From Wired Magazine, that we cannot link to:
Responding to a tidal wave of outrage, Sony has reversed a plan to charge $50 to remove all the pre-installed applications — often derided as "bloatware" or "craplets" — from its high-end TZ-series notebooks.Earlier today, PC World reported that Sony would charge $50 for a configuration option called "Fresh Start," which would not include the bloatware. When contacted by Gadget Lab, a spokesperson for Sony said that the company will now remove that charge.
Cut and paste the following URL into the address bar of your browser so you can read the rest of the article without impermissably linking from FR... http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/03/sony-pay-an-ext.html
Perhaps the $50 was to offset the loss of revenue when they do this. Just a thought.