5:43 PM -- If you weren't already convinced that the sales folks have all the fun, check this out: Security Idol, a spoof on American Idol, was produced by security vendor Palo Alto Networks as a kickoff to its recent sales meeting.

The final three contestants on the "show" are June Iper, Chuck Point, and Paolo Alto, and there's a pretty convincing Simon lookalike spouting his signature snide feedback to the idol hopefuls. Without giving away too many of the punch lines, June Iper is an androgynous and confused commune-living hippie who recently placed first in "Router Idol," but thinks security may also be where it's at.

Chuck Point still lives in his mother's basement and apparently never applied his security talent to keep up with the times (his song: "My Way"), and Paolo Alto -- the alter-ego of the company that calls its application-aware technology the next-generation firewall -- is the fresh and hip newcomer who's tuned in to Web 2.0 trends and issues.

The next Security Idol must have the "vision, mission, and passion for next-generation security." Now guess which contestant wins.

— Kelly Jackson Higgins, Senior Editor, Dark Reading