Hi BS.
You'll be looking for statistics on this question so I'll start the ball rolling by saying that my little sub-notebook seems OK so far after 18 months. It
is in for repair at the moment because the camera mounted in the lid/screen came lose so I thought I'd get it fixed while it was still in extended warranty from the store (2 years).
Sounds like a rumour, so I wouldn't reject Sony on those grounds alone.
What displeases me is that there is quite a bit of Sony Customised software pre-installed. (Digital Video stuff.) If I want to upgrade from Windows ME to Windows 2000 I won't be able to re-install the Sony specific stuff from the Sony Restore disks.
Unless, that is, I get some good advice from some of the Gurus here on how to create my own Registry entries.
I could just copy the files from the old set-up, but the Applications won't work unless they are "Registered" properly.
It's a great piece of kit, but I'd think very carefully about buying another Sony PC even though I'm a Sony fan.