Here's my search. I can't reproduce the results, because they're cached.

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Well here's a novel concept:

Uh Clem. a former Belkin wireless router user, was perplexed to find machines on his network redirected to an ad for Belkin's new parental control system, following a software update.

Clem initially thought that the browser setting on the machine he downloaded the updated software had been changed. But when other machines displayed the same behaviour he realised his router was to blame.

The router would grab a random HTTP connection every eight hours and redirect it to Belkin’s (push) advertised web page.

Not content to inundate prospective customers with pop-up ads and automatically enroll existing ones in "opt-out" newsletters and updates, companies are now inserting advertising that actually impedes the function of their products.

As for me, I'll never buy another Belkin product again. And you'd do well to steer clear of Belkin too if you expect your routers to, you know, route data.

I'm now the lucky owner of a sleek 'n sexy Canon Powershot S50.

With a whole five megapixels, it's been an excellent addition to my digital repertoire so far.

But buying it was an interesting experience, to say the least. The salesperson, after trying unsuccessfully to sell me an extended warranty, told me I should also buy an external memory card reader, because "transferring the pictures directly from the camera to the computer will hurt image quality."

Huh? For those of you non-technical folk, that's like saying "if you e-mail me that term paper instead of putting it on a floppy, the arguments therein will be more developed and persuasive.

Sound ridiculous? Of course, because the method of transfer has nothing to do with the quality of the actual content. Whether it's a picture or a term paper, it's still a digital transfer, so we're still talking ONES and ZEROs.

I know, it's a little less complex than I made it sound. But the bottom line is that I hope Best Buy doesn't make a practice of hiring lying dumbasses. Anyway, nice camera.

This was on the local noon newscast:

"And today, another virus alert. There is a new computer worm making the rounds on the Internet via e-mail. The virus spreads when you open the attachment to the e-mail, known as 'html.' Microsoft is working on a patch to address the vulnerability."

Nice to know they're working feverishly to eradicate the scourge of "HTML."

The worst printer I've ever tried to use is the Mita Ci 1100 color laser printer. What a fucking plodding disaster of a product.

I'm selling mine. It's an HP iPaq 5455. You know, the top model, complete with biometric security, Bluetooth and wireless LAN.

I just bought it because Other People were buying PDAs too. That, and the fact that I might have some use for it (I didn't).

I paid $700, but I'm guessing it will go for around $450 in the auction. Grab it while it lasts!

According to the New York Times, Tivo owners just can't shut up about how much they love the device:

Like early adopters of cellphones and the Internet, the first wave of users of personal video recorders swear that the devices have fundamentally altered their lives — changing domestic routines, making it possible to live a life free of commercial interruptions and even providing the satisfaction of a rebellion against network goliaths.

Well I've been using my Tivo for 3 weeks now, and God damnit, the verdict is in. Tivo has been a great investment, so indispensible now that I don't know how I could ever bear watching television without it.

For the uninitiated, here's the low-down: Tivo is "a kind of VCR on steroids" that can record 80 hours of programming onto its internal hard drive. The most talked-about feature is the commercial skip, but wait, there's more:

A group called The Detroit Project is running advertisements that copy the tone and style of the government's latest anti-drug campaign. You know, those commercials that state "Drug money supports terrible things. If you buy drugs, you might, too."

The Detroit Project's ads aren't about drug money, but rather, oil money. "What's your SUV doing to our national security?" they ask. The ads feature actors in the roles of SUV owners saying things like "I gave money to a terrorist training camp in a foreign country," "I helped hijack an airplane" and "I helped teach kids around the world to hate America." Video and transcripts are here.

Contrary to what the cable media would have people believe, the ads are not meant to insult SUV owners, but rather, to appeal to the U.S. automaking industry for more fuel-efficient vehicles. ("Detroit, America needs hybrid cars now" reads a plea at the end of one spot.)

My goal in writing this is nowhere near as noble. After all, someone has got to ridicule those intellectually lazy folks still rushing to join the SUV crowd. They're the "patriots" who talked tough on terrorism after 9/11, but somehow remain blithely unaware of how their own needless decadance supports the very groups we're at war with. No, the current situation is too rich with irony to let it pass without comment.

If our president had been more courageous, he would have used some of his post-9/11 political capital to push for stricter fuel efficiency standards, which would have spurred investment in hybrid engines in the short term as well as alternative fuels for future vehicles. Americans, for once, were ready to make genuine lifestyle sacrifices and would perhaps even pay more for such vehicles if they became available. But the Bush administration, of course, would have none of that. Oil men themselves, Bush and Cheney told the country to shop rather than sacrifice. "Keep America Rolling," the automakers chimed in, encouraging Americans to go out and buy another 12MPG Ford Expedition to replace that aging 14MPG Dodge Durango.

And what about the actual consumers? Yes, it's true that everyone uses petroleum to some extent and therefore enables our partnership with terrorist-supporting states. Hell, lots of people drive sports cars that get even worse mileage. And it's hard to find fault with folks who actually do go off-road, or who tote five kids around, or who purchased SUVs before 9/11 and simply aren't ready to go buy another vehicle.

But there's a whole other demographic driving the current SUV trend. These are the people who need a light TRUCK for all their daily duties, like going to the shopping mall or the movies. They continue buying them, even after 9/11, because they're fashionable, everyone else has one and, of course, it's so nice sitting up high. They sit in their gigantic vehicles, all by themselves, in the rush-hour traffic to and from work each day. You know how treacherous those suburban freeways can be.

But maybe I'm missing the point entirely, so let me see if I can grasp their logic: Terrorists who spring from a region sustained by oil wealth use that money to repeatedly strike out against our country and its interests. Therefore, I'm going to answer them by buying myself another 14mpg, gas-guzzling monstrosity. Then I'll slap an American flag onto the back of my SUV to let the motorists I'm muscling off the freeway know that yes, I am a patriot who supports our country in a time of war. And contrary to what the Insight-driving, bleeding-heart liberals are saying, I can't change my lifestyle by echewing the SUV for an fuel-efficient car, because then, of course, the terrorists win.

Mmm-hmm.