerbooks to them? 😀

"Mac laptops! OMG they are so expensive! Any the graphics chipsets are like two years old and my Pentium-M laptop gets 7 hrs of life..."

 

[NEENAHBOY]

yeah sure, if you like horrible battery life and outdated overpriced hardware.

That description fits Apple's portables as well at the moment.

EDIT: SeaFox just beat me to it!

 

[FunkSpaceMonkey]

I really am not that big on Sony. But I'm not worried because this story does seem pretty difficult to believe anyway.

 

[andiwm2003]

if they are now starting to hire people when will the bring an intel latop? how long does a notebook development take? one year?

in that case i expect at least on PB G4 update.

 

[LethalWolfe]

I don't believe this story. I mean c'mon, as someone else stated already, Apple has mastered the tricky and hot PPC, these Intel chips should be relatively easy.

Just because you know motocross like the back of your hand doesn't mean you know super bikes like the back of your hand.

The guys over at Sony have worked w/Intel setups day in and day out for years on end. They probably have a very big bag of tips and tricks. The PPC squad over at Apple have been seriously working on Intel setups for how long? Given more time of course the Apple guys could lean all the in's and out's of Intel. But time is not on Apple's side so they are recruiting some outside experience so they can get their products out the door on time.

Sounds completely plausible to me.

Real world experience and theory are two very different things. In regards to Intel's Apple probably has plenty of the latter, but is a little light in the former. The Sony guys will most likely be consulting, not actually building anything. I doubt we're gonna end up w/a "Sapple" laptop. 😉


Lethal

 

[comictimes]

LMAO. You realize that's exactly what owners of cheap PC laptops say when you mention Powerbooks to them? 😀

"Mac laptops! OMG they are so expensive! Any the graphics chipsets are like two years old and my Pentium-M laptop gets 7 hrs of life..."

Well... i kinda have to agree with them on the battery. I for one would not be horrified if I could get about 2 hours of battery life. And that's only if I'm doing word processing with my backlight on lowest and my processor reduced.
edit: I haven't really been following it but does anyone know how much improvement on battery life the intel processor will bring? I know that it consumes less power, so it will be more battery efficient, but have no idea how much... 😱

 

[elevenpower]

If they are having trouble with design, why don't they go steal people from the ASUS design team who made their intel Powerbook already.

Exactly. If Apple needs help designing a good Intel laptop, they need to holler at the Asus camp. By far one of the best laptop makers in the world. If I didn't have a Powerbook, I would have a V6V.

 

[kalisphoenix]

This doesn't seem right to me. As has been pointed out, it seems like 18-24 months are needed if you're still forming the design team. It would be my guess that the highest demand for Apples this coming year would be the Intel models (iirc, Jobs said this was going to be a "transition," not an overnight complete change of all machines).

That leads me to think that the prosumer machines would be the first to switch. Apple is notoriously reluctant to allow anything to cannibalize prosumer sales -- to the point of committing serious design atrocities in the past (crippling bus speeds, et cetera). It would be my guess that the pro machines would be the first to switch, but I could always be wrong -- there might have already been some Apple declaration to the contrary. Don't shoot me, I'm just the prophet.

So this seems really bad to me, if I'm reading it correctly. It seems that they're not as far along as we would hope with the first Macintels, and at best they might be buggy or poorly-designed machines. Since I'm wanting to get a solid pro machine this time around, I'm pretty damned unnerved by this.

There are other alternatives -- that the Sony folks are there for the iBook or even a miniaturized iBook or (don't kill me) even a more portable solution. Sony makes tiny things, and Sony makes tiny things well. This could even be a part of the video iPod rumors. What if, for the sake of argument, Apple wanted to make a widescreen (480x720?) clamshell iPod roughly the size of the HP Jornada clamshell PDAs? Sony would be the people to go to for this, in my estimation. That knocks out the 2" iPod screen that no one wants to watch a movie on, it's roughly the same size, it would require laptop know-how, and it satisfies some video iPod rumors.

Sorry to drag iPod **** up -- I honestly don't give a **** about iPod innovations, and I'm generally the last person to make baseless prophecies that are probably immensely unrealistic. This might be completely out of desperation, because I see the alternative (Apple hiring Sony people to help with laptop design) as an absolutely frightening sign for Apple's future.

Either Sony is helping with a sub-laptop or a video iPod-esque thing, or we're not seeing bugfree macintel laptops for a couple years. Those are the only two things I see. I'm scared :-(

 

[autrefois]

I doubt we're gonna end up w/a "Sapple" laptop. 😉

I think it's actually Sopple.

And Sony + Apple + Intel = Sopptel

😀

I just hope they come out with some sort of Powerbook update soon (PPC or Intel). The faithful are getting restless... 🙂

 

[LethalWolfe]

That leads me to think that the prosumer machines would be the first to switch. Apple is notoriously reluctant to allow anything to cannibalize prosumer sales -- to the point of committing serious design atrocities in the past (crippling bus speeds, et cetera). It would be my guess that the pro machines would be the first to switch, but I could always be wrong -- there might have already been some Apple declaration to the contrary. Don't shoot me, I'm just the prophet.

So this seems really bad to me, if I'm reading it correctly. It seems that they're not as far along as we would hope with the first Macintels, and at best they might be buggy or poorly-designed machines. Since I'm wanting to get a solid pro machine this time around, I'm pretty damned unnerved by this.

I could be wrong, but I thought Job's said the consumer line would go first. It would make sense to get the bugs outta the switch on the consumer line as opposed to the pro line where people's business and jobs could be on the line.


Lethal

 

[iMeowbot]

"Consumer lines first" came from an anonymous source, the same source that leaked the Intel news just before WWDC. Apple haven't gone on record about the order in which models will be migrated.

 

[dotdotdot]

Today, I went to CompUSA/Best Buy to look for Windows laptops, and the one that was the best was the 17" VAIO. Style AND substance.

If this rumor is true, Apple will get a new design (though I wish they'd go back to the way the G4 PowerMac/Cube/Apple Studio Display looked and apply it to ALL of their computers) that is 100 % better than the Brushed Metal look now. Maybe a glossy black? Maybe a white/gray style?

I just hope it still retains its "Appleness" of their computers.

 

[Chaszmyr]

I don't think talent has ever been a problem at microsoft. Their problem is leadership and design philosophy...

Pretty much. Unmotivated programmers with no goal or direction are just as worthless as similar people in any other field. The people who do great things are the people with passion, not necessarily the people with the most talent.