True, and, of course, Google has been trying to do this for quite a while. When I got an email from someone with an Asian name, I got ads for martial arts schools. And when I did a search for 'broadway theater tickets', I got ads for gays.

Have an attractive young woman do the licking?

I'd hope that most of us have a general idea of what goes on in an automobile. We know that electricity is used to create sparks in the engine that explode gasoline, which was sprayed in by fuel injectors, and we know there's a coolant system with a water-pump and radiator. I don't do any work on my own car, but I'd know that I was being scammed if a repair shop said they needed to 'reverse the neutron flow'.:-)

OTOH, I really don't have clue what computer viruses and spy-ware do, even though I've been using computers for years and am a software engineer. But then, running Linux (and in the past, Unix), I've never had much need to find out.

I'd like to meet her. She sounds hot!

True. How many people raved when Microsoft 'invented' multi-tasking for Windows 95? The problem is that it took PC software years to catch up to what existed on older hardware for decades.

Pretty sneaky way to get around Godwin's Law.:-)

A lot of techies, myself included, are much better at working with computers and software than in marketing themselves, an essential talent for working as a consultant.

Nice comment. I'll add that on a recent trip to NY, I noticed that a cup of regular coffee at Starbucks cost less than the same at Dunkin' Donuts, and both were slightly under $2.

Or they're just plain stupid:

1. I get an email from someone with an Asian name, and I get a bunch of martial-arts ads.
2. I search for information on a Broadway musical, and the ads for me are targeted at gays.

The cheap Casio I just bought shows up as an external drive. You'd think this would be the least expensive and most trouble-free option for the manufacturers.

Used to be that Democrats or independents who wanted to drive an American car bought a Saturn.

Well, I'm moving to Pompeii. Much nicer climate than drizzly Oregon.

I may have something similar, an eee 900a with 1Mb RAM and 4Gb ssd. The problem is that not only is 4Gb too small, but it's a very slow ssd, worse than any hard drive. I spend about $50 to replace it with a much faster 16Gb, and installed Ubuntu NBR. It's now quite reasonable for web surfing. Flash movies are slow, but watching video with mplayer or vlc, even full-screen, is fine. It's great for traveling, as it fits in a small shoe bag and gets 3-4 hours battery life.

I recently went to a doctor with a sinus infection. She told me it was most likely viral so there was no point in prescribing antibiotics, and the best thing I could do would be to use a nasal rinse, available for about $13 at the drug store (and which I already owned).

Maybe the problem isn't the doctors, but the heavy advertising by the drug companies which encourages people to demand prescriptions regardless of their costs or actual benefits.

Yes, exactly. I really see that at REI, on of my favorite stores. You want the latest 2010 backpacking tent that weighs 1/4 ounce less than last year's? You'll pay the full $500 price. You're just a casual camper and are happy with one that would have been state-of-the-art two years ago? That one's $99. It would make sense if REI would identify the different buying habits, so they can offer sales to the hard-core enthusiast (say, $50 off that $500 tent) that would be a waste of time for a 'value customer' (ie, cheapskate) like me.