Wi-Fi In The 21st Century Workplace

COMPUTER USERS are fundamentally changing how, where and why they get online. July 1999 was a milestone in electronic liberation. That's when Apple Computer debuted the Airport, the first cheap Wi-Fi base station that gave people--or at least the blessed few who used Macintosh computers--fast, wireless access to the Web. Freed from clunky cables and connectors, PC users of all stripes are now fundamentally changing how, where and why they get online. Inexpensive to install and maintain, Wi-Fi networks are becoming ubiquitous. In less than five short years the number of U.S. households with a Wi-Fi network has gone from zero to 4.3 million, and you can barely pass a street corner in any big U.S. city without seeing a public Wi-Fi hot spot. Wi-Fi is much more than just Web surfing from a park bench or coffee shop. Doctors in Alabama are using the technology to save lives by cutting down on medical errors. The latest batch of Wi-Fi gadgets are both inexpensive and wonderfully useful. And, for even the most technologically disinclined, Wi-Fi remains an investment opportunity.