Sony leaves PC business, VAIO sold to JIP

[Ink]

I kept forgetting to post it, but I'm sure you've heard.

Source: DigitalTrends.com

Sony has decided to sell its VAIO division to Japan Industrial Partners, which will bring aboard between 250 and 300 of Sony employees from the PC side of its operations. Sony opted to make the move as part of a larger overall shift towards a focus on gaming, mobile, and other non-PC product types. By the end of Sony’s 2014 fiscal year, the company reportedly plans to lay off some 5,000 employees.

Sony expects to conclude the sale of its PC division by this March. The company will cease to make and sell PCs once their spring roster hits the market, and it will stop planning and designing PCs once the agreement between Sony and Japan Industrial Partners is finalized.

 

[kjdemuth]

Shut up! I love VAIO laptops. Little pricey for me but still loved the one I had. Might be a good time to get a cheap VAIO laptop.

 

[Cats-4_Owners-2]

Oh, ..I hadn't heard of this until now. Our household uses a Sony VPC laptop Windows 7 64 bit besides a Dell desktop Windows XP sp 3 & an Acer lap top Windows 8, and likes the Sony best of all! I was going to ask what your thoughts on the the sale were, but your (frown) says it all. Thanks for sharing this news, Earth.

 

[illumination]

I have been keeping up with this, the private company obtaining Viao will be keeping it going, but only available in Japan Glad i grabbed mine up when i did, as it is an amazing computer, hopefully will not need another for a long time to come.

 

[illumination]

I am curious as to what this will mean for those already with Viaos, that depend on viao updates for their systems.

 

[illumination]

Well, answered my own questions with this tonight, after starting a chat support session to ask..

Spoiler: Sony Support

It seems it will continue, and i was given a number for more details, if you own a Sony Viao here and would like this number, PM me, and i will gladly give it to you.

 

[McLovin]

I've never had a VAIO laptop, but have used many and are very well built.

 

[Deleted member 178]

i don't have and will never , pricey laptops and updating drivers is a pain, good to hear they stop

 

[Ink]

@Umbra Polaris So you're saying you never desired VAIO's high-end products of the x- and z- series? -of course I'm referring to cosmetics.

 

[Deleted member 178]

@Umbra Polaris So you're saying you never desired VAIO's high-end products of the x- and z- series? -of course I'm referring to cosmetics.

Nope, Asus RoG series are my sweet desires

 

[illumination]

i don't have and will never , pricey laptops and updating drivers is a pain, good to hear they stop

When i got mine, it ranged around the same prices, a little over the others, but not by much, with the same "hardware" inside.. The Drivers being updated is quite simple actually with Viao's Updater, it is why i was curious if they would continue support or if i would have to do it manually after they stopped sales and switched it over.. This Viao i have has been the best laptop i have owned, and the i5 3230m "same as yours" as you know, kicks a little arse

 

[Ink]

TheVerge > A look back at Sony's iconic VAIO computers (PICTURES)

VAIO, which stands for Visual Audio Intelligent Organizer, was first introduced 18 years ago in 1996.

While VAIO and bio sound identical in Japanese, the VAIO name also has a phonetic connection to the word violet. Sony started building its PCs with purple color schemes, and the firm has transformed the brand into a name that has been associated with high-end computers ever since.

VAIO might not be dead yet, but take a moment to look back at some of Sony’s historic, beautiful, expensive, and crazy PC creations.

Feeling nostalgic?

The first Sony VAIO PC arrived in 1996. Sony’s PCV-90 combined a 166MHz processor with 16MB of RAM, a 2.1GB HDD, and a 28.8-kbps modem. It shipped with a 3D graphical interface on top of Windows 95, aiming to entice novice computer users.

The last ever VAIO Z featured practically everything anyone could ever want in a laptop. Stupidly thin and light, it came with a 13.1-inch full HD matte display, an SSD, and a suitably powerful processor. It also had an interesting port called Light Peak, based on Intel optical technology that we now know as Thunderbolt. With the Light Peak port, you could connect up an external dock that had a discrete graphics card and a Blu Ray drive.

These latest designs come at a time when the PC market faces a major decline in sales, and it will be up to Sony’s new VAIO owners to decide if convertibles is the way forward or not.

 

[Deleted member 178]

my girlfriend has a Vaio bought in US and impossible to update any drivers outside Sony's one (even if from the same vendors) that never comes (ex: the nvidia drivers stuck on the one released 5 years ago)

 

[Venustus]

my girlfriend has a Vaio bought in US and impossible to update any drivers outside Sony's one (even if from the same vendors) that never comes (ex: the nvidia drivers stuck on the one released 5 years ago)

Just update the driver from the Nvidia site manually,that's what I do!
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

 

[Deleted member 178]

Just update the driver from the Nvidia site manually,that's what I do!
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

it is what i tried to do , but her old model refuses 3rd party/non-sony drivers (maybe they change this after for latest models); you have to modifiy some files inside the driver to allow the installation ; but i can't find the right line for hers.

 

[Venustus]

it is what i tried to do , but her old model refuses 3rd party/non-sony drivers (maybe they change this after for latest models); you have to modifiy some files inside the driver to allow the installation ; but i can't find the right line for hers.

Try here:
http://www.komeil.com/blog/nvidia-driver-windows-7-laptop-modded-inf

Let me know if this helps

 

[Deleted member 178]

what i did without success; cant find the right INF file; will check again when i will have her laptop in my hands

 

[Venustus]

What operating system and architechture is she running?

 

[Deleted member 178]

Win7 x64; i even tried to modify myself the INF file but it failed to load

 

[Venustus]

Win7 x64; i even tried to modify myself the INF file but it failed to load

Try:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=377158
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/553738-how-modify-nvidia-drivers-vaio-12.html

Let me know how you go?