25 November 2005

Future Imperfect

Google has teamed up with the Californian (Bay Area) town of Mountain View to provide free, city-wide wi-fi. The cost to Google is $40 million, to install 500 wi-fi boxes into street lighting. Is this the future of internet access for the masses? Here's an article from The Mecury News. Johannesburg with wi-fi boxes in our street lights?

How many would be knocked down each week by our atrocious driving, and how many would be stolen each week by our army of unemployed redistribution of assets professionals? But cynical as I may be about those things, the idea of marching towards a time when wi-fi connectivity is as expected as a cellphone signal, is not that improbable considering that 10 years ago the idea of a phone in your pocket was 'in your dreams' stuff for most people.

The Google-Mountain View story was first read at Geek News Central, whose web pages and podcast I highly recommend. Give Todd Cochrane's show a listen iof you love being on the leading edge of all things tech.

"asset redistribution" is also known by more familiar terms such as : house-breaking, burglary, smash'n'gab, theft, hijacking, farm-seizure, riding the gravy train, ruling party. This professional skill is widespread in Southern Africa, latent in all sectors of the economy. Is it the product of the colonial or apartheid past, or is it simply the absence of Africa's version of a protestant work ethic that rescued Europe from staying like Africa is today? You choose. More crime stats here.

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