Sony is to STOP producing Memory Sticks!

[camcorderman]

Hello, I work at Best Buy in Toronto, Canada and a customer purchased a Sony digital camera from me, and we got to talking about memory sticks, and he said he works very closely with Sony and they have been ordered to shut down their memory stick factories. This is because the solution they use to create the circuit boards for the MS is toxic and just been recently banned for commercial use. Sony does not have the money to redo all their factories. They are producing as many memory sticks as possible to have stock for a couple of years, but after that they will have to switch over to a new type of media, or adobt an exsiting one, like SD or XD (my preferance would be SD) Remember, I heard this from someone, so I'm not spreading lies, but I thought I'd let everyone know. As anyone else heard of this?

James

[ClieKun]

Originally posted by camcorderman
Hello, I work at Best Buy in Toronto, Canada and a customer purchased a Sony digital camera from me, and we got to talking about memory sticks, and he said he works very closely with Sony and they have been ordered to shut down their memory stick factories. This is because the solution they use to create the circuit boards for the MS is toxic and just been recently banned for commercial use. Sony does not have the money to redo all their factories. They are producing as many memory sticks as possible to have stock for a couple of years, but after that they will have to switch over to a new type of media, or adobt an exsiting one, like SD or XD (my preferance would be SD) Remember, I heard this from someone, so I'm not spreading lies, but I thought I'd let everyone know. As anyone else heard of this?

James
I love the SD system a alot more. I really don`t think sony will lose it market share in the removable memory card market that way. Since the are producing the PRO stick. What they might do is move production to China "YUCK" instead of Japan. Since the SD is the most used these days . The Idea of them switching to SD is a thought.

[Fez]

Ever stop to think that guy is a moron? I work with VALVe and Half-Life 2 is coming out tommrow! Also, Bill Gates dosent have alot of money! I know because I work closely with Microsoft! Oh, last time I checked MS use the same material as a PC's circut board, and you dont see them banning computers do you?

(Note to Mods: I was just making a point, not attaking anyone.)

[ClieKun]

ok whatever............

[camcorderman]

hey Fez, settle down there. Don't start screaming. I'm just posting what I heard, I'm not trying to cause trouble. If you don't like it, don't harrass other members by making them look like idiots

P.S. - I could do without the sarcasem.

[mike p]

i rather sd

[ClieKun]

cam, I understand what your trying to say. Thank you for the info.
Fez it sure did seems like you did.................

[camcorderman]

Hey, thanks ClieKun, I appreicate that

[ClieKun]

I did undertand what you said, what is strange is sony just produced the pro stick system. Since sony relies on the stick for many of its devices. Its hard for some to believe they will stop production, then restart with a newer one...........well maybe movong the plants to china for producing cheaper sticks YUCK!

[Fez]

Sorry, it just seems a little strange that they would stop their production of MS. Too many products rely on MS for storage. If they stopped, MS readers, Sony digital cameras, and everything that uses Memory Sticks would become obsolete. It's too big of a market for them to just stop. They would just find a new material for this so called "toxic" stuff there using now.

[PBM808]

In technology these days, things phase out. the current supply of existing memory sticks would allow a sufficient time window for people to switch over to the other formats. considering sony has already worked with CF slots, they wouldn't have much trouble using CF as the standard, although i like SD because of the size. "toxic material" however doesn't seem like a good cause. memory sticks are completely sealed. stores still sell gallons and gallons of "toxic" bleach every single day.

[mike p]

i play wit haz mats everyday

[camcorderman]

Uh....how is that relevant to the thread?

[ClieKun]

MS -----------memory sticks
MG ----------magic gate memory sticks
Pro --------- Pro memory sticks
Three lines of sticks

What your forgetitng fez is s(ome) readers old ones are not workable with xp and will cause sticks not to work. So sony it some ways are noloner supporting MG readers that where produced 11/2 years ago.

[ClieKun]

Everthing is toxic these days! Plastics wires coating etc! California and their stupid over protective looney toon envoriment nut cases.

