Here are my top 10 rules for cell phone etiquette

1. Don’t continue a phone call when you’re paying for your purchases. Not only is it rude to the barista or salesperson, but the people behind you in line would rather not participate in your private business.
2. Don’t text in meetings, unless it’s urgent. Urgent, like your kid’s hair is on fire or the Queen of England needs to reach you. It’s disrespectful to your colleagues.
3. Don’t use your phone at the dinner table. No, not even for a quick text exchange with your girlfriend or to check the baseball scores. In the age of nothing is sacred, I argue that the dinner table is, so power down or better yet, leave your device in the other room. The same goes for dining out. Give your attention to the people at the table.
4. Don’t use your Bluetooth when you’re walking down the street or in an airport. First, you look weird, like you’re talking to yourself, and second, you look weird and it’s annoying.
5. Don’t shout when you’re talking on the phone. Phones these days have pretty powerful microphones and speakers so the person on the other end of the line can hear just fine. This habit is particularly irritating when you’re sitting on an airplane either before or after takeoff and someone shouts into their phone like they’re talking to their deaf grandma.
6. Turn it off in church and the theater, no exceptions. Unless God is calling, there is no earthly excuse to hear a phone ringing or pinging during a religious service. It’s just as taboo in a movie theater, during a play, musical or other concert or in a library or museum.
7. Leave the room if you must talk when you’re in a crowded waiting room. The only thing that can make matters worse when you’re feeling under the weather is having to endure someone else’s phone conversation.
8. Put it away during major sporting events. I had the great fortune of going to the championship game of the World Series last fall. The only downer to the experience was the young childsitting behind me who didn’t see one minute of the game because she was more interested in her iPad. I know plenty of people who would have given their eye teeth for that seat! And if you need to snap a photo at one of those once-in-a-lifetime events, do it quickly and stash your phone. In my keepsake photo, as the Red Sox clinched the championship, all you can see is a sea of smart phones and if you look really closely, you can glimpse a sliver of green of Fenway Park.
9. Know when to stop tapping and start talking. Sometimes it’s not possible to cover a complex topic by text so when the person you’re communicating with calls, have the courtesy to answer the phone. He knows you’re there.
10. If you must talk and drive, go hands-free and make driving your priority. There’s almost nothing more maddening than trying to rush to work only to be slowed down by the meandering driving of the person in front of you, who is far more interested in her phone conversation than keeping her car on the road and motoring forward.

So, it’s time we all recapture some of the manners our mothers taught us. Or, mind the three “Be’s”: Be respectful, Be kind, Be considerate. But if you don’t like my phone etiquette rules, check out the Huffington Post.

Or see these rules from the Emily Post Institute.

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It’s hard to argue that devices with retina display and other high pixel density or high-resolution screens don’t provide incredibly sharp images. In fact, retina display in Apple products provides four times the resolution of previous generations. Fonts, photos, videos, no matter what you’re viewing, retina display is arguably one of the clearest most vibrant displays available for consumers. But all that beauty comes with a price.

Many consumers report eye problems from computer

Many consumers report health issues from retina display and other high-resolution screens. Some complain that within hours, days or weeks of upgrading to a retina display or similar device, they get unprecedented headaches, eye fatigue, blurred vision, and even nausea. Apple support pages and blogs are rife with advice for counteracting these symptoms to allow consumers to enjoy the many benefits of retina display and other top-of-the-line displays.

There are easy ways to combat Retina fatigue

Suggestions for counteracting vision or other health issues caused by retina display include:

• · Reduce display resolution under system preferences

• · Turn down brightness under monitor settings

• Purchase an anti-glare screen protector
  http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Glare-Apple-iPad-Generation-CrazyOnDigital/DTP/B004RRU1B0

• · Moderate usage and/or take frequent breaks from staring at your device

• · Visit an eye doctor

Hopefully these easy fixes will make your eye problems from computer use and other pain and discomfort disappear because, much like car seat heaters for a New Englander, once you go to a high-res screen you’re not likely to want to go back.

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The post Hidden Dangers of Retina Display: Eye Problems Michele Reynolds Perry appeared first on Gazelle The Horn.

My now electronics-free kid changed overnight

Despite putting the drenched device in a bag of rice for more than a week, the iPod was completely dead. Now, it’s nothing more than a paperweight. So, for many months, my daughter went back to an electronic-free lifestyle. She and I agree that she uses her time more productively – drawing, coloring, playing outside, and doing gymnastics – when she doesn’t have Instagram.

That said, I work full-time and there are days when she’s a latchkey kid. I’ve already explained that she’s not always the most responsible child. The same goes for her house key. To date, we have not had a day where she is locked out but there have been many close calls. It’s those days where I wish she had a phone. It would also be handy when I’m picking her up from dance class or a play date to be able to keep in touch and let her know if I’m running late.

Safety is still a concern

I thought the decision for our family had been made for my daughter to keep with the phone-free lifestyle, at least for the time being. So, when it came time for me to upgrade to the latest iPhone last fall, I was all set to send my 4S to Gazelle. But then we had a day that caused me to reconsider:

My daughter’s ride to dance class fell through at the last minute. I was stuck at work and had to make a snap decision. My daughter could skip dance class or she could walk to class from home. It was an agonizing call but with some persistent pleading from my daughter, I agreed to let her walk. It was the longest 15 minutes of my life. I was so stressed to not be able to keep in touch during her solo maiden voyage into town. At that moment, I decided to keep the 4S as a back-up phone for emergency situations.

Age plays a factor with kids and electronics

We had another reminder in December, however that age 10 may too young to own an expensive device. My daughter had a play date at a friend’s house after school and asked if she could bring my old phone. I said “no.” To my surprise and dismay, she took it anyway. The phone ended up in a snow bank and it was not discovered for a few weeks. This time, remarkably, the rice trick worked and the seemingly dead iPhone came back to life.

What’s right for some, may not be for others

So, that’s where we are today – squarely on the fence. My daughter does not own a phone but she uses my 4S as an iPod Touch when she earns it. We debate regularly if and when we’ll activate it as a phone. The answer is “not today.”

So, as you ponder perhaps the most loaded topic of the decade, “What’s the right age to buy your kid a phone?” ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is your child mature and responsible enough to keep track of a costly device?
2. Can your child be careful not to break a device? This includes not only not dropping it on the floor or ground but also not jumping in the pool with it in a pocket or dropping it in the sink or toilet.
3. Is your child mature and responsible enough to use good judgment on how to use the device? Will they follow your rules about what they can and cannot do with said device and report things to you that they think are inappropriate?

And lastly and perhaps most importantly,

4. Does the convenience of being able to reach your child and have your child reach you whenever needed outweigh the risks outlined in questions 1 to 3?

So, when should kids get cell phones? The answer: it depends on the kid…and the circumstances. Like many life decisions it’s a balancing act of risk and reward.

You might also be interested in our post about the Best Tablets for Kids.

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