Like her great-great-grandmother and etiquette expert Emily Post, Anna Post strives to make the world politer. She speaks with msnbc.com's Rosa Golijan about smartphone etiquette — and rude phone users.

Post explains that attempting to be a bit more courteous while using our smartphones (and other mobile devices) is quite important as many people list misuse of mobile technology among their top pet peeves. According to a survey sponsored by Intel, 73 percent of people complained about seeing someone use a cellphone while driving, 65 percent were annoyed by people shouting into phones, and 28 percent were irritated by those who use mobile devices while walking down streets.

The guidelines offered by Post in the video above, along with the tips below, should help us all get through our days with far fewer of those annoyances — without having to abandon our smartphones:

• Practice what you preach: If you don't like others' bad behavior, don't engage in it.
• Be present: Give your full attention to those you are with, such as when in a meeting or on a date. No matter how well you think you multi-task, you'll make a better impression.
• The small moments matter. Before making a call, texting or emailing in public, consider if your actions will impact others. If they will, reconsider, wait or move away first.
• Talk with your family, friends and colleagues about ground rules for mobile device usage during personal time.
• Some places should stay private: Don't use a mobile device while using a restroom.

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Prepare to hear "You could get attacked by a bear!" every time someone tells you that you really shouldn't text while walking. After all, that's exactly what almost happened to a man in California on Tuesday.

California-based station KTLA 5 even captured the incident on video. The clip's brief, but if you pay attention you'll notice a very distracted man staring at his cellphone — supposedly while typing a text message — as he strolls into the direction of a 300-pound bear. Before walking directly into the animal however, he glances up and realizes the danger. The guy naturally does what anyone else would do and high-tails it outta there.

Whew!

"I was texting my boss that I would be late for work because something is going on, and I'm coming down the stairs and I see the bear coming up the stairs toward me," the man told KTLA when asked about the incident. "I turned back and I ran for my life."

KTLA

A video by FOX News affiliate KTLA 5 shows how a man nearly walked into a bear attack because he was distracted by a text message.

In case you're wondering, the almost-attack took place in La Crescenta, California — where a "bear visit is not unusual [...] especially on trash day," according to NBC Los Angeles' Jonathan Lloyd. The bear that could've snacked on a cellphone user was first spotted around 3 a.m. local time. He was caught on aerial video around 7 a.m. and then finally tranquilized and captured shortly after that time.

Of course this strange texting-related incident is not the first time we've seen someone accidentally endanger himself or herself while texting and walking.

In Jan. 2011 a woman fell into a water fountain while walking through a mall and text messaging. Video footage of the accident was posted to YouTube and quickly made its rounds on the Internet. 

And in April 2012, this reporter bruised her knee on a desk corner because she was distracted by a text message alert. Thankfully, no one captured the incident on video.

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

NBCUniversal

Have you watched an ad made by Verizon Wireless recently? How far into it did you get before your eyes glazed over and your brain melted from the buzzword salad overload? The ads are so ridiculous at times that it's almost possible to confuse a spoof video made by the folks of Saturday Night Live with the real thing.

Don't believe me? Take a peek at the clip below. Hits a bit close to home, doesn't it?

Though in Verizon's defense, it's not like it's the only wireless company with strange, confusing or buzzword-filled ads. Most carriers are doing their part to bungle the 4G message, and handset maker Samsung recently put out some iPhone-mocking ads which easily earned some ridicule of their own.

Related stories:

• Samsung mocks iPhone fanboys in funny new ad
• Samsung's iPhone-mocking ads jump the shark
• Beware! Siri may snap if you sell your iPhone

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

David Friedman/msnbc.com

The next time an Android user mocks your shiny new iPhone or BlackBerry, just smile, nod ... and avoid touching his phone. Because odds are quite high that the device has been used while its owner sat on the toilet at some point — and who knows if he even washed his hands.

According to a survey conducted by marketing agency 11mark, about three-fourths of Americans with mobile phones admit that they have occasionally used their devices in the bathroom.

74 percent of men and 76 percent of women reported that they took their mobile phones into the bathroom, so there wasn't a large gender gap. Instead it was their device types which divided the toilet texters (and talkers) from those who prefer to disconnect while in the lavatory. 

It seems that 87 percent of Android users admitted to using their mobile phones while on the throne. In comparison, 84 percent of BlackBerry users and only 77 percent of iPhone users took their phones into the little girls' and boys' rooms.

