BlackBerry Addicts in Detox

To the surprise of many BlackBerry addicts, the world did not actually come to a screeching halt last night. This, even though millions of BlackBerry users were cut off from their wireless e-mail and phone access Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

BlackBerry service provider Research in Motion confirmed an outage of the service for handheld device that is so addictive it is commonly known as a "crackberry." The company said service had been restored to most of its 8 million subscribers by mid-morning on Wednesday, and it said the cause of the disruption is "currently under review."

It was the first severe outage the service has experienced, and it was a wake-up call to the many users who rely on it as a veritable lifeline to the outside world. Many companies issue them to employees so that business continues throughout the night and across the globe.

In Washington, D.C., most staffers on Capitol Hill rarely look away from their handhelds even during important Congressional hearings.

While plenty of users were frustrated by the outage, they may have been surprised to learn that the world did not come to a screeching halt. In reader comments on WSJ.com, people experienced a range of emotions by the blackout.

"I feel like an anchorless ship ... adrift," one user wrote.

Others relished in the silence. "First good night's sleep since I got the damn thing," another wrote. "I might just experiment with the off switch some time."

by Megan Barnett