State parks' new Wi-Fi hot spots will bring the Web to the woods

[Kadie]

State parks' new Wi-Fi hot spots will bring the Web to the woods

By CLINT SWETT
THE SACRAMENTO BEE

Last Updated: January 23, 2005, 04:29:16 AM PST


SACRAMENTO — You can check your e-mail while sipping lattes at Starbucks or munching burgers at McDonald's, so why not while scarfing s'mores around a campfire?

That will be possible within the next six months as SBC Communications and the California Department of Parks and Recreation roll out wireless Internet access at 85 state parks.

The wire-free connections at the parks indicate the explosive growth of Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, and Americans' desire to remain in touch, experts say.

The plan doesn't rankle environmental advocates like Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the California State Parks Foundation, who says it's akin to when pay phones entered parks three decades ago.

more...
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/9817348p-10677255c.html

[mike_c]

1. oh. my. gawd.

Now I'm as much an internet junkie as anyone, but I'll be damned if I carry my laptop into the woods. OK, I actually do sometimes, on research trips, but not so I can keep track of my Ebay bids. This is as preposterous as watching people set up TVs at their campsites, or rolling out astroturf so they don't have to walk on dirt.

[Rush1184]

2. speechless

[swimmernsecretsea]

3. Help! I'm running as fast as I can

But I can't get far enough away!

Our nations' parks and recreational areas are SUPPOSED to be free of such nonsense. And this is coming from a person who has to obsessively check his email every 15-20 minutes!

[Xithras]

4. Why all of the anti-WiFi opinions?

Computers are quiet (unlike the stereos and generators that people also bring to the parks), they don't affect wildlife, and they allow us to keep in contact with the world without having to carry around a cellphone.

Besides, imagine camping at a park and being able to look up trail information, trail photos, or even realtime weather information and doppler before setting off on a hike.