Apple Thoughts: Kevin Rose Gets Back Pat For Simple Tip

"In the depths of email overload desperation last week, I wished email messages had an 140-character limit like Twitter updates do. In response, two people recommended doing what Kevin Rose does: Set your desktop email signature to “Sent from my mobile phone.” It’s a white lie that makes you look less rude for being short."

This is nothing new for some of us. I've had Smartphones of some kind for most of my existence, and when I got my first BlackBerry and it had that signature "Sent from my T-Mobile BlackBerry," I realized it was brilliant because it's a built-in excuse for abrubptness. In fact, I had a friend at work who chided me for having a similar signature on my iPhone and told me I was showing off. I explained to him the logic behind it and he then added a similar signature to his own phone. Guess he didn't mind showing off, huh?

Seriously? This is a good tip. Don't be so quick to think people are being arrogant or showing off their toys. If you see that "Sent from my ____________" in an e-mail, there's a good chance that explains the curtness of their message. That is unless you're one of Kevin Rose or Gina Trapani's contacts, in which case they may be lying to you to get through their messages quicker!