Canon, Xerox, Lexmark, Hewlett Packard and their ilk should be embarrassed, because their printer units are the used car sales lots of the computing world.

FORBES: Why Do Printers Still Suck?

And in much of the developing world these ideas are not even out of fashion: far from being embarrassed by the generous help they dole out to their car makers, many governments are proud of it.

ECONOMIST: Car crash ahead

"The first reason I bought my car, was because, 10 years from now, I didn't want to be embarrassed, " said Prius owner George Sulluck, a software programmer.

NPR: The Prius Rules Hybrids �� but Is Interest Falling?