[ClieKun]

I think what mike refers to is nitro fuel.........cam

[mike p]

nuttin i guess

[mike p]

yea cliekun,

[tprime76]

Sony is not going to abandon the Memory Stick market. Now, they may decide to license production to a 3rd party now that the cost of flash memory is dropping and so is the profit margin. As far as the toxic thing goes, while I might not agree with the way Fez stated it, he is correct. I have heard a lot of things in the past from people "in the know" that have been way off or total fallacies. Based upon Sony's track record, I think that the chance of them going to SD falls into the "no chance in hell." Sony, conforming to a given standard?? No, they would just develop a new proprietary format.. Maybe something smaller called the Memory Stick Duo..... :-)

I am sure that over a period of time, the original blue memory sticks will be phased out in favor of smaller Memory Sticks. Why, for the same reason that very little is coming out with CF support. Everything is going smaller.

[ClieKun]

I thnk the full size sticks will not be stopped, and the Duo only being around. What they might do is have both full and half size in their lines. Panasonic/ Toshiba has no reason to stop their full size SD.

[ClieKun]

The stick MS etc has been in the dev level for many years. Sizes will get smaller thats for sure. But since sony relies on the sticks ms mg pro for so many device theri own and other companies devices. It safe to say sony will not stop totally. But instead move their production to china "YUCK" again.

[mike p]

yea, thats tru

[yOyOYoo]

memory sticks probably will stop being produced and will be replaced by Memory stick Duos.

what better way for sony to make a bunch of money

[ClieKun]

Originally posted by yOyOYoo
memory sticks probably will stop being produced and will be replaced by Memory stick Duos.

what better way for sony to make a bunch of money


I don`t think so, maybe in 5 or more years. But if you know any background about the MS system sony been planned the DUo many years earlier. The larger stick will be stopped some time. Sony has way too many users on their full size to stop now. 5 year or more is a better quess.

[yOyOYoo]

good point, but I still think the full sized sticks are going to be discontinuted soon...

Sure sony has many users on it's full sized memory sticks, but thats what the adapters on for the MS Duos are for.

[ClieKun]

Originally posted by yOyOYoo
good point, but I still think the full sized sticks are going to be discontinuted soon...

Sure sony has many users on it's full sized memory sticks, but thats what the adapters on for the MS Duos are for.

I see your point, but smaller is not better in this case. Duo adapters yes i understand. But thinking smaller is for all devices does not apply this issue.

[ClieKun]

Some people think smaller devices are better. But remeber? before a device can be fully user friendly. size needs to full before it reduced.

[PBM808]

All trends are going for nanotechnologies and soon memory cards will be the size of a button battery, with a good majority of the material and casing being there merely for the easy of handling because our fingers are not getting any smaller.

[Marre]

As for the toxicity, the sticks themselves are probably not very toxic, but certain nations (such as the EU who are very keen about this) can ban a certain product based on how it is produced. For example, they can ban Tuna imports if the device used to catch them also catches sea turtles. (:-/)

Recently, the EU has banned all electronic devices that use Lead in the circuit board (imagine that). Japan was one of the biggest-hit country by the policy and they fought for some time.

Just so you know that these kinds of things are not really impossible to conceive. International trade is a fuzzy thing to be studying about.

[lostether]

You know, that would be an interesting rumor to start if, lets say, you had a personal or corporate agenda that involved Sony losing market share. As we see all the time in people's personal lives it is the accusation people remember, not whether they were found innocent or guilty. So I'm thinking HUGE conspiracy here. Is camcorderman an unwitting accomplice or the instigator of a plot to destroy Sony and steal their market share???

[hogs]

I do not hink that MS will be stopped. I guess the concern is more related to the manufacturing method. By the end of 2006, all electronic goods produced have to be "lead free".
Perhaps Sony will not manufacture those MS by himself, but at third part manufacturer for costs reasons. Upgrading aplant to this process might be expensive...

Remember that ALL electronic goods are concerned including cameras, computers ... and our Clié ! .

[ClieKun]

nobody is really taking this serious, so only time will ell. But not for some years to come.

[s_n_m]

Originally posted by hogs
Perhaps Sony will not manufacture those MS by himself, but at third part manufacturer for costs reasons.

Sony is a dude??? :confused:

[tprime76]

Sony is a big dude... The electronics pimp......

