The article is from 2008. Anyway I feel like the article makes many leaps which weaken its specific argument: > the direction that the Japanese electronics ind

The article is from 2008. Anyway I feel like the article makes many leaps which weaken its specific argument: > the direction that the Japanese electronics industry took makes perfect sense. Everything needed to be designed as stand-alone appliance. > By the year 2000, most of the technical difficulties facing computers in Japan in the 80s and 90s had been resolved, and home computers were becoming mainstream. Japanese consumers wanted PC connectivity from their appliances, and the iPod offered a well-designed, highly functional package. So Apple created the iPod, and Japanese electronics manufacturers were left to re-evaluate a new world where the home computer is the hub for digital media. For me, it's really about CD/Mini-disc vs Mp3. Before the Mp3, I remember my friend showed me the mini-disc and I was blown away by it. Crazy better than CD's in terms of size. But then Mp3's showed up, but I think specifically Napster, Limewire etc drove the crazy crazy adoption of Mp3's. Sony and other portable companies took notice and built Mp3 devices. Japan was slow to adopt the Mp3. Why was Japan slow to adopt the Mp3? I'm not sure, could be because of the lack of personal computer? Or was it the lack of rampant piracy? My feeling is music hardware was "good enough" for what the market wanted at the time. Eventually Mp3 became the standard and anyone slow to adopt it was forced to accept and switch over, like Japan. [EDIT] Quick search shows that Japan had rampant priacy issues, but simply avoided the Mp3: > But as of the beginning of 2004, Japanese record companies have largely avoided an online file-sharing epidemic.[0] Still not sure why the Mp3's adoption was slow in Japan. Could very well be the lack of personal computer. [0] https://anthropology.mit.edu/sites/default/files/documents/condry_Piracy.pdf https://anthropology.mit.edu/sites/default/files/documents/c...