in today's malware world, this type of attack is unlikely to wildly spread. at the most basic level, a bricked computer can't propagate the virus to anyone. sure, it is *possible* to set it to be dormant, propagate, and launch at a set future date, ie, 9/11/11. But - the most advanced methods of spreading viruses (virii) are by using bot-nets. These bot-nets are generally used for gathering personal information illegally. The malware writers that lease out these networks, wouldn't be ok with someone bricking their entire bot-net, or using their bot-net for a purpose that would only potentially increase sales/profit for hardware manufacturers. They are in the information business, not a physical, tangible product. A script kiddie's method of distributing a virus is likely to get discovered and shutdown quickly by AV products.

So - mass hysteria? this article should not cause. Individual awareness increase? sure. don't piss techie people off.