The BlackBerry users were the ones most likely to answer a call than the others though. According to the survey, "75 percent of BlackBerry users report they have done so, versus 67 percent of Droid and 60 percent of iPhone users."

I hope they at least hang up before flushing.

Related stories:

• Survey: 62% of Americans watch over 3 hours of TV daily
• Survey: Six out of ten movies streamed via Netflix
• Study: 99% of Android phones vulnerable to attack

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

barackobama.com

During a campaign stop at the Apollo Theater in New York City last week, President Obama surprised the audience by singing the opening lines of "Let's Stay Together," the classic tune by Rev. Al Green — who was on site that evening. Now you can download Obama's rendition of the song as a ringtone for your cellphone.

Yes, you can now really hear the President sing "I'm so in love with you" every time your phone rings. All you have to do is head to the official Obama website and you'll find links to download the brief sound clip.

The ringtone appears to be a recording of Obama's Apollo performance — audio of the audience cheering unfortunately distracts from the actual singing.

But perhaps there's hope that someone will convince the President to record a new tune for those who want more. (And based on a poll by TODAY.com, there are quite a few of those folks out there.)

After all, while Obama must've discussed his singing talents with members of his staff — he points out that "they" didn't think he'd perform — on the evening of his performance, many seemed unaware of just how gifted the President is.

Even White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer remarked that he didn't know that Obama could sing until the evening at the Apollo Theater, says Reuters.

But now that the cat's out of the bag, someone's bound to use it as part of a campaign strategy.

Related stories:

• Hang out with Obama ... on Google+
• You can now circle the White House on Google+
• Who sings it better: Al Green or Obama?

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

YouTube

I've watched Apple fanboys declare their love for all things iOS and iPhone in a lot of strange ways while pretending that those who favor other mobile platforms would never do anything silly. But today the pretense is over — because there's simply no way to ignore the existence of rapping Windows Phone fangirls.

Yes, you read that right.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

For whatever reason a group of girls — who call themselves Carly, E-Town, Elise, and Emily — decided to express their love for Windows Phone in an absolutely ridiculous rap video. As someone who would never have the guts to make such a video, I've got a lot of respect for the girls' bravery and envy them for the fun they appear to be having.

But there's just no way to take lines such as "keep my phone in my back pocket, Powerpoint's always on my hip socket" seriously.

Watch the full video and you'll see what I mean:

Related stories:

• Remember when Steve Jobs prank-called Starbucks?
• Silly video makers turn serious to honor Steve Jobs
• What if our computer problems were more literal?

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Hearing your phone chirp desperately in order to alert you that it's running out of battery power is heartbreaking when you're stuck in an airport, hotel, or shopping center with no power outlets in sight. But wait! There's a free charging station right around the corner. There's no harm in using that to refresh your battery, right?

Wrong.

As the folks at Krebs on Security report, those innocent-seeming charging stations could easily turn from saviors to devious data thieves. Those charging stations could easily be configured to copy data from your smartphone — or to even install malware on the device.

To prove this point, Brian Markus, president of Aires Security, and security researchers Joseph Mlodzianowski and Robert Rowley set up a little social experiment at DEF CON, a massive hacker conference held each year in Las Vegas:

"We’d been talking about how dangerous these charging stations could be. Most smartphones are configured to just connect and dump off data,” Markus said. “Anyone who had an inclination to could put a system inside of one of these kiosks that when someone connects their phone can suck down all of the photos and data, or write malware to the device.”

To make their charging station more attractive to passersby, Markus and his pals equipped it with a variety of charging cables to fit the most popular wireless devices. When no device was connected, the LCD screen fitted into the charging station displayed a blue image with the words "Free Cell Phone Charging Kiosk." The screen switched to a red warning sign when users plugged in any devices. The warning message read:

"You should not trust public kiosks with your smart phone. Information can be retrieved or downloaded without your consent. Luckily for you, this station has taken the ethical route and your data is safe. Enjoy the free charge!”

At least 360 people used this charging station.

To put that into perspective: Over 10,000 individuals attended DEF CON in 2010. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that the 2011 event saw a similar number of attendees — meaning that nearly four percent of the notoriously security conscious individuals attending the conference could've had their mobile devices' security compromised.

That's scary, but it's not a reason to panic. After all, there are steps you can take to protect your own devices and data:

• Bring a regular charger cable when you travel and use that to plug into plain old electrical outlets instead of trusting cables dangling from charging stations.
• Invest in some spare battery packs to recharge your devices on the go.
• If you absolutely have no choice other than to rely on a charging station, then at least power down your mobile device entirely before plugging it in. This may keep you protected.

