Wireless Homecoming

I was one of the relatively early adopters of wireless networking. I had a "B" network, the second generation technology that was a fraction of a 10base-T and had a range of about three feet short of the most comfortable chair. My first house had a lot of unshielded wires in the walls, so the wireless signal could barely get out of the office where I first set up the hub. Ironically, I wound up running more wires around the walls in order to position the router in the exact center of the house, so the wireless signal could reach to the kitchen or the bedroom.

Alas, the promise of wireless freedom was complicated by the reality of children. I thought it would be good for Janet to have a laptop in the kitchen, but toddlers could still pull on power cords, knock over sippy cups onto keyboards, etc. And it goes without saying that young kids are mesmerized by computer screens and will, like hyperactive zombies, stop at nothing to put their hands on that brightly colored square.

But now my kids are 5 1/2 and 2 1/2, which is just barely old enough for both of them to know they need to leave daddy's stuff alone. And in the last five years, the technology has matured. Between the extended battery life and the super-extended wireless range, you can finally kick back on the sofa with a laptop and not feel an invisible tether around you.

So that's where I am, right now. I rarely blog away from my desk, but when I do it feels luxuriant. I'm having a hard time now imagining how anyone could make the user experience any more comfortable. If they could make it indestructable, that would be nice. But beyond that, this seems to be as good as it gets.