Bundled software

Sony has been criticized for loading its VAIO laptops with bloatware, or ineffective and unrequested software that supposedly allows the user to immediately use the laptop for multimedia purposes. Dell had been accused of the same practice, but after strong customer feedback agreed to offer "limited" pre-installed software on its machines. Sony now offers a "Fresh start" option in some regions with some of their business models. With this option, the computer is shipped only with a basic install of Windows and very little of the trial software is installed. The default webcam software in VAIO notebooks is ArcSoft WebCam Companion. It offers a set of special effects called Magic-i visual effects, through which users can enhance the images and videos taken through the webcam. It also features the face detection feature. Certain other Sony proprietary software such as Click to Disc Editor, VAIO Music Box, VAIO Movie Story, VAIO Media Plus are also included in the recent models. Those shipped with ATI Radeon Video cards feature the Catalyst Control Centre, which enables the user to adjust the various video features such as brightness, contrast, resolution etc., and also enables connecting with an external display.