The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel's Ryan Lengerich looks at his city's free Wi-Fi network, and what he learns should serve as a warning for the wireless industry in general -- users see Wi-Fi as a mysterious and unreliable service, not a reliable one, and that's not a good way to build trust.
"One day I can stand right there and get on the Internet, and the next day it doesn't connect," says indiana university student Jenny Nelson.
"Sometimes it works," Langerich writes. "Sometimes it doesn't. She doesn't complain."
Really?
27-year-old Andrew Mitchell says, "I guess I would give it, being generous, I would give it a 'B-.' I think it was a good first shot."
The question is, what will bad experiences like this do to people's attitude toward wireless connectivity over time? Sure, as it gets better, they'll use it more -- but this can't be a good way to introduce people to the technology...
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