Words About Things

When I was younger there were only four television channels so you had to watch whatever rubbish was on if it was raining (which was about 6 out of every 7 days). That is how I found myself watching an old black and white film about a plant that roamed around a town at night eating people. I’m not sure what the underlying themes of the film were (nature always prevails?) but it put me off my Broccoli.

Somebody has now invented a giant plant that provides free, solar powered, Wifi. The flowers have a seating area and solar pannels in the petals. They provide a Wi-Fi network and a chanrging point for mobile phones and other devices. They were created by Patrick Shearn and Cynthia Washburn who are artists from Los Angeles who are part of Poetic Kinetics.

Perhaps I aught to try and get one of these for my garden? I know my girlfriend likes it when I get her flowers (although perhaps not giant plastic ones that attract people with laptops like bees).

Pret A Manger has launched a wifi service in 170 of its 190 stores. Customers will be able to use the wifi for free on their mobile devices and laptops. Pret are one of the first chains (along with McDonalds) to offer a free wireless broadband connection in a bid to draw in customers. Starbucks also has wifi available in store but charges customers a fee.

Many news sources have described this as a national offer which surprised me as I thought Pret only had stores in London. At first I just figured tht London people thought that the country ended outside of the M25. It turns out they have them in quite a few big cities although they have yet to invade the south west.

“Now you can get cheap deals for mobile broadband it has made it very hard to charge for wi-fi in cafes. Somebody will have to pay for it but it is becoming less likely to be the end user.”

Ian Fogg – Forrester Research

Pret A Manger are hoping that people will linger in store and spend more money if they feel like they are getting something for free. As broadband become cheaper and devices become more portable we can expect to recieve free wifi more often. If I had a nearby coffee shop with free wifi I wouldn’t bother going home!

News story here.

Some people consider wireless broadband to be better than mobile broadband whilst others disagree. The fact of the matter is that it depends on your needs. If you need flexibility and affordability then mobile broadband may be best for you. If however you need quick speeds and a reliable service then normal or wireless broadband may suit you better.

Whilst mobile broadband frees you up from needing to have a landline it can still require a lengthy contract. Whilst some providers allow you to pay and go (£15 for 3gb for example) others have 12 or 18 month contracts. The good news is that if you already have a computer you may be able to skip this as most of the longer contracts are for those receiving a free laptop.

A telephone line might mean more expense but it generally means faster speeds. Whilst we wait for fibre optic broadband using a standard copper phone line is as fast as you can get.

Mobile broadband tends to have lower usage limits such as 1, 3 or 7gb a month fixed line broadband is often unlimited. Where mobile broadband speeds tend to be around 1mbps normal broadband or wifi is often up to 8mbps.

Boris Johnson may have embarrassed the nation at the Beijing Olympics by suggesting that it was time to bring Ping Pong home but not everything he says is worthy or ridicule. The London Mayor has talked about his plans to make Wifi available all over London by 2012.

Bumbling Boris scoffed at the Prime Minister’s suggestion that school children should be given vouchers if their families cannot afford to get online. He said

I certainly think there is a case for dealing with people who are information technology-poor, and trying to help people get online, what we need is a city where anywhere you go, you can log on, you can get on the web.

This has come in response to the news that children growing up in broadband free homes can struggle to keep up educationally with those who have wireless broadband.

Wifi is currently avaliable in coffee shops and public areas of the city including Covent Garden. A list of other areas in which you can connect without the use of a phone line can be found here.