Heard and overheard at DEMO

Eavesdropping is such an ugly word given that most of the time we can't help but overhear the conversations of passers-by and those we pass. That it's a bit of a hobby is beside the point.

So two guys are standing in an otherwise empty hotel hallway as I make my way by them last week at Network World's Demo@15 conference outside Phoenix.

"I lied to the CEO yesterday," says one.

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Eavesdropping is such an ugly word given that most of the time we can't help but overhear the conversations of passers-by and those we pass. That it's a bit of a hobby is beside the point.

So two guys are standing in an otherwise empty hotel hallway as I make my way by them last week at Network World's Demo@15 conference outside Phoenix.

"I lied to the CEO yesterday," says one.

To which the second deadpans: "For the first time?"

They must have heard me chuckle. And while I kicked myself the rest of the day for not stopping to hear the full account, Demo offers so many stories - 70-plus vendors pitching their latest IT gear and gadgets - that time is of the essence. In the interest of maximizing yours, let's separate the show highlights into work stuff and fun stuff, with the understanding that one theme of the conference was that more and more technology is overlapping both categories:

WORK: Ready to tackle password management? . . . Oh, you say you'd rather eat a router? When I suggested that this sense of futility/dread poses a challenge for his company, Imprivata CEO Patrick Morley smiled and insisted: "You can realistically solve the problem." Imprivata intends to help with a single sign-on appliance that it says can be deployed in days without custom programming. Imprivata OneSign supports a variety of authentication methods and Win32, Web or mainframe applications. Companies are ready to buy, Morley says, citing Imprivata survey data that shows the number of IT departments with budgeted password management projects has doubled from 18% to 36% in just eight months.

FUN: The makers of home-monitoring systems have promised to let us watch over and remotely manage our households for years: keep an eye on Gramps or the kiddies from our desktops, turn up the heat or the lights from our cars, that kind of thing. While an appealing concept, early offerings have been stymied by technological complexities and high costs. Stepping up to the plate next is iControl Networks , whose Web-based iControl system is "simple, affordable, complete and, most important of all, compelling," says CEO Reza Raji. The iControl starter kit sells for less than $500 and looked simple enough for Gramps and the kiddies to install before you get home for dinner.

WORK: Up to 40% of mobile phone minutes are burned by workers while they are on corporate campuses and, at least in theory, within shouting distance of a wireless LAN, says Kamal Anand, vice president of marketing and business development at Meru Networks . Meru's new wireless LAN controllers and System Director Version 3 software support the toll-quality wireless VoIP that large corporations demand, Anand says, and "we're on the cusp of widespread adoption."

FUN: The lines at Intellifit's booth never slacked off - and it wasn't only that the company was giving away a free pair of Levi's to all comers. The Intellifit System uses 10 seconds' worth of low-power radio waves to take the measurements of fully clothed individuals who stand in a glass cylinder about three times the size of a phone booth. The information is supposed to let you know what sizes best fit you across different clothing lines. Everyone loved it and many had ideas about how Intellifit can make money. Just taking the guesswork out of gift-buying would be value enough.