Sony Timer

What if I said that Sony was secretly installing crap on your PC without you knowing when you inserted a Sony Music CD in your CD drive. And how about if I said that if you tried to uninstall the software from your PC, your drive becomes unusable. Worst still - there are also cloaked files scattered around your PC drive and if you try to remove them, your system is rendered unusable!
Well some people may think that Sony wouldn't do such a thing because it would be such a blow for the company to do so. Well I am only reporting what the press is saying...

Sony DRM Roundup
Sony sued over copy-protected CDs
New virus uses Sony BMG software
Is Sony Hacking your PC?

Now what if I said that Sony in Japan makes products so that they time out (cease to funciton) after the warranty has just finished or when a new line or model comes out for a particular product? The "timer" doesn't 'trigger' for all their products however as they somehow control the timing-out of these products based on their sales and inventory targets.
Well again, you would probably think that Sony wouldn't do such a thing as it would also be a blow for the company. This is not yet official and you can only read what people are saying about it in Japan - I'm only reporting on what they are saying...

Sony Timer

A search for "Sony Timer" (in Japanese) now brings up 285,000 results in Google.
Most Japanese people who are in the loop (especially in IT/Internet) should know about the Sony Timer - ask your Japanese friend about it.
BTW, the Sony Timer does not appear to be installed in their game machines - otherwise they wont make money from the software. The memory carts for PS2 do time out though - like my one did.