OT a bit: Sony VAIO

[Chris Hogg]

Some while ago I bought a Sony laptop to act as a backup to my PC, after the latter was temporarily put out of action by a thunderstorm. I don't use the laptop much; it uses Windows 7, which I'm not familiar with, and I prefer my PC running XP. The laptop has this VAIO programme installed which does some sort of housekeeping and generally keeping an eye on things, I believe. Is VAIO really of any use, or is it just bloatware? Would I notice its absence it if I removed it?

[therustyone]

Dunno abt Win7, but I find it's best to avoid Sony driver updates on my Vis ta Viao as they can stop things working. Also I've had to rebuild all the software numerous times from a backup DVD (well worth generating) when syst em restore doesn't fix problems. Apart from that it's as good as new and the battery still lasts > 1 hour af ter 5 years of regular usage.

rusty

[Old Codger]

I have had a Sony Vaio, with Windows 7 for some time. Not had any problems although it does complain that the battery is failing (always used on the mains).

I suspect you could remove that program without harm but you might have to do a bit more "housekeeping" yourself.

[Steve Firth]

I feel very sorry for you. The VAIO range is dismal and Sony is the Emperor of Bloat. I know because I owned one. It broke. A friend at work laughed at me and bought a VAIO it broke. While not broken both spent most of their time doing stuff other than what they were bought for.

If you can wipe the bloody thing and install a vanilla operating system do so. If you can sell it to a mug and buy a decent laptop do that.

[Dis Manibus]

Reinstalled one at work a few years ago. AFAICT, it mostly looked for hotkey combinations (adjust brightness, sound, that sort of thing), and communicated the changes to the hardware.

[Old Codger]

Bit surprised at that Steve. I have had mine for some time, probably around 2.5 years, and had no problems so far. Wife uses it most days.

[Gib Bogle]

It's a crap-shoot, whatever you buy. I've heard bad stories about many makes, while others say they've had no problem. Laptops seem particularly unreliable, for obvious reasons I suppose.

[Frank Erskine]

It sounds suspiciously like "HP Support Assistant" which came with this laptop (also using Win 7), which I found to be a PITA on booting. I simply removed it recently and the machine is much easier to use. In fact I'm using the laptop more and more for everyday use. I'm sure that, as you say, it's all a load of bloatware designed to give the machine a bit of "exclusivity", a bit like "Packard Bell" did a few years ago (they may still do). I do really think that any "front-end" which sports the name of the machine manufacturer is extraneous

Like you, I still use XP on the (two) desktop(s), and still have to use it to access a particular (very slow-loading) blogspot site.

[Steve Firth]

The screen hinge broke on mine (a known weakness on that midel) but Sony wouldn't fix it because it was a week out of warranty. My friends VAIO has bizarre disk related problems. Sony have replaced four so far.

Each time they take it for repair he ends up frothing at the mouth because Sony tech support are terminally clueless.

[RJH]

Except Macs? Not the obvious wind-up, just anecdote.

Loosely related, I have 3 desktop Macs, 2, 4 and 7 years old. Not a single hardware failure, each used daily.

Rob

[Dis Manibus]

Missus has an A1181, and I've had to fix/replace a few things in it. Last year, the fixed disk packed in (just made a strange ticking noise when you powered up). If it had happened a bit sooner, we could have had it replaced for free, because it was from a known bad batch. Currently, the magsafe connector has a couple of pins that don't spring out at all. You have to wedge something against it to get it to charge. When we can afford it, we'll have to replace the power supply.

On the positive side, it is the only thing in the house that does x64 virtual machine emulation.

[Chris Bartram]

I'll agree with Steve on this. Expensive, showy, but not very good and crippled with bloatware. They're much better if you do as Steve suggests and load the OS from scratch, including only the drivers from Sony, not all the Vaio bloatware tools. Sony have really lost their way as a company.

[Scott M]

Sony products have been the worst purchases for years, whether laptops or anything else. I point and laugh at anyone who suggests they're going to buy, or have bought, Sony consumer[1] kit.

Scott

[1] Dunno if the pro kit's gone the same way.

[Chris Hogg]

Many thanks for the comments, even if they are rather negative. I've uninstalled all of the Vaio stuff and the computer still seems to work, so I'll see how I get on without it.

[Gib Bogle]

Macs are no different. Everybody has their own story, and among them there are failures.

[Gib Bogle]

I've heard the same said of other brands.

[Gib Bogle]

I did that with my HP laptop. These manufacturers obviously think they are "adding value", but to me they are just adding a PITA.

[The Natural Philosopher]

"brand differentiation"

then you are not their target market.

I have to say that for me who used to always buy Sony in the 90s, now it seems to always be Samsung.

Maybe not the best, but solid kit at sane prices.

[Old Codger]

I had better keep my fingers crossed then. :-)

That I can agree with.

Many months after I had purchased the Vaio I used it (remember my wife is the usual user) and noticed the battery state was 50% not charging. Couldn't see any obvious reason so e-mailed Sony tech support. The response contained no clue as to the problem but there was a lot of waffle about the battery not being covered by the warranty. After more head scratching I remembered reading somewhere how to make the battery last (life) by setting the machine to only charge to 50%. I e-mailed Sony and their response was to say how pleased they were to have solved my problem.

[Old Codger]

I will bear that in mind should I be tempted to buy anything else. I will some time have a look at the bloatware but, so far, even that has not caused a problem.