Brian X Chen's NYT Op-ED piece sounds bad, I'll agree. But who in their right mind buys an oven from a company that not only makes kitchen appliances, but that imports and rebrands cars, sells groceries, life insurance, builds the tallest buildings in the world, makes handsets, computers, and started out making noodles?

That is, who in their right mind purchases from a company whose business can't be defined in a single, three-word sentence? Whose customer service department spans everything from elevator shafts to the turnstile in a supermarket?

I call poppycock on Brian X Chen's having really researched 'brand and appliances' for days.