[DaveTN]

Personally, I find this rumor pretty hard to believe. However, if Sony stops producing them there is still Lexar and Sandisk.

David

[Tixx]

Originally posted by hogs
I do not hink that MS will be stopped. I guess the concern is more related to the manufacturing method. By the end of 2006, all electronic goods produced have to be "lead free".
Perhaps Sony will not manufacture those MS by himself, but at third part manufacturer for costs reasons. Upgrading aplant to this process might be expensive...

Remember that ALL electronic goods are concerned including cameras, computers ... and our Clié ! .

I glanced throught the thread quickly to make sure nobody has already voiced my sentiments, but you have.:) I believe the same:)

[dannn]

i think lexar and sandisk make the OEM memorysticks i may be wrong so dont flame.

also i think if they did decide to stop MS production the DUO would be used instead and for the devices taht are not DUO compatible you can use the adapter. seems sensible to me

[Flash-57]

> California and their stupid over protective looney toon
> envoriment nut cases.

Yup. And when I see an episode of 60 Minutes where states complain about waste from a billion pigs in their state, I can see the looney Californians saying, "Heh. We passed a law against that 15 years ago while you guys welcomed pig farming and the destruction of your land."

Who's the real looney?

[camcorderman]

Originally posted by DaveTN
Personally, I find this rumor pretty hard to believe. However, if Sony stops producing them there is still Lexar and Sandisk.

David

Actually, Lexar, ScanDisk, and Sony Memory sticks are all produced by Samsung. If you look at any of the memory stick circut boards (easiest on Lexar, since they're see-through), you will see the Samsung name several times on the ciruit board. When I mentioned about them being Toxic, the coating they put over the memory stick circuit boards is harmful to the enviroment. If this was true, I don't think Sony would have the money to redesign their factories, so they would probably produce alot of memory sticks, at least enough for the next few years, but again, this is just a rumor.

[camcorderman]

Originally posted by lostether
You know, that would be an interesting rumor to start if, lets say, you had a personal or corporate agenda that involved Sony losing market share. As we see all the time in people's personal lives it is the accusation people remember, not whether they were found innocent or guilty. So I'm thinking HUGE conspiracy here. Is camcorderman an unwitting accomplice or the instigator of a plot to destroy Sony and steal their market share???


And yes, I want to bring Sony down, its all a big conspiracy, like the x-files. Although it is strange that 90% of my electronics are Sony.

[DaveTN]

The coating, or more properly the etching is cyanide. It is used on most all circuit boards and is pretty well contained during the manufacturing process and washed off the boards before they are sent out. If what you say is the case, then all electronics will have to be banned. Oh, and dont forget about the lead in the solder too.

Just because you see "samsung" on the chip does not mean that samsung made the entire memstick. Samsung is a manufacturer of memory chips but not the memorysticks. And if Samsung did make the memory sticks as you claim, then why is it you say that Sony can't afford to retool. Check your sources before you post a rumor. Just because one person "who is close to Sony" tells you something doesn't necessarily make it true. Look at "Napoli" who frequently posted here until he was banned. He calimed to be a "Senior Sony Analyst"...LOL.

David

[Tixx]

Originally posted by Flash-57
> California and their stupid over protective looney toon
> envoriment nut cases.

Yup. And when I see an episode of 60 Minutes where states complain about waste from a billion pigs in their state, I can see the looney Californians saying, "Heh. We passed a law against that 15 years ago while you guys welcomed pig farming and the destruction of your land."

Who's the real looney?

*LOL*:D Licking too much lead paint as a child made him say that:D

[camcorderman]

Samsung and Sony have partnered together and samsung manufacturs some of sony's memory sticks, that why samsung uses memory sticks in their products as well. As well, DaveTN, you dont have to so pushy. What is a Rumor? If I had completely true facts, if I knew for sure that Sony was stopping production of Memory sticks, then I wouldn't call it a rumor. I don't work for Sony, I'm not here to stir up trouble, I'm just posting what I heard, it involves Sony, which is what this site is based upon, so don't go telling my to check my sources. I thought it was a big thing so I posted it, there's no harm in it.

