Sony drops $50 fee for "junkware"-free laptops

It's bad enough to buy a system that comes crammed with pre-installed software you never asked for. But then Sony went one step further, trying to gouge customers another $50 for bloatware-free Vaios. Needless to say, the move didn't go over too well.

Ars Technica reports that red-faced Sony execs have already dumped the $50 fee for "Fresh Start," a new option for high-end TZ-series Vaio laptops (for now, at least) that delivers your system minus all the extraneous trial software, applets, pre-installed media players, ISP programs, and other garbage.

That said, you'll have to order Windows Vista Business Edition pre-installed on your Vaio to get the "Fresh Start" option.

The debacle highlights the truly insidious problem of junkware (a.k.a. "bloatware"), which can cause a serious performance hit on your otherwise-new PC.

PC World estimates that systems can see performance boosts of up to 8 percent once they're scrubbed clean of junkware. (Check out 19 tools that'll help wipe out all the garbage.)

Why do PC makers load up new systems with all the bloat? More money. Computer manufacturers stand to make upwards of $20 to $60 a system from all the junkware, thanks to third parties who pay to get their apps pre-installed on new PCs and laptops.

Sony may have rationalized its $50 "Fresh Start" charge as a fair trade for, say, the $50 junkware "subsidy" it was getting from developers.

Of course, that's assuming the junkware revenue was being passed along (in its entirety) to consumers.

Riiiiiight.

Related:
Sony realizes $50 crapware removal fee is, well, total crap [Ars Technica]
19 Tools to Get the Junk Off Your PC [PC World]