IN PICTURES: The Web vs. the world - 10 epic battles

Personal Support vs. Instant Support: With the Web, customer support is always just a click away--provided that you don't mind surfing through a maze of forums run by users, virtual help desks run by bots, and virtual help desks run by people who act like bots. The Internet has created a culture of do-it-yourself service where the effort to reach an actual person can make you nostalgic for the mellow comfort of a root canal. Some companies have even started charging fees for letting you speak to a live support agent. It's a tug-of-war between automation and human responsiveness--and at this point, the Web's canned goodness (and badness) may have the upper hand.