[ClieKun]

Back to the issue.........Cam it does seem that sony might be moving its stick production out of Japan all together. But then again what Japanese company has not resently.


I am not here to talk about goverment issues, like some are. I am just intersted in what happening in the sony palm world.

[Asc3nd]

If they do rid themselves of the fullsize MS then you have to remember that the Duo's can use an adapter to be fullsize. Even if they stop production all together. They can still make money by licencing the production to Lexar or Sandisk. Sony has alays been driven by margin and profit. It might save them more money to just design and have others produce the MS.

[ClieKun]

Sony is if not the leader in out-sourcing parts for for their end products then any other company in the world. Open up your computer and take a look at the parts inside logictech etc....... its no wonder there are so many incompatibility problems with sony`s beta products!

[jackson]

Just to be on the safe side ... so as not to be in the embarassing position of using an outdated product: You could sell me all of your 128 MB Memory Sticks for $5 each, so I could use them in my OLD NR70V.

That would be the best ;)

Jackson

[Spikesdacoolest]

Originally posted by jackson
Just to be on the safe side ... so as not to be in the embarassing position of using an outdated product: You could sell me all of your 128 MB Memory Sticks for $5 each, so I could use them in my OLD NR70V.

That would be the best ;)

Jackson

Me too...if Sony was ordered to stop shipping their MS tomarrow I would be on their doorstep going "you could give me some 512Mb ones if you want them off of your hands :D"

Anyways...If it is toxic than they'll just tweek the substances they use so that it's not toxic anymore...that'd be what I would do if I was president of Sony.

[PBM808]

everything around you is carcinogenic . . . .beware

[camcorderman]

Yeah, thats right, I guess if it is a toxic substance they use, they just switch to another substance, probably save them lots of money, but we'll see what happens

[harryleung]

i don't think that news is true.....

[ClieKun]

Originally posted by camcorderman
Yeah, thats right, I guess if it is a toxic substance they use, they just switch to another substance, probably save them lots of money, but we'll see what happens
This issue must be one of the craziest i heard in a long time :)
Toxic hum?????????I handle them right? I don`t suck on the like candy or pick my nose so how it the world can they be. It its toxic to produce, its more then likely they are toxic to handle too.
have a good one....
ClieKun

[BMEngineer]

I don think sony will stop producing MS

[Spikesdacoolest]

Originally posted by ClieKun

This issue must be one of the craziest i heard in a long time :)
Toxic hum?????????I handle them right? I don`t suck on the like candy or pick my nose so how it the world can they be. It its toxic to produce, its more then likely they are toxic to handle too.
have a good one....
ClieKun
Not to flame you or anything ClieKun but that post wasn't even legibal lol you need to go to bed and edit that in the morning lol

[ClieKun]

Originally posted by ClieKun

This issue must be one of the craziest i heard in a long time :)
Toxic hum?????????I handle them right? I don`t suck on the like candy or pick my nose so how it the world can they be. It its toxic to produce, its more then likely they are toxic to handle too.
have a good one....
ClieKun


Ok,

Having seen this issue post here, I have come to the conclusion that the toxic issue is plain bull. If it is toxic to produce, then the handling of them is also toxic for us. dangerous? No........ As long as you don`t put them in your mouth. which only crazy people do
better :)

[Spikesdacoolest]

Originally posted by ClieKun



Ok,

Having seen this issue post here, I have come to the conclusion that the toxic issue is plain bull. If it is toxic to produce, then the handling of them is also toxic for us. dangerous? No........ As long as you don`t put them in your mouth. which only crazy people do
better :)
I think that he deserves a round of applause for actually translating that lol XD very nice ClieKun

[ClieKun]

its not easy being cute :D

[robrecht]

Internet's broken today. 

SONY dude broke it.

Everybody go home ... or go to work maybe.

[Unregistered]

There is nothing to worry about. By the time one jump from violet stick to Gold stick, whatever, Sony will definitely offer a "silver coated" driver so that their all Sony device will be 100% compatible with the new STATE OF THE ART 180x1e-to-the9 byte environment friendly MS STICK in your ***.

[ClieKun]

another worthless unreg comment..................

