Archive for February 26th, 2008

Got word this morning that starting in the next few months, Sony’s going to be offering personal free of bloatware and trialware. Amen and thanks for listening. The amount of crud on a new Sony personal has gotten out of hand as of late and refreshingly, Sony’s listened and will begin offering the option to […]

bloatware

Got word this morning that starting in the next few months, Sony’s going to be offering computers free of bloatware and trialware. Amen and thanks for listening. The amount of crud on a new Sony computer has gotten out of hand as of late and refreshingly, Sony’s listened and will begin offering the option to have your rig shipped out clean. Details are sparse at this point but I’ll be talking to the guy who made the initial announcement and will try to get some more information out of him.

[UPDATE] Talked to Mike Abary, senior vice president of Sony’s Information Technology Products Division and he told me that the default first-time boot process will be much more streamlined, starting with Sony’s spring lineup. It’ll basically be a five-step process consisting of your wireless setup, security options, other software options, registration, and then a final overview.

The “other software options” will be where you’ll be able to select what trialware will ultimately end up on your machine. You can deselect everything at this stage.

For custom-built machines bought from SonyStyle.com, you have the option of removing any trialware offers from the disk image totally, so as to make that “other software options” section unneeded.

Finally, you’ll also have the option to have any computer you buy at a Sony retail store setup for you by a technician. The tech will ask you what you want and don’t want on your new machine and will then complete the initial boot stuff for you. The service will be called “image optimization.”

Abary stated that Sony decided to keep certain trialware products as options because they’ve seen trialware to full-version buys of up to 20% of Sony personal owners, depending on the software. I’d guess that it’d be Norton Antivirus or something similar. So Abary says that there are still some people who actually purchase the stuff, and it’s enough people that Sony’s opted to keep the trial stuff around.

Via [crunchgear]

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Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give a man a way to transmit music wirelessly through his home and you’ve got a locked in consumer. The S-AIR system works in two ways. It grants you to add rear satellite speakers to any 7.1 system or add a receiver anywhere in […]

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Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give a man a way to transmit music wirelessly through his home and you’ve got a locked in consumer. The S-AIR system works in two ways. It grants you to add rear satellite speakers to any 7.1 system or add a receiver anywhere in the home to play back audio streamed from the main receiver. Full release after the jump.

SONY INTRODUCES WIRELESS AUDIO SOLUTION FOR MULTI-ROOM LISTENING MADE EASY

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 26, 2008 – Sony this day unveiled four home theater systems featuring the new S-AIR™ technology, a wireless audio solution for multi-room listening.

By integrating S-AIR technology into its new home theater systems, the company will be delivering a practical wireless multi-room solution without complicated set-up requirements, such as IP addresses, WEP keys and pin codes. Wireless audio can be transmitted from the main system in the living room to multiple rooms throughout the home — up to 164 feet — simply by connecting a separate S-AIR Air Station receiver/speaker into a power outlet.

S-AIR technology also delivers audio wirelessly to rear surround speakers without interfering with other household devices.

“From playing music to broadcasting the huge game throughout the home, our home theater systems with S-AIR technology makes amusing simple and inexpensive,” stated Brennan Mullin, vice president for audio products for Sony Electronics’ Digital Imaging and Audio Division. “Multi-room audio systems typically are quite costly and need to be professionally installed. Now we have a easy, affordable substitute.”

The four BRAVIA® Theatre systems integrate a high-quality, five-disc DVD/CD player with upscaling to 1080p via HDMI™ when connected to a 1080p-capable HDTV set.

The systems featureSony’s Digital Media Port, which adds controlling, networking, and connectivity for music playback with various optional accessories. An included cradle for iPod players (TDM-iP10) connects to the Digital Media Port to wirelessly stream audio through the home using S-AIR Air Stations. Additional accessories include a Network Walkman™ player audio cradle, a Personal computer client device and a Bluetooth® adapter (each is sold separately).

Featuring Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (DCAC), the units offer easy multi-channel surround sound setup with the use of an included microphone to automatically adjusting speaker frequency, distance and level for an optimal home theater experience.

Finally, the home theater systems offer a Dialogue Audio Enhancer with night mode. This adjusts for low dialogue when the receiver volume is turned low. They also come with an updated Portable Audio Enhancer, which improves the clarity and depth of a connected music player by adding information to the audio signal that had been removed during compression.

The DAV-HDX576WF model includes one S-AIR Air Station receiver/speaker (AIR-SA10) and a wireless rear speaker kit (WAHT-SA10). The theater system offers height adjustable floor standing speakers designed to match the style and height of BRAVIA TVs. This model will be available in March for about $500.

The DAV-HDX277WC model includes one S-AIR Air Station receiver/speaker (AIR-SA10) with an option to add a rear wireless speaker kit (WAHT-SA10, sold separately), while the DAV-HDX279W model includes the rear wireless speaker kit (WAHT-SA10) with an option to add S-AIR Air Station receiver/speakers for multi-room audio. Both of these models will be available in March for about $400.

The DAV-HDX275 system is equipped with S-AIR-Ready technology with an option to add a rear wireless speaker kit (WHAT-SA10) and an S-AIR transmitter (EZW-T100) with S-AIR Air Stations (AIR-SA10). The model will also be available in March for about $300.

S-AIR Accessories

Adding rear wireless capabilities to compatible S-AIR Sony home theater systems, the WAHT-SA10 wireless speaker kit utilizes radio frequency (RF) to transmit audio wirelessly to rear speakers, eliminating hideous wires. An integrated headphone output allows you to conveniently enjoy home theater without disturbing others. The rear wireless speaker kit will be available in March for about $149

AIR-SA10 Air Station receiver/speakers can be purchased for use with compatible S-AIR Sony home theater systems — up to four units can be used with each theater system. The AIR-SA10 features eight watts (RMS) of power, with an alarm clock function and will be available in March for about $120.

The home theater systems will be available through sonystyle.com, at Sony Style retail stores, at military base exchanges and at authorized dealers nationwide.

Via [crunchgear]

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