Jim Taylor

Like many wired people, you probably take great pride in being a multitasker. You talk on your mobile phone, send e-mail, check the stock market online, and perhaps even read a letter and jot down notes for an upcoming meeting all at the same time (or so you think). Why do you multitask? Well, how else can you accomplish everything you need to get done (and still have time for a life!)? You believe you are the epitome of productivity and efficiency, getting so much done all at once.

There's one problem with this scenario: there is no such thing as multitasking -- at least not the way you may think of it. The fact is that multitasking, as most people understand it, is a myth that has been promulgated by the "technological-industrial complex" to make overly scheduled and stressed-out people feel productive and efficient.

The smartphone has become a ubiquitous status symbol of and tool for businesspeople doing business. In offices, on the streets, and in airports, what self-respecting businessperson doesn't have their smartphone -- whether a Blackberry, Windows Mobile device, Palm, or iPhone -- at the ready to make the deal, provide support, change the plan, or just stay up to date on their company's latest developments at a moment's notice. The smartphone's ability to provide businesspeople with instant access to others through email, text messaging, and phone has, in theory, saved time and made the business world run more smoothly by keeping everyone in a company connected all day every day. It can truly be a tool for increased communication, efficiency, and productivity.

The Unintended Consequences of Smartphones

Disclaimer: I am an AT&T customer with a data plan. I'll do my best not to let this "conflict of interest" interfere with my opinions expressed below.

You have to hand it to AT&T; they've got chutzpah! That, by the way, is not a formal psychiatric term. I could have said that AT&T is delusional, grandiose, or narcissistic, but everyone understands chutzpah.

Dear Steve,

You certainly deserve all the credit and attention you've received in recent years. Apple's rise, fall, and then reemergence is the stuff of corporate legend and has enabled Apple to attain a truly iconic place in the world. You personally have achieved a level of public adoration unprecedented among the geek classes. The Mac personal computer, iPod and iTunes, and, most recently, the iPhone are all testaments to your engineering genius and marketing savvy.

Dear Bill,

I know you've been retired from Microsoft's day-to-day operations for about a year now and Steve B. is running the show, but you are still Chairman of the Board and the public identity of Microsoft. That's why I'm writing you, Bill, because Microsoft is still your company and it needs you. Think modified Pottery Barn rule: you own it, you broke it, you fix it.