BlackBerries Everywhere

I was just reading that RIM (Research In Motion), maker of the infamous BlackBerry phone, email reader, etc. all-in-one device just broke the 10-million subscriber mark in the second quarter of this year. And the company's prediction is that sales will continue to be brisk for the rest of the year. Given there are plenty of other similar devices such as the Treo, the Q, the Dash and others, that means that there are a lot of people checking their email or browsing their favorite Web sites from virtually anywhere.

I'm sorry, but that scares me. That means people walking - or driving - down the street might be so absorbed in their virtual world that they might not see that car, that tree, or you. It was bad enough when you had to worry about the idiot talking on the phone while trying to drink coffee and drive a car. Now you have to wonder if the person next to you is trying to read (or even worse write) an email.

And let's not forget that person at the end of the conference room table staring at the tiny screen of their handheld device, thumbs flying across the miniature keyboard. Instead of being a part of the meeting, he or she is now off at some other place and totally missing the point of what you're saying. Or maybe that message is to one of your competitors. You just don't know. Even if it's just a love letter to a spouse or a quick check of the stock ticker, I think it's just plain rude (although I'll cop to checking mail during the drier parts of a meeting).

So what's your pet peeve about those that choose to be on line all the time?