Jitway Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Sony is offering to remove some of the trial software it crams onto the hard disks of new laptops -- for a fee. Buyers of the configure-to-order versions of its Vaio TZ2000 and Vaio TZ2500 laptops can opt to have Sony remove the some of its own applications, in addition to trial software and games. The "Fresh Start" option, billed as a software optimization, costs $49.99, and is only available to customers choosing to pay an additional $100 to upgrade the operating system to Windows Vista Business from the Windows Vista Home Premium edition offered as standard. PC manufacturers are often paid by software publishers to include such trial versions on the computers they ship. Bloatware, as it is often called, poses problems for businesses because it reduces system performance and available hard disk space, makes it harder to maintain a consistent software image across PCs from different sources and may introduce additional security vulnerabilities or -- in the case of games -- unwanted distractions for workers. Dell was one of the first PC manufacturers to offer to remove bloatware. Last July it introduced Vostro , a range of PCs for small businesses designed to be simpler to manage. Everex followed suit a week later, saying it would eliminate bloatware from a $300 desktop machine for consumers. Customers opting for Sony's Fresh Start will miss out on software including Microsoft Works SE 9.0 bundled with a 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office, Sony's Vaio Creation Suite Photo Software bundled with a 30-day trial version of Corel Paint Shop Pro; the Click to Disc video editor; WinDVD, and a free edition of QuickBooks Simple Start that can only track 20 customers. Sony justifies the $49.99 fee by saying it covers removal of the unwanted software before shipment -- although selecting the option appears to have no consequences on the estimated shipping date. Although Sony has other laptops with configure-to-order options, including the FZ, SZ, AR, and CR ranges, none of those are available with Fresh Start. WTF when will they ever learn. If I wanted this crap I would ask for it and pay for it. But if I want you to remove what you already installed (that I never wanted in the first place) you are going to charge me to do it. Ya right another stupid move by Sony. Source HERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucandrake Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Lol I'll laugh at anyone who pays that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exp44 Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Fortunately, Sony has dropped this charge, apparently they are actually going to do it for free now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iq_132 Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 lol, go into Circuit City, ask them how much they charge to remove sh*tware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybarite Paladin AxL Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 umm, is it just me or are they really trying to milk as much cash as they can out of people who don't know how to format a laptop or PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chibi Kami Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 Luckily I know enough about computers to build my own. Failing that, I'd still make a point of finding all the crapware and unembedding it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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