[Tixx]

Originally posted by Spikesdacoolest

I think that he deserves a round of applause for actually translating that lol XD very nice ClieKun

*LOL*:D

[DaveTN]

Welcome back tixx, we missed you. there you be.

:D

David

[Tixx]

Originally posted by ClieKun



Ok,

Having seen this issue post here, I have come to the conclusion that the toxic issue is plain bull. If it is toxic to produce, then the handling of them is also toxic for us. dangerous? No........ As long as you don`t put them in your mouth. which only crazy people do
better :)

Sorry man. but you need some education on this. I cannot find the regulations at the moment, but they are at least for future European markets. Yes, producing them is toxic and there is a toxic factor to handling them, but the major component of that is when you toss them out and they go into a landfill (those chemicals and metals then leach out), into your ground water, into your lakes and stream, into your fish and cattle and pigs and vegetables... We live in an interdependent ecosystem and you should have learned about food chains or the web of life when you were young. Then you have a child with a deformity or learning disability or early onset of certain diseases... Very intricate stuff here and to just illogically toss it out the window sans thought as you have is dangerous as we have seen countless times with our lack of caution and why we need these regulations to protect us from our own ignorance;)

[Tixx]

Originally posted by DaveTN
Welcome back tixx, we missed you. there you be.

:D

David

Hola!:D

[DaveTN]

Originally posted by Tixx


Sorry man. but you need some education on this. I cannot find the regulations at the moment, but they are at least for future European markets. Yes, producing them is toxic and there is a toxic factor to handling them, but the major component of that is when you toss them out and they go into a landfill (those chemicals and metals then leach out), into your ground water, into your lakes and stream, into your fish and cattle and pigs and vegetables... We live in an interdependent ecosystem and you should have learned about food chains or the web of life when you were young. Then you have a child with a deformity or learning disability or early onset of certain diseases... Very intricate stuff here and to just illogically toss it out the window sans thought as you have is dangerous as we have seen countless times with our lack of caution and why we need these regulations to protect us from our own ignorance;)

Well said. :)

David

[Kaitou]

Ah, clarify something for me please here...
If they are toxic to dispose of, then what sense does it make to say that they can't MANUFACTURE, but they can KEEP DISTRIBUTING?
Explain that to me please.. And memory sticks are manufactured in more then one country, as I recall. What organization can tell Sony "You can't make them anywhere anymore, but you can sell whatever you have or manage to make by the deadline"?

[DaveTN]

It is not that they use toxic chemicals to dispose of them. They use toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process. Also, many circuit boards and chips contain chemicals that are not friendly to the environment. When sealed in plastic cases like the memory sticks are, they are relatively safe. But, when thrown out, like tens of thousands of electronic components are daily, the materials are dangerous to the environment. Lead is one of the main substances, tin, zinc, lithium, cyanide and arsenic are all present in some form or another in the circuit boards, the manufacturing process or both.
So, when we throw things like that out, it ends up in the water supply, food, environment, etc. It is a good idea for everyone to try to locate and utilize an electronics recycler for properly disposing of your used electronics and computer parts rather than throwing it out when it is no longer used. :)

David

[Tixx]

Originally posted by Kaitou
Ah, clarify something for me please here...
If they are toxic to dispose of, then what sense does it make to say that they can't MANUFACTURE, but they can KEEP DISTRIBUTING?
Explain that to me please.. And memory sticks are manufactured in more then one country, as I recall. What organization can tell Sony "You can't make them anywhere anymore, but you can sell whatever you have or manage to make by the deadline"?

That is simply the way it works. The chemicals or whatever are being phased out in 2006 or something like that which allows them to distribute until that date. These kind of agreements happen all the time. The pesticide Dursban is the same way at least here in the US.

They are not saying that so it is moot. I will explain to you though. What it looks like here is Sony does not want to invest in manufacturing the new type of chip to meet EU or whatever regulations, thus it will outsource to those that will continue manufacturing and are willing to meet those future regulations. Just business sense here. Distribution of the old technology to those countries following those regulations will be terminated at a certain future date.

