I have a (2 year old) Vaio VGN-Z11WN and it was a bit of a nightmare to get Linux to install correctly on it. The main problem was the Stamina/Speed graphics switch, which is a software switch in this model, where as previously it used to be a hardware switch.

I joined the Launchpad group for the Z-series: https://launchpad.net/~sony-vaio-z-series which helped a lot, but there were still things like the microphone not working etc.

I have tried Ubuntus Jaunty, Karmic and Lucid on there with mixed results - karmic for some reason was the best. Fedora 13 installed perfectly (excluding the speed/stamina switch) but then I ended up in dependency hell!

Because of the trouble I have had with getting Linux onto this machine, I don't think I am going to get another Vaio.

My main desktop runs Arch, but I didn't even dare go there on the Vaio!

I would be very interested to hear how you get on. Good luck.