AOL is nudging the 75% of its subscribers who still use dialup over to broadband by increasing the price of its dialup service. AP reports that beginning March 9, AOL’s price for broadband and dialup will be the same: $25.90 per month.

AOL thinks greater adoption of broadband will increase overall usage, thereby increasing advertising revenue. But they still need to address the issues they’ve had for years: the perception of AOL as Internet training wheels, and the inability to retain members over the long haul.

In the spirit of Office Space, Dilbert, Stanley Bing and so many others comes Company, a new novel by Max Barry. It’s a fast read, smart and funny with echoes of Catch-22 and George Orwell. But don’t take my word for it: Read Bing’s Amazon review over here.

Recipe for a Podcast worth checking out: Take one part top TWIT Leo Laporte, blend with one part MAD Magazine writer and gadget freak Dick DeBartolo, and shake well. Drink daily. (Yes, a daily Podcast — how soon before they run out of gizmos to talk about?) Check out installment #1 right here.

This Advertising Age story reports on CARU — the Children’s Advertising Review Unit — telling Kellogg’s to change advertising for Apple Jacks. They claim that the cartoon character Bad Apple, who is “short, round, devious, and grouchy,” depicts apples in a bad light.

According to AdAge: “CARU said the reference to ‘bad’ should be halted and it asked ‘that the company refrain in the future from denigrating or disparaging apples or other fruits.’ Kellogg, though questioning the decision, agreed to alter the ad campaign.”

Gee, why didn’t the Anti-Defamation League go after Kellogg’s for CinneMon, its cartoonish portrayal of a Jamaican Rasta? Why isn’t PeTA insisting that Tony the Tiger be returned to the wild? And just wait till conservative lifestyle groups start investigating the living arrangements of Snap, Crackle and Pop!

(Insert eye-rolling avatar here.)

As Web diversions go, Netdisaster.com is pretty cool. You enter the URL of a site, choose the disaster you want visited upon it, and watch the fun. Click here to see UFOs attack LOHAD. The “text sucker” and “God almighty” options are pretty good, too.