Related stories:

• Hershey's website hacked, recipe changed
• Google now checks your computer for malware
• Creepy Android malware records your phone calls

Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

Apple

Apple has just released iOS 4.3.4 — a minor update for its mobile operating system — and you should go download it if you happen to own an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Why? Because it fixes a pesky PDF-related security vulnerability.

The security vulnerability meant that a user — or a sneaky hacker — could gain ultimate power (root privileges) on an iOS device by opening an infected PDF file using the Safari app.

On one hand, this vulnerability is great for those who wish to jailbreak — or unlock — their own iOS devices using a website called JailbreakMe.com so they can run unauthorized software. But on the other hand, this is a big issue because an individual with devious intentions could trick someone into opening up an infected PDF file and abuse the security vulnerability to access or even steal sensitive data without the iOS device owner's knowledge.

You can get the update by plugging your iOS device into your computer and hitting the "check for updates" button in iTunes. Do note that the 4.3.4 version is intended for the AT&T iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, the iPad 2, the iPad as well as third and fourth generation iPod Touch devices. Folks who own a Verizon iPhone 4 will find an update labeled 4.2.9 instead — but it'll offer the same fix.

Related stories:

• Apple to patch PDF security hole in iOS
• Report: Faster, more powerful iPhone coming in September
• Rumor: Apple is making an 'iPad 2 Plus'

Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Oh, and she can be found on Google+, too.

T-mobile

There may be plenty of ways to clip coupons — both digital and analog — already, but T-mobile has decided to give us one more: An Android app called More for Me. 

More for Me is a pretty straight-forward app which is available to all Android owners — not just those who use T-mobile. It provides you with handpicked deals from more than 400 sources including social-buying sites such as LivingSocial and lets you share them with friends.

As soon as you open up the app, it'll identify your location — to the zip code level — and list the appropriate deals. If you prefer to browse offers by category or by other locations, you can do so as well. If you find something you like, tap a button to get details, and tap another one to be taken to a site where you can make your purchase. It's that simple.

You can download the app through the Android Market right now.

Related stories:

• Just what will $5 get you on the Internet?
• Facebook: Your next favorite grocery store?
• Geek makes fake Harry Potter Android app to propose

Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook.

Validas

Chances are you aren't a data hog. So why pay like one for an unlimited data plan when you don't have to? If you're like me, you worry about getting stuck with overage charges, concerned that that one extra video will push you over your monthly limit. But odds are you're not a data oink, or even data piglet, but that you're among the majority of customers who use less than 200 megabytes a month. Chump change, in the data world.

A new study finds that 60 percent of wireless data customers used less than AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s minimum 200-megabyte data bracket allows — and that those low data usage rates were true for customers with other carriers, such as Sprint, that only offer an unlimited plan.

"Digging deeper, the impact of heavy-data users on average usage rates is profound; the (median data user) consumed just one quarter the data of the 'average' user," says Validas, which analyzes wireless rate plans for consumers and businesses. (BillShrink is another service that does the same, for free.)

Validas looked at more than 23,000 wireless bills between February 2010 and February 2011. The company says that 200 megabytes is "about half the average data user’s monthly data consumption across the four main wireless carriers. (Ranging from 345.8 MB for AT&T data users to 429.4 MB for T-Mobile data users, the exact average comes out to 391.9 MB.)

When we hear the words "200 MB plan," that's makes many of us freeze up and worry. "After all, if the averages are twice that 200 MB limit, wouldn’t most data users require one of the larger packages (up to 4GB on AT&T and up to 10GB on T-Mobile)?" Validas asks rhetorically. The answer is no; that 60 percent of data users are consuming less than 200 MB a month.

Validas

The discrepancy between average data "versus most people’s data consumption points to a data hog minority whose extremely heavy usage rockets up the overall average and inflates the apparent necessity of bigger data plans," Valida contends. "With around 60 percent of customers under the lowest tier of data, unlimited-only plans and 200 MB minimum plans might be considered unnecessary subscription, if not mandatory oversubscription."

How much data does 200 megabytes vs. 2 gigabytes translate to? For 200 MB, that's about 1,000 emails, viewing 400 Web pages, and 20 minutes of streaming video, estimates TechNewsDaily's Adam Hadhazy; 2 GB is about 10,000 emails, 4,000 Web pages and 200 minutes of streaming video. (That's a lot of YouTube watching while waiting at the doctor's office, for example, but it can and does happen.)

