"3) I don't know how much autonomy and power has each branch of the Sony organization." Huge, see my post above. They are to all intents and purposes separate companies. This is even more true of those based outside of Japan ('cos the top-level parts of Sony common to all divisions conducts business in Japan, in Japanese obviously). Sony & M$ have had joint (Internet) development deals for last 6 years. M$'s anti-spyware product already flags as "OK", and by default does not remove, spyware from vendors who advertise with M$ - this includes a couple of the hardest to remove and the one which opens the "backdoor" to other spyware. (More sypware coming in makes M$'s anti-spyware tool look more valuable to "average Joe"?) Media, e.g. LA Times, CNN, Associated Press have corporate relationships with Sony.