I'm writing this entry sitting in a café in downtown Salem. Nothing new and exciting with that concept. But what is exciting is that I could be writing this entry from the juice bar up the street, the museum, or any number of spots around town.
A privately-funded, free, open Wi-Fi network has opened in Salem -- and spreads across a major portion of the downtown. SalemOpen.net is responsible for setting up the project, getting the city and businesses involved, often getting them to help out with the recurring costs. A similar network was set up on Boston's Newbury Street a while back, but this is on a much larger scale.
Normally, Wi-Fi "hot spots" are often available by businesses willing to set up the network and eat the costs themselves. But the idea here is to make the entire city "hot" in order to provide free access to anyone.
It makes sense from both a business and community perspective. Here I am, getting out of my closet/office (a much needed activity these days), spending a little dough at the café. The access is free, and I may be inclined to come back -- not only this café, but any of the other businesses that are within the network.
If other cities haven't already set up similar networks, I'm sure they will. Imagine if every city started offering free access -- getting people online that might otherwise not be able to afford it. I won't delve into the security concerns this brings up.
And I predict that the number of beverage-related laptop illnesses will dramatically rise. You heard it here, first.