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August 02, 2007
Thankyouverymuch, Google!!!
I'm getting my car serviced this morning in Mountain View, CA. I'm told it will take an hour to an hour and a half. Certainly not my favorite errand, especially when the magazines in the waiting room are, no offense, Better Homes and Gardens, O: At Home: An Oprah Magazine, an old Sports Illustrated that I've already read, and a Harper's Bazaar from December 2003 (although Salma Hayak is on the cover, so that's not a bad thing.)
As I'm on my way to work, I have my computer with me. And, since this dealership is in Mountain View it is covered by free Google Wi-Fi. The whole town of Mountain View is covered. Gratis. By Google. This is where Google is based and while some may claim that is it just their attempt to get their employees to work 24x7, they've explained that it's really a community service. And, as I'm not a Google employee and they receive no direct benefit by providing me with free wi-fi, I can tell you that having access to the network and my ability to VPN to work while waiting in my car dealership's lounge does give me a warm, fuzzy feeling for them. And, I bet, one of their top two reasons for installing Wi-Fi was, "Have people feel warm and fuzzy towards Google." Mission Accomplished.
Cisco provides free broadband for its employees at home so that your work connectivity is seamless if you are a telecommuter or have an occasional WFH day...and, of course, to help extend the work day, if one wishes. Our CEO, John Chambers, explains that providing employees with broadband is a no-brainer. Basically, if an employee works one extra hour a month at home, then the broadband cost is paid for. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you they are getting their money's worth. (And, as we have the fabulous Linksys in the Cisco family, most of our homes therefor have wireless broadband throughout.)
Okay, now back to real work. Sitting in the dealership's lounge. Using my free Google Wi-Fi.
Posted by John Earnhardt on August 2, 2007 09:00 AM
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Comments
It's a shame that not all companies think the same way... My multi-national company is taking away our home broadband and we have to apply for 'exemptions' to get it back.
They'll soon realise their error when the staff in Ireland/UK/Israel stop calling into evening meetings with the US and the corporate productivity slows down...
Posted by elly parker on August 2, 2007 10:10 AM
The free wifi in most of the mtn-v area is almost useless. The attempt to wired the city with low speed wifi has been a total disaster. The OP was probably extremely lucky that he/she was probably several tens feet from one of the Aruba's APs. That is about it....
I don't feel warm about it just the same way as being treated with crapy free food. I would rather pay if the network connectivity is steady. No harding feelings. just from different angle..
Free metro wifi? a long way to go.
Posted by Jiang on August 2, 2007 06:28 PM
