Ethernet wires to the router and internet connection. Then corporations started thinking people have laptops and are already connected at home with this technology. Let's put it in our stores and let people access the internet. It could draw them to the store and hopefully get them to buy stuff too. So people would go to a Starbucks or a place that offered WI-Fi hot spots, and people with laptops and the right equipment could hook up to the internet and enjoy a Frapachino.
Now we come to the future. WI-Max. W-Max is a technology that can offer complete coverage to the whole United States and the world where governments will allow it. Where WI-Fi could be compared to a cordless phone, WI-Max could be compared to a cell phone. So technology is continually improving. It used to be you'd have to get on the internet by some kind of fixed wire. Now you can get it through the air. All this can be compared in history, to the telegraph, that gave way to the telephone, which, gave way to the cordless phone, and then the cell phone.
Now, so, the internet marches on and us with it. Is all this good for people? You bet it is. It means easier access to the internet and eventually lower cost, faster connection and operational speeds. It also means that cheaper access to the internet will be possible and anybody who has a computer can access it. So the digital divide between people who can afford a computer but not the internet and those who can afford a computer and the internet will become those who can afford both and use them to increase their knowledge and help them lead better lives.
