Sony limits XP Mode to high-end VAIO notebooks
updated 10:40 am EDT, Mon August 10, 2009
Sony XP Mode out of Vaios
Sony will not enable Intel's Virtual Technology (VT) on its VAIO series of notebooks in Windows 7, as promised earlier, according to a recent report. Information given to the Register says this includes the $1,719 Z-series along with 10 other VAIO PC model that wont support the XP Mode, which allows users to run older applications that wouldn't otherwise run in Windows 7. The new operating system is due for an October 22nd release and Sony has promised a free upgrade to the OS once it ships.
The discoveries came after learning that many current VAIOs don't support the VT feature needed to use the feature despite many of them using a Core 2 Duo processor that normally allows virtualization in hardware. Sony is said to have blocked the feature purposely, with a senior manager for product marketing stating that this is due to little user requests for the functionality and a concern that enabling XP Mode would expose the notebooks to "malicious code."
The disgruntled clients are threatening class-action lawsuits against Sony, with others demanding refunds after the news. They argue Sony should have made it clear it has not made all inherent Core 2 Duo features available to its clients.
After this backlash, Sony has said it would make VT available on some of its notebooks, though it is not yet known whether all but the Z-series will get or just some of the selected high-end systems.
