Former Sony President Dies

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/sony-says-former-president-norio-ohga-credited-with-developing-compact-disc-has-died/2011/04/23/AFNdefVE_story.html

In the above obituary we learn that the former President of the Sony Company, Norio Ohga, recently died. In the article he is credited with expanding the company by focusing on music, films and video games. He is also credited with developing the compact disc. He specifically wanted the design of the CD to be large enough to hold enough data to store Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in its entirety.

Anyone who is old enough to remember 8 track tapes can attest to how annoying it is when your music cuts out in mid-song to change tracks. So the importance of a cd holding an entire symphony is not lost on us.

It is interesting when you look back on the evolution of music and technology how far we've actually come in a reletively short period of time. Sony made music portable in a way no other company before it had with its invention of the transistor radio and then the walkman. They further improved the quality of sound by moving away from cassette tapes to compact disks. Even the article mentions how Sony used to be considered the electronics industry leader because of their advances with transistor radios, walkmans and compact discs.