Free Wireless HotSpots Everywhere

Some of the ideas stated in this blog were thought of back when the idea was in fact MAD.  But in some case they sit around a bit and become REAL. This idea is one of those such that started out as mad and became real (or is in the process of becoming real).

Past Prediction of the Future

When I originally came up with the idea of ubiquitous WiFi everywhere, the year was 2001 and I had just discovered WiFi 802.11b.  It was fascinating and almost ridiculously cumbersome.  How could I check the connection if there was no cable?  At the time I had signed up with Earthlink DSL at a blazing 1024 kbps /128 kbps.  I was livin' the good life.

Many of my neighbors had dial-up connections, and most of them had computers.  But none of them had even heard of WiFi. By the summer of 2001 I had purchased and installed USB WiFi-B dongles for each of my neighbors (there were only 6 families) and set up a system whereby they could all access my Wireless Network at speeds up to 128 kbps / 16 kbps per user.  Yes, I gave it away.

Some of my neighbors were downright dumbfounded and my initial data showed that they barely used the free service that I was providing. But as they recognized the constant availability, they all came around to using it more often. And two of them felt that they should pay me a portion of what they had been paying their prior ISP.   The whole system worked out quite well, as my usage was often late at night, while theirs was often in the morning and early evening.

What's Happening Now

Alas, Google and Comcast have begun to do what did 14 years ago, although on a much grander scale.  Comcast X-finity cable modem / routers all have a 2nd, dedicated SSID labeled "Xfinity" that is open to anyone.  Just cruise your neighborhood (presuming Comcast is common in your area) and look for these Access Points. In the last year I've found over 500 of them when driving through Silicon Valley.

Google on the other hand is doing something similar, but through Google Fiber service, Starbucks, and a future Mobile Carrier service.  Google knows fully well that WiFi can handle the needs of the people far better than current Mobile data can.  The mobile service that they will likely roll out in the future looks to mirror the business plan of Republic Wireless.

Google's been supplying free WiFi on airplanes and in Time's Square for the past few years.  It's not apparent who else is willing to spread the love.  Hopefully in the near future this Mad Tech Idea about Free Wireless Hotspots will actually be everywhere.

Google Glass Solo

It's reasonable to say that just about anything could happen by the time Google Glass makes it the market.  I'm not sure if it will be totally amazing awesome or just slightly better than it is now.  However, what I hope Google does, if not eventually, is to make Google Glass its own entity.  I want Google Glass Solo.

This only barely made my Mad Tech Ideas list because it doesn't look like Google is going to do it.  For right now Google Glass looks to be heading in the direction of a Smartwatch.  Effectively, Google Glass is a bluetooth add-on to your smartphone.  Sure it has a full Android OS, local storage, a screen, a camera and a battery with sufficient life to last the whole day, but that doesn't mean it's a phone, right?  It's like saying that because electric cars don't go VROOM when you hit the accelerator means they will never be "real" cars.

Ok, ok, so it would be difficult to interact with a non-touch screen with only one button.  But I seem to recall that Google supports voice interfacing too and it would seem to make sense that maybe 95% of the interaction could be via voice.  But I'm also sure that if Google Glass were a stand-alone device that it could also have accessories in much the same way that it is currently an accessory to a smartphone.  

However, seeing that most Android-based smartphones have access to a keyboard interaction known as "swiping", it may be safe to say that using one's eye to swipe might be a possibility (Sw-eye-ping?) If sw-eye-ping is possible, then the only thing they'd need to perfect is tapping, which at least for now could still be done via the temple tapping that is currently a part of Google Glass. 

I think we can all see that although this might sound like fantasy, it's no less reasonable that the idea that you could wear your smartphone on your head, 18 months ago.  Google Glass exists, it might not be publicly available yet, but it will be soon and then shortly after that, the solo model... I hope... will become available.  

Here's looking at you Google.  This Mad Tech Idea is free, please... please, please, please consider it.

"I concede that every sun must set, and yet the son of the father must also rise"

Google Hangouts Localized Calling

Google hangouts will ring your devices, but what if you tend to user one device more often than another, like your Nexus 7 at home, but HTC One when out. I would hope that Google could at some point figure out which device you're using the most and at what times during the day and direct the call to that device.

It might be more obvious if one of your devices is moving at a high rate of speed, that you're driving, or if by a particular route that you're actually on a commuter train.  Or if per chance you bring along the tablet but are using the phone, Google could determine by the percentage of use that you prefer the phone today.

This idea might seem a tad extreme to expect of any other company. But knowing what Google has accomplished before, with the overflowing pot of well-educated and brilliant engineers, I'd bet that they already thought of it and are baking it into the back end as I write this. It's all in Google Now, they already know you better than you realize that you don't know yourself.

"Do Androids dream of electric sheep?"