The do's and don'ts of borrowing a computer

Supremely obvious observation: We love the Web. We love scrolling through tweets and blog posts and constantly updated news sites like rats in Skinner boxes. We love accessing the cloud, floating up into that sweet mass of data like Icarus and his wings of wax and feather.
The mere sound of our iPhone's chirp activates the brain regions involved in love and compassion, research shows. The bond we share with our computers or smartphones is, for many of us, the most lasting and fulfilling relationship we've managed to hold on to.
But when it comes to our gadgets, absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder. If you find yourself unhooked from your digital life support (say, because your phone is dead, your laptop is in the shop or you're wrapping up last week's challenge to put the phone down and look around this lovely world), you may need to ask those five little words: "Can I use your computer?"


Read on to be a polite MacBook mooch. (Oh, and if you're the auntie letting your nieces and nephews use your MacBook when the littl'uns complain of boredom, this just may help you set some ground rules before you hand over the machinery.)


Click here to continue reading: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/29/tech/gaming-gadgets/borrowing-computer-netiquette/index.html