Stories by Dan Tynan

Sometimes you have to bend the rules. And when it comes to technology, some rules are begging to get bent.

Sometimes you gotta bend the rules. And when it comes to technology, some rules are begging to get bent.

They're a productivity sink and a bandwidth suck. They're a vector for malware and a gift for corporate spies. They're a data spill just waiting to happen. And like it or not, they're already inside your enterprise.

How to spot -- and take down -- the six most nefarious adversaries of IT

Got a Facebook phone? If so, either you've got a lot of company or none at all, depending on which Internet rumors you believed this week. In other news: Twitter got hacked, the RIAA and MPAA were attacked, HP and Oracle buried the hatchet, and Mark Zuckerberg just joined the big kids' table. Are you ready to dazzle us with your geeky brilliance? Give yourself 10 points for each correct answer. Now let's get started.

IT organizations have a lot on their plates, and keeping the data center humming is only part of the equation. Factor in the threats coming at IT from every direction, and you can see why IT pros have ample reason to be paranoid. The invasion of consumer devices into the workplace, the rush toward cloud computing, the constant vigilance to prevent data spills, all while managing a meager budget in an era when your career can be cut short at any time can cause even the most level-headed IT pro to start looking over his shoulder.

Got an urgent message you need to transmit immediately? Sending a telegram is likely not the first option that comes to mind. And when it's time to boogie down, you probably don't shove a cassette into your 8-track player or slap an LP onto your phonograph.

Got an urgent message you need to transmit immediately? Sending a telegram is likely not the first option that comes to mind. And when it's time to boogie down, you probably don't shove a cassette into your 8-track player or slap an LP onto your phonograph.

For some people, the Internet is the killer app--literally. From newspapers and the yellow pages to personal privacy and personal contact, the Net has been accused of murdering, eviscerating, ruining, and obliterating more things than the Amazing Hulk. Some claims are more true than others, but the Net certainly has claimed its share of scalps.

Technology drives just about everything we do, and not just at our jobs. From banks to hospitals to the systems that keep the juice flowing to our homes, we are almost entirely dependent on tech. More and more of these systems are interconnected, and many of them are vulnerable. We see it almost every day.

Once you enter the Big Tent of Apple, it's exceedingly hard to find the exit.

Some of the biggest high-tech deals never happened. Some of the most promising products and services never came to be. Why? Because the people and companies involved didn't realize what they were letting slip through their fingers, or they simply couldn't foresee what would happen afterward.

Like beauty, sleekness is in the eye of the beholder. It's impossible to define easily, but you know it when you see it. It's that feeling in your gut that says "I don't know what that thing is or what it's supposed to do, but I want one--now."

New Coke. Chia pets. Ashton Kutcher. All are bad ideas that should have been snuffed out before they emerged into public consciousness. All are things that make you scratch your head and say, "What in God's name were they thinking?"

Some of these 10 intriguing mobile gizmos, including a connected GPS unit, external iPhone speakers, a Bluetooth headset, and a gadget charger, are fairly mainstream. The others, well, not so much.