Monday, 25 April 2011
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Futura(ma) 1964-65
Finally saw a copy of Futura's book at Melbourne' s State Library.
If anyone sees a cheapish copy for sale please let me know...
Norio Ohga, former Sony president, dies
The former president and chairman of Sony, Norio Ohga, who was credited with developing the compact disc, has died aged 81, the company has said.
Ohga, who led the company from 1982 to 1995, died of multiple organ failure in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.Sony's chairman, Sir Howard Stringer, said his predecessor's foresight and vision had transformed the company into a global entertainment leader.
Ohga was still a senior adviser to the company at the time of his death.
In 1953, Sony's co-founders recruited Ohga while he was still studying at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and hoping to pursue a career as an opera singer. They sensed his knowledge of sound and electrical engineering would benefit the firm.
He was an executive by his 30s - a rarity in a Japanese company - becoming the president of CBS Sony Records (now Sony Music Entertainment) in 1970s.
From the start, he recognised the potential of the compact disc, and personally drove Sony's initiatives to introduce the format.During the development of the CD, it was Ohga who pushed for a disc that was 12cm (4.8in) in diameter, because it provided sufficient capacity at 75 minutes to store all of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Sony sold the world's first CD in 1982 and CDs overtook LP record sales in Japan five years later. Ohga's specifications are still used today, and have shaped formats developed since, including MiniDisc and DVD.
In 1989, he oversaw the $3.4bn purchase of Hollywood studios Columbia Pictures, which was criticised as unwise and costly at the time.
Ohga also presided over the launch of Sony's game business, which went on to develop the successful "PlayStation" console.
"By redefining Sony as a company encompassing both hardware and software, Ohga-san succeeded where other Japanese companies failed," said Sony Chairman Howard Stringer, using the Japanese honorific.
"It is no exaggeration to attribute Sony's evolution beyond audio and video products into music, movies and game, and subsequent transformation into a global entertainment leader to Ohga-san's foresight and vision," he added.
Ohga stepped down as Sony's president in 1995 and continued to serve as chairman and representative director until 2000.
He was also the chairman of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
@'BBC'
Iain Sinclair: The Festival of Britain, 60 years on
@'The Guardian'
'US cannot change ME uprisings course'
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the United States cannot change the course of the popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.
Larijani said on Saturday that the popular uprisings have “turned a new page” and “will change the situation in the region,” IRNA reported. He stressed that the US and Israel's efforts to change the course of the uprisings would be ineffective.
“The recent events in the region are so deep that the Americans cannot change the situation. They should accept that the regional nations want democracy,” Larijani said.
The Iranian Parliament speaker stressed that Iran should continue its “duty” to defend the nations against what he called “a modern dictatorship.”
Larijani further called on international bodies to “remove their earplugs and hear the voice of the people.”
Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Bahrain, Yemen and Libya, have recently witnessed massive protests against their autocratic regimes.
The protests have been inspired by revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year which ended the long rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak respectively.
@'PressTV'
cshirky Clay Shirky
@ggreenwald Obama "resorts to brazen hypocrisy & factually confused claims to defend Manning's treatment" http://bit.ly/eMUvGU
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