For some reason there is this strong English fixation with blaming the tools used to commit the crime, or the object of the crime -- for crime -- instead of the human criminal. I blame Dr. Who for this. The Daleks were pure evil, and they were mechanical items. Deadly, engorged salt shakers from hell. This has only been reinforced by Star Trek (TNG). Look at the Borg. Perfectly good people/aliens, assimilated by evil machines. The humans no longer have free will, as the machine/object drives them to evil.
Then, for the object perspective, there is the The Ring of Doom from Lord of the Rings. Clearly the Middle Earth version of an iPod or pair of Nike Jordans, that seem to drive modern day saintly Boromirs to madness in acts of violent envy.
Many more examples...
Trilogy of Terror (Karen Black episode)
Hell Raiser
Jumanji
Forbidden Planet
Etc.
Perhaps I should get this published in a peer reviewed journal somewhere. The only problem with my theory lies in the second example (Star Trek TNG). Microsoft, which as any casual reader of Slashdot knows, is clearly the modern equivalent of the Borg. Microsoft is software, not hardware. Perplexing.
Charon