subject: From Seattle to Chicago, the Latest Leaps Forward in Wireless Internet [print this page] The world wide web is a funny thingThe world wide web is a funny thing. A couple of decades ago, it didn't even exist yet. Today, it manages to control everything from how people stay in touch to how business is done. An incredibly helpful tool and the great equalizer, with access to the interweb, someone in Chicago suddenly has the ability to network with likeminded people from Seattle to Dubai. And businesses no longer need to stress out about sending their employees on the road to work, since practically everywhere in the United States and beyond offers up internet cafes or reliable wireless internet connections around town.
If anything has truly driven the way that the world wide web has developed and changed, it is actually the introduction of Wi-Fi. Before, an online experience was mostly regulated to a desk, meaning that the ways that people thought about the web were completely different. After all, if you're going to have to sit at a desk to get things done, then there is less of a focus on what could be accomplished with taking computers elsewhere. The laptop started to change this notion, but when the first laptops came out, it was more focused not on getting online, but on being able to work from anywhere. Instead of relying on wireless internet, which many of the first models wouldn't have been able to handle, there was more of a focus on finishing work, then finding a place to plug-in.
However, the development of speedier computers and the ability to get online from anywhere close enough to a router is what has changed so much of how people see the world wide web. Without wireless internet, companies who developed cell phones wouldn't have been as interested in figuring out ways to extend networks not just to include the ability to call anywhere in the country, but also, to have access to digital information from one's telephone screen. And with Apple developing the iPhone to become a tiny entertainment system and office that can go anywhere, there is definitely something to be said about how important having access to information at any time has become to most Americans.
However, Wi-Fi unfortunately has its shortcomings. It is not possible to enjoy a Wi-Fi connection if too many people are on the same network, and sometimes remembering passwords is the least of a user's worries when it actually comes to making something function not just in theory, but also in practice. This is why people have been looking at ways to merge the reliability of cell phone coverage that's widespread with the convenience of being online at a computer from anywhere. And the result, WiMax, has definitely managed to impress a whole lot of computer users. For the first time, it is possible to enjoy national coverage, and this means the chance to not fuss with networks and simply open a computer to get online. As far as progress in Wi-Fi goes, this could be the one that launches the next level of the evolution of communications. Serious web users should take note now, and get ready for some more leaps forward.
From Seattle to Chicago, the Latest Leaps Forward in Wireless Internet
