In the mail today - my class action settlement forms from Sony based on my unwilling installation of their XCP rootkit/spyware by purchasing and playing a Trey Anastasio CD on my computer WAY back in November of ‘05.

Yes, 126 days after my first complaint they’ve now offered me $7.50. If you’re curious, read on…

Pursuant to a class action settlement, you are now entitled to additional benefits for having exchanged your CD. The claim these benefits, all you need to do is fill out the attached form and select the benefits you would like to receive…There will be absolutely no cost to you in connection with claiming these additional benefits.

Essentially, you can choose:
A. $7.50 cash and one free album download
B. three free album downloads

Am I the only one confused about where Sony got this $7.50 refund amount? I paid $14.99 for the CD, so they must only be able to refund their profit, leaving the other $7.50 for the artist.

Anyway, enclosed is a sheet detailing the four resources you can choose from:
–Sony Connect
–FYE
–iTunes
–Wal-Mart

I was skimming through the form and quickly found three (3!) typos let alone multiple formatting errors - bullet widows, weird indents and centering. It’s truly amazing the folks at Sony continue to put out shabby communications and products.

Oh, and I only use Firefox, so even if I wanted to willingly give Sony further business, they won’t get it through Sony Connect: We appreciate your interest in the Connect music store, but our store currently only works with Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. You don’t seem to be using that particular browser at the moment, so, unfortunately, we’ll have to part ways until we support the browser you’re currently using or you upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer. This company is headed for the graveyard.

Anyway, I’m going to spend some time checking out iTunes for my three free albums. I already have an account there, although I’m not overly impressed with their indie offerings. Any suggestions?