Why should you consider a product's popularity?

1. In an article about hacking into a hotel room TV, you could accept the fact that far more people own iPods (and iPhones) than Zunes, and you could help those people successfully use the equipment they already have to accomplish the article's goal: getting their own video up on a hotel's television screen.

You could have done that, and then said, "Of course, if you don't own an iPod or any other media player, let me recommend the Microsoft Zune because I like that you can control it on-screen using a remote." That would have been more helpful at accomplishing your original goal.

2. I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to recommend a product only because it's popular, but sometimes popularity helps. When a product has 70-80 percent market share, it's easier to find accessories (like media cables), and it's easier for a novice user to find help using said product.

3. When you're recommending a product that few people have even heard of (like Hava), it may be helpful to say something like, "You may have heard of the Sling line of products that allow you to watch your home TV on your laptop on the road. I think it's a good product, but if you don't use a Mac, I would heartily recommend the new line from Hava, which works a lot like Sling but offers a bunch of more advanced features." Your article doesn't even acknowledge the fact that Hava is basically a fringe player in a market totally dominated by Sling.

It's like recommending a Linux machine to someone who has never owned or used a computer. Maybe the Linux box is a good choice for them, but shouldn't they know what they're getting into, and that the vast majority of computer users own machines that run Windows or MacOS?