I was listening to a Guy Clark song the other day, a little ditty called "Stuff That Works."

I got an ol' pair of boots And they fit just right I can work all day And I can dance all night I got an ol' used car And it runs just like a top I get the feelin' it ain't Ever gonna stop

Stuff that works, stuff that holds up The kind of stuff you don't hang on the wall Stuff that's real, stuff you feel The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall

It got me thinking about the technology in my life: What are the trusty old machines that never fail me? Unfortunately I didn't come up with much. A Sharp portable CD player that I've abused but never gives out, and is easy on the batteries. A Mitsubishi telelvision that fell off my entertainment center the day I bought it in 1996, but despite crashing to the floor held up until recently. My generic beige Windows 2000 box, while not perfect, certainly works better than any PC I've owned (including a really crappy Mac from the Gil Amelio era).

Do you have "Stuff that Works?" I'd also like to hear about stuff that really, really doesn't work -- the gadgetry you hate the most. Share your stories in the "Comments" section below. You can even send me a photo of the equipment in question, in your loving embrace or under your cold, hard glare.

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Digital video recorders like the Tivo will cause a major shift in the kinds of product ads we see, according to a new report from Forrester Research.

DVRs, which record tv shows on hard drives like those found in personal computers, allow consumers to easily skip or fast-forward through 30-second ads. Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff talked with big TV advertisers for his report, and found them resigned to the changes that DVRs will bring.

BERNOFF: I think advertisers pretty much have accepted that this technology is coming and there's not much they can do about it. The advertisers that we spoke to thought that we'd reach 30 million DVR households within five years. Enough to cause a problem within five years. And they didn't generally agree with statements like, "We should lobby Congress to get this made illegal' or "We should try and get cable and satellite operators not to include this technology."

Bernoff calls 30-second ads the "mother's milk" of television and says they won't disappear any time soon. But three of four advertisers surveyed expect that DVRs will eventually destroy the effectiveness of 30-second spots, so they'll be experimenting with new forms.

BERNOFF: 10-second spots. 45-second spots. Spots that are shown in pieces. Advertisements that appear in geographical areas of the screen, say the upper hand corner, instead of running in between programming. Product placement. All sorts of ways to reach consumers with advertisements that aren't easily skippable with these personal video recorders.

About 75 percent of advertisers expect to reduce their spending on TV when DVRs become more mainstream. They plan to increase spending on the Web, radio, magazines, and on product placement advertising. But what they really want to do is deliver targeted ads.

BERNOFF: This technology depends on using cable and satellite boxes to direct ads to individuals based on their household characteristics. We're probably a few years away from this being practical. But based on the level of interest the advertisers are showing to it, it definitely seems like in the future you are more likely to get commercials sent to you that are specifically designed for your household. Since they know your location and demographics, they are in a position to target those ads based on who they think you are. If you are in an upscale neighborhood they'll try to sell you a Cadillac. If you're in the downscale neighborhood you might end up getting an ad for a Chevy. If they know you have children, you might see the Pampers ad. If you don't have children you might see an ad for a big screen TV.