Dongle

The software won't run if the anti-piracy dongle isn't plugged in.

"Dongle" is a funny word, but be sure not to joke about it at the wrong place and time.

FreedomPop will offer three different flavors of broadband: a USB dongle that allows you to connect your computer to the internet, a WiFi hotspot device, and an iPhone case that allows you to override the phone's existing network and use it as a FreedomPop hotspot.

Take the dongle, for example. It is the summit of copy protection, an explicit melding of software and hardware. Without the right hardware key—the dongle—plugged into the machine's parallel port, the software won't run.