Sunday, July 10, 2011

There's No Such Thing As "Wired Wi-Fi"

I was at a hotel that had this sign, and thought, "Awesome! Free Wi-Fi!" So I fired up my smartphone, but couldn't find the Wi-Fi signal. When I called the front desk, they informed me the Wi-Fi was only available on an Ethernet-enabled computer. I went back to the sign and read it more closely to find it was "Wi-Fi wired" access.

I thought I'd perform a public service and inform the Four Points Sheraton, AT&T, and anyone else who might be planning this kind of crap that there's no such thing as "wired Wi-Fi." Apparently no one told AT&T that "Wi-Fi" is certified as a wireless Internet connection. In fact, "Wi-Fi" stands for "wireless fidelity*." The idea of an Ethernet connection being called "wired Wi-Fi" is like calling radio a "picture-less movie." It doesn't make sense.

* To all the nerds out there, I'm aware that Wi-Fi started as a meaningless pun intended to remind us of "hi-fi," but the fact is that even the Wi-Fi Alliance refers to it as meaning "wireless fidelity."