Well gosh, I'd have made mention of Wi-Fi-related news closer to home than either New Zealand or California had there been any, but these two tidbits do make something of an interesting juxtaposition.
I've come across rumblings from the New Zealand town of Nelson before about the local public library offering-horrors!-free and open Wi-Fi for everyone, which doesn't set well with at least one local businessman who's apparently still able to sell play-for-pay sessions for $4 (I assume that's in New Zealand dollars; I have no idea of the current exchange rate). Now, according to a local newspaper over there, he's steamed that operators of tour buses cruising through town make a point of advising laptop-toting backpackers of the library's access. Like they'd cram into his place to fork over for his overpriced sessions instead, rather than find another free venue run by a true competitor of his. Yeah, right.
As for why the town government should perhaps listen to him with a jaundiced ear, consider the following newspaper item from Lodi, California. While I personally would feel a bit better if a person in the protagonist's situation were a bit more inclined to use the library's access as a means toward getting out of it, it is heartening to know that free and open Wi-Fi is, at least in this one case, really helping to narrow the digital divide.
Oh, I almost forgot-Happy New Year!
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