Hi everyone,

I was reading the March 27 Newsweek, and Steven Levy's column caught my attention.

In the article, he quotes a conference talk given my Linda Stone. Linda used to work at both Apple and Microsoft.

She's concerned about a phenomenon called Continuous Partial Attention (CPA). This affliction (my word) involves trying to engage oneself in two worlds simultaneously.

Levy also provides a metaphor: "A live Blackberry or even a switched-on mobile phone is an admission that your commitment to your current activity is as fickle as Renee Zellweger's wedding vows." (Ouch.)

and:
"[A]nyone who winds up talking to a person infected with CPA feels like he or she is accepting an Oscar, and at any moment the music might stop the speech."

What can be done?

Is it rude to assume that I can ask my conversation partner to unhook the bluetooth earbud when talking to me? Can I take away my meeting group's Blackberrys until the meeting is over?

Does anyone have any strategies for dealing with this?