Why is hi-tech Japan using cassette tapes and faxes?
Why is hi-tech Japan using cassette tapes and faxes? 1. Japan has a reputation for being fascinated by robots and hi-tech gadgets - a nation at the forefront of manufacturing innovation. But the technological reality in many offices is strikingly different. This is a country that uses people to do the work of traffic lights and where big-name companies running 10-year-old software is the norm. 2. There are even tape cassettes for sale in the ubiquitous convenience stores for office use, along with fax machines - remember them? Even tech visionaries like Sony still use a fax. 3. "Japanese companies generally lag foreign companies by roughly five-to-10 years in adoption of modern IT practices, particularly those specific to the software industry," says Patrick McKenzie, boss of Starfighter, a software company with operations in Tokyo and Chicago. "The pace of development is glacial ." 4. It's a curiosity for any observer of a countr...