Technology in Arizona

My daughter is a student at ASU in Tempe and where she is currently living she has no internet service. I told her that I thought Tempe was going to be set up so the whole city was a hot spot. When will (did) this happen and how does she go about getting set up for wireless internet service?

Thanks.

Mayor:

Isn't the new WIFI system just a giveaway of public access to COX communications? Are all internet providers ( eg Quest ) allowed to provide internet access thru this system?

From the pitiful amount of on-line information I can find, the city will be charging some $30.00.month for WIFI access - which is way too much - I already paid for those light poles (with my taxes) once. Why don't you prove your good intentions by keeping access to no more than $10/month; or will your buddies at COX allow it?

Jay Williams

It's great to see cities working on getting wireless Internet access working in the Valley!

The WiFi networks will definitely make business easier in those areas. Hopefully other cities will follow suit and all the cities will work together for a Valley wide plan. The Valley has very mobile residents who often have appointments in multiple cities in the same day.

Ricochet was great, even without WiFi bandwidth, before the company offering it pulled out of the Valley. The Ricochet connection directly made several contracts possible for me and I was at a disadvantage in cities that didn't have wireless networking.

Tempe and Chandler are showing themselves to be more business friendly than cities like Scottsdale that actively work to inhibit wireless services.

Here are some pages from Tempe that showed up via their Google searchbox.

http://www.tempe.gov/business/wifi/

http://www.tempe.gov/LIBRARY/help/wirlessfaqs.htm

It would be nice if the commercial page would include information about the no cost services. They won't be used if no one knows about them...

An article in last Thursday's New York Times (p. C13) titled "Advocates of Wi-Fi in Cities learn Art of Politics" mentions Tempe and the public good envisioned by such a system. So far I haven't been tempted to switch from Cox. The free two hours is limited to 56K. I tried to buy a month but problems with the system wouldn't let the technician give me access. If Tempe is trying to change the way we think about communications the system will have to be better than the alternatives.

What is Google's commitment to the local community beyond jobs and tax revenue? How will Google help to energize the local technology community? Education? Universities? Open-Source software groups? Partnerships with local service providers? Partnerships with local R&D efforts? Will Google participate in local politics to create a more tech-friendly Arizona?

Regarding social networking, please focus on the issue of the explosion of available groups...how does an individual typically settle in on particular groups to be a part of (I imagine 90%+ people don't really stay in one group but just browse the postings and maybe submit once or twice). It seems back in the 90's, with fewer groups out there, you'd get more reliable feedback. Since then, just as an example, there is a profusion of "one message, no replies" postings out lingering out there.
Will there eventually be some kind of consolidation (like in the business world)...or are we at that point already?

I spend way too much time online with the advent of myspace.com

it is also through myspace that some people I wish would have stayed in my past have tracked me down and no email and IM me incessantly.

Does Internet use trail off as people get older or is it that older people use it less? In other words do individuals actually use the Internet a lot less as they get older?

what about piracy on this network? how will you track a pirate down? this seems like a pirate haven to me.

How is the internet effecting Library use. Will it replace libraries in the future and how people do research? Will libraries ever offer all their books as e-books?

By the way, I'm listening to the show right now over the Internet and posting on this website, while writing code for my project at work. This beats listening to a radio and a sitting on hold on the telephone any day! Thanks!

Regarding Google:
Their culture seems to be youth-centric. How does Google see older workers fitting in?

when will you know were you will locate?
I want to work for google but need to know location!

Question for Douglas Merrill: Can you comment on the current number of open positions and what the volume of applicants has been?

Rene,
Great job on the show today. Kudos to you and the whole staff.

Thanks for covering technology in the Valley.

We have lots going on, but don't seem to get much local coverage. It was great to hear something from Mayor Hallman about the WiFi rollouts for Tempe and Gilbert.

It was also great that you had callers right off the bat smashing stereotypes about gender and age for Internet use :).

Seeing a grandchild's first steps via a webcam is pretty cool! Great for her!