As I sit here emailing two friends, one in Valencia, Spain and the other somewhere in Chile, I'm also downloading a live Karl Denson show from an American Library Association website, recorded three weeks ago. I also happen to be listening to Herbie Mann's "Memphis Underground" which I just downloaded from a P2P site not twenty minutes ago. And now I'm writing text that will be visible to the entire online world in mere moments. All from my little laptop, which is here in my lap as I sit on my parents' front porch and watch my dog stalk squirrels in the neighbor's yard across the street. Pardon my naive incredulity, but how is this possible? All this information is traveling through the air. This is, quite simply, amazing. Of course, I am amazed in part because I know nothing about how it works, sort of like the villagers in The Gods Must Be Crazy when they find the coke bottle. If you're feeling the same way, read this.
Despite my ignorance, it is easy to see that Wi-fi technology is possibly one of the most important developments in information distribution. Ever. Imagine free global wi-fi access, coupled with the miniaturization of and widespread access to computer technology, and what we have is the revolution of knowledge. Well, the potential for a revolution. Of course we're still using email to forward millions of dumb jokes to each other each year, and I just read that something like 25% of all internet use is for porn, but we're trying. We're probably a long way from truly realizing the potential of wireless technology.
Historically, effective implementation of any good idea has depended on portability. When one person discovers something, the idea isn't really practicable until that idea is refined, transcribed, and distributed in the form of letters, books, paintings, music, skywriting, whatever. And each medium presents its own difficulties in allowing mass access to the public (I'm talking about physical difficulties, such as reprinting books and copying paintings--the profit-related and ethical complications of distributing ideas are an entirely different issue). Well, aside from skywriting, computer technology can provide at least a passable version of almost any tangible idea, whether it be sound, images, or text (or all three). And that idea can be conveyed THROUGH THE AIR to any computer in the world, theoretically. This is simply huge.
Anyway, this has all been said before, but the revolution has started. Looking for a public wi-fi connection near you? Find one here. Or just scroll down and fill out the form in the tool bar at right. Cheers.
