Sony to begin global "battery replacement" program

We're still scrounging for more info, but we've just been alerted to the fact that Sony, the mothership of all of these battery problems, is going to begin a global replacement program. As surely those of you who've been following along already know, Sony's batteries have been at the heart of this explosive saga that has already claimed IBM / Lenovo, Dell, Apple, Panasonic and Toshiba as victims. It appears, however, that because Sony makes the internal components to each of these batteries but not the actual computer-specific housing that finishes them, the company is putting the onus of recalling and replacing the bad batteries on OEMs "that choose to participate regarding the quantity and scheduling of replacement battery packs." Well, at least ol' Sony is finally going public with the scope of the problem, and no longer trying to just put the whole mess behind it in favor of pushing those PS3s out the door.