[ClieKun]

Originally posted by Tixx


Sorry man. but you need some education on this. I cannot find the regulations at the moment, but they are at least for future European markets. Yes, producing them is toxic and there is a toxic factor to handling them, but the major component of that is when you toss them out and they go into a landfill (those chemicals and metals then leach out), into your ground water, into your lakes and stream, into your fish and cattle and pigs and vegetables... We live in an interdependent ecosystem and you should have learned about food chains or the web of life when you were young. Then you have a child with a deformity or learning disability or early onset of certain diseases... Very intricate stuff here and to just illogically toss it out the window sans thought as you have is dangerous as we have seen countless times with our lack of caution and why we need these regulations to protect us from our own ignorance;)

Well all are experts when posting on the INTERNET net right?

You look at the way you like, debating this is crazy and a waste of my time.

I do have a back ground about how products and its effects the environment ......
Believe what you want.......... This is not a radio talk show. This the last I going to reply to this thread.

[Tixx]

Originally posted by ClieKun


Well all are experts when posting on the INTERNET net right?

You look at the way you like, debating this is crazy and a waste of my time.

I do have a back ground about how products and its effects the environment ......
Believe what you want.......... This is not a radio talk show. This the last I going to reply to this thread.

So I took you to school and you refuse to learn. *LOL*:D Good luck in your supposed, and yet to be even validated in conversation, background. You would have known these things had that been your background;) And not have posted something like the below quote

"Originally posted by ClieKun
Ok,
Having seen this issue post here, I have come to the conclusion that the toxic issue is plain bull. If it is toxic to produce, then the handling of them is also toxic for us. dangerous? No........ As long as you don`t put them in your mouth. which only crazy people do
better :)"


I'm not debating like I guess you were. I was just educating:) Though you find education a waste of your time, I hope others do not share your sentiment.

[ankh]

You explained that well enough. Anyone who wants to understand how the world works will be able to come back, read, and think about it.

[riversen]

I have only read parts of these posts, so I apologize in advance if this has already been discussed. ScanDisk is in fact producing Sony's MS's now. If anyone has been keeping up with the manufacturing sector of Sony's MS's, they will have read how Sony is outsourcing their production of their MS's. I work in the fab manufacturing industry and there are certain processes that are more dangerous (use of cyanide or arsenic) than others, but MS's are not one of these top "offenders" or whatever anyone wants to call them. If you look at the new MS's with the Sony label and the ones with the ScanDisk label, you will not only notice the striking similarity, but the similarity of lot #'s (a number used to control a group of products made at the same time, so their manufacturing process can be back tracked if there are possible issues). I just thought that I would interject this, if it has not already been done. Have a great day.

[Juggster]

hi, jut been reading this tread, and all i can say is this is all nonsense! Sony will not stop producing the memory stick, think about it, if they were gonna stop the memory stick format, why are they still developing new sizes of memory stick? Also can you imagine what a bad reputation they will get if they just drop the production of the memory stick, all their products rely on this format! besides, even if there was a problem with toxic materials, sony would be able to afford to change the machinery that assembles them, it would result in much less of a loss then dropping the format.

My familly own a company which is a importer, distributer and service center for sony, and this is the first time i heard that MS was being dropped, so a doubt it, there are alot of rumors going around out there, and you can't belive them.

[PBM808]

These laws are enacted in Europe. If it is true, they'll just expand their plants in asia. no biggie.

[Tixx]

Originally posted by PBM808
These laws are enacted in Europe. If it is true, they'll just expand their plants in asia. no biggie.

You are not understanding the ban. Europe will not use circuit boards containing certain material. Doesn't matter where they are made.:)

[riversen]

Tixx,

You are so right. At my company we are developing what we call Green Packages that will comply with European standards. I know that ScanDisk will be able to do the same as Sony's outsourced MS manufacturer. It is not an issue to do so. It does, however, cost more to comply.

[orol]

Originally posted by riversen
Tixx,

You are so right. At my company we are developing what we call Green Packages that will comply with European standards. I know that ScanDisk will be able to do the same as Sony's outsourced MS manufacturer. It is not an issue to do so. It does, however, cost more to comply.

well at least we are not destroying the enviroment. US doesn't even comply the old kyoto protocol.