Blackberry Tour 9630Once upon a time my basic needs were simple: food, water, travel… Now, I can’t live without my Verizon BlackBerry 9630? What the heck happened?

24/7 wireless e-mail connectivity, worldwide voice and data coverage, GPS navigation − THAT’S what happened.  They don’t call it CrackBerry for nothing.

I used to snicker at the corporate drones tethered by their techy-umbilical cords to bosses and work, while I, the foot-loose freelancer, jetted off to some remote destination with a flippant “catch-you-when-I-get-back” e-mail auto-response and phone message.

That was pre-BlackBerry. Today, you’ll find me right there with the corporate schmucks, checking e-mail and thumbing back responses before the plane has even pulled up to the jetway. I hardly recognize myself.

But just when I’m ready to go cold turkey, I’ll need to Google a hotel phone number, e-mail the airport shuttle with delayed flight details, find my way to an important meeting with audible turn-by-turn directions, or score a dream assignment from the beach in Rio just because I was able to dash off a quick “I’ll do it!” on the BlackBerry, and I’m hooked all over again.

Sound familiar? To keep the scales tipped to technical god-send rather than compulsive addiction, follow these simple Rules to Blackberry By at Forbes.com.