Check Out the Golden Age of Wireless

Last year, while Seattlest was enjoying the "free" part of "freelancing," we packed up our PowerBook and set off to visit our local library -- the Seattle Public Library's North East Branch. We figured we'd relax among the stacks and search the Web.

We discovered to our chagrin that the library did not offer Wi-Fi. No SPL branch offered Wi-Fi, in fact, except for the bauble-tastic Central Library. So we trundled off to nearby Grateful Bread -- at the time, the Wedgwood Top Pot was still just a mysterious construction project with palm trees -- to enjoy a tasty sandwich and their wireless connection.

Much as changed since then. The mysterious constructin project is now a fully functioning doughnut emporium. We're throwing money into Comcast's coffers for a home broadband connection. And 7 SPL branch libraries now have wireless Internet access: Ballard, Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, Green Lake, Greenwood, North East, and Rainier Beach.

You don't need a special password, and unlike Internet access through the library's desktop computers, there's no time limit.

We're glad to see the SPL's finally publicizing their Wi-Fi -- we heard the story on KUOW this morning -- because we discovered it via a laser-printed sign on the North East Branch's door. Not a very 21st-century news medium, but maybe effective enough.