Validas says the imbalance "becomes even more striking when we look at the median data user’s consumption, not even close to the 200 MB minimum plan":

Validas

The graph shows that half of Verizon Wireless customers used less than 79.9 MB a month; half of AT&T data users "consumed less than 88 MB monthly; half of Sprint users consumed less than 93.4 MB monthly; and half of T-Mobile data users consumed less than 133.8 MB monthly.

"Average these median numbers together and we see that across all four carriers combined, half of data users consumed less than 98.8 MB monthly. When we compare this cross carrier median data figure of about 100 MB with the cross-carrier average data figure of about 400 MB (from the first “average data” graph above), we get a real sense of how much more data a few users at the top are consuming compared to the vast majority of the users at the middle and bottom — and how imbalanced the comparably low data usage of that majority is with the available heavy data plans."

Validas' point, whether you use their service or not: "Aggressively analyze your usage to prevent costly oversubscription. Yes, we’ve heard this time and time again, but think about it: Are you really one of the data hogs at the top dragging up the average or is your usage more typical?"

Related stories:

• T-Mobile first to offer family data plans
• Verizon eyes family data plans
• Live Chat Instant Replay: What's up with wireless plans?

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Sophos

This chart shows how frequently particular passcodes were used within a sample of 204,000.

1234. 0000. 2580. 1111. 5555. 5683. 0852. 2222. 1212. 1998. Did I just list your iPhone passcode? Based on one app developer's research, about 15 percent of iPhone owners will have recognized their own passcodes.

Sophos reports  the research recently published by iOS app developer Daniel Amitay will make a lot of people nervous. By tracking the passcodes users of his app entered, he was able to make some assumptions about the security habits of iPhone owners:

[He] anonymously collected the codes chosen by users to secure the "Big Brother Camera Security" app he develops. In all, Amitay collected over 204,000 passcodes.

Amitay postulated that as Big Brother's password setup and lock screen are nearly identical to the actual iPhone lock screen, the likelihood is that the passcodes used would most likely correlate with the codes used to lock iPhones.

Sure, many people might use separate passcodes for Amitay's app and for their iOS lockscreens — and some might not use a lockscreen passcode at all — but his findings still provide a decent general impression of iPhone security.

Unfortunately the impression we're getting isn't very good:

Some of the passcode choices that Amitay's research has thrown up are sadly predictable. People who are choosing the likes of "1234", "0000" and "1111" as their passcode, for instance, are doing the equivalent of locking up their cars with a piece of thin string.

Those who have chosen "0852" and "2580" aren't doing much better - they've just chosen their passcode by sweeping up and down the keypad.

What [Sophos] couldn't immediately understand, however, was any rhyme or reason behind "5683" and "1998".

Fortunately, Amitay has a theory on this. He points out that "5683" spells out "LOVE" on the keypad, and that may be why it's so widely used.

And "1998"? Well, it turned out that 199* represented the highest frequency of choices that could represent a decade (the 1990s) - so maybe this is an indication of birth years or the year of graduating college.

These passcodes are basically the equivalent of using "password," "opensesame," "hello," or some equally basic word or phrase as your computer password — they're easily guessable and thereby only give you the impression that your information is secure.

So what should you do?

You should try to pick a passcode which deviates from these simple patterns. Or even better: Use a more complex passcode by toggling a setting on your iPhone. All you need to do is go into your "Settings," hit the "General," button, tap "Passcode Lock," and toggle off the "Simple Passcode." You'll be prompted to select an alpha-numeric passcode which can be a lot longer than four characters.

Related stories:

• Sony hacked? Website lets you know
• Apple to inform users of cell network security?
• Android app hacks Facebook and Twitter accounts in seconds

Rosa Golijan writes about tech here and there. She's obsessed with Twitter and loves to be liked on Facebook. Her iPhone lockscreen passcode is the same as the combination on her luggage.

The Oatmeal

Smartphones — are they heaven-sent blessings or the devil's contraptions? We can't decide on most days, so we'll just let comic artist Matthew "The Oatmeal" Inman walk us through his love and hate relationship with one of his most important gadgets.

We're nodding along to a lot of his comments, are you?

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

The Oatmeal

Related stories:

• How to suck at text messaging
• Internet over-sharing gets a viral theme song
• What would life be like without Twitter?

This comic is republished with permission from Matthew Inman aka "The Oatmeal," a Web designer turned comic artist. You can see more of his work on The Oatmeal. Inman is a one-man operation, so be sure to check out posters and prints from his shop or order a copy of his hilarious book, "5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth."