Good times, bad times
Who has been living the dream and who has been having a nightmare over the last few weeks
Good times
Android tablets
With Apple appearing to have lost its Midas touch and Microsoft spending more money trying to shift the Surface than it has made actually selling it, Android tablet makers have cashed in.
More than two in three tabs snapped up by consumers worldwide in Q2 run on the Google-owned OS, with Apple way back on 28.3 per cent. The two were almost neck and neck just a year ago.
An underwhelming set of fiscal third-quarter figures revealed the fruity vendor sold 14.6 million iPads during the period, down from 17 million in Q3 FY12. Microsoft meanwhile sold $853m of Surfaces in its FY13 - and spent $898m on marketing the tablet and Windows 8.
What's that saying - you've got to spend money to lose money? Something like that...
Cybercriminals
Cybercriminals must be a particularly hard-hearted bunch. While (if the Daily Mail is anything to go by) the entire world stopped to coo over the newborn royal baby, the cruel crooks smelled an opportunity.
Just three days after George's arrival, security vendor Websense claimed to have detected and stopped 60,000 emails containing "threat lure" terms aimed at duping royalists the world over.
Email subject headers such as "Royal baby: Diana, Charlotte or Albert?" and "Amazing, incredible share! Follow our leader!" were used to lure unsuspecting fans.
So while the most harm the majority of 72-hour-olds can cause is limited to a few bags under their parents' eyes, baby George could have inadvertently seen thousands of people conned out of cash. Oops.
Moving on
The winds of change have been blowing through the UK network security vendor landscape this month, with two country heads off to pastures new.
First came word that Check Point UK leader Terry Greer-King is departing the firm. Shortly afterwards the news broke that F5 UK sales VP Andy Travers is moving on following a four-and-a-half-year stint at the vendor.
We wish them luck in their next roles and look forward to working with their successors.
Bad times
Computers
Well, that IT industry was nice while it lasted, but we all knew deep down that these newfangled computer things weren't here to stay, didn't we?
The imminent demise of the humble PC drew closer this week with news that the Kremlin has splurged about 10 grand on a more secure content creation and delivery system known, we believe, as a "typewriter".
In a bid to circumvent computer information leaks, the Russian Federal Guard Service, whose duties include protecting president Vladimir Putin, is reportedly looking to arm its staff with a score of electric typewriters.
Rumours that MI5 is teaching its operatives Pig Latin and preparing a multimillion-pound tender for plastic cups and bits of string were unconfirmed as CRN went to press.
Superheads
Like Lindsay Lohan, Lance Armstrong and Chris Huhne before them, so-called "superheads" have suffered quite the fall from grace recently.
Once hailed by education secretary Michael Gove as "magnificent", one Hackney superhead - a headteacher with multiple schools in their charge - was suspended last month. Greg Wallace handed a lucrative IT contract to his boyfriend's IT firm C2 Technology, sparking concerns from the council, which is investigating the matter.
Details of the contract are unclear, but the Best Start Federation, which is in charge of the schools in question, insisted the contract was awarded fairly on quality and price.
The commotion caused by the suspension won't have done the reputation of superheads much good, and for Mr Wallace, we imagine teaching doesn't get tougher than this.
Fraudsters
The arrest of a Californian reseller boss this month saw Cisco send a clear message to channel fraudsters the world over: we will catch you.
Or at least: we will catch you after six carefree years of counterfeiting high jinks during which time your company trousers $37m (£24m), allowing you to splash out on a fleet of luxury cars and a bulging property portfolio.
Alas, the good times have seemingly come to an end for San Jose-based Cuong Cao Dong, who now faces federal charges on six counts of mail fraud, as well as conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering.