The Null Device

Hotspots in Melbourne

Via this Age article (which says that "Wi-Fi" stands for "Wireless Fidelity"), this list of Wi-Fi hotspots in Australia. All the ones in Melbourne seem to be concentrated in the CBD or south of the Yarra (with the exception of a lone one in Glen Waverley), in the sorts of places that won't look amiss on corporate expense accounts. Of course, in Australia, it's a safe assumption that 99% of wireless internet users are executives working on spreadsheets on the road or something (as opposed to, say, San Francisco or New York, where the big market seems to be hipsters with iBooks that match their trucker caps using them for collaborative Photoshop jams or whatever).

The other day, though, I saw signs in the food court on Lygon St. (outside the Cinema Nova) advertising that they have wireless internet access there.

There are 7 comments on "Hotspots in Melbourne":

Posted by: threeze
http://neuralvoid.com
Sun Jan 18 11:09:20 2004

Doesn't Wi-Fi stand to "Wireless Fidelity"? It says that on my D-Link Access Point.

Posted by: threeze
http://neuralvoid.com
Sun Jan 18 11:09:45 2004

for. for. for. NOT TO.

Posted by: acb
http://dev.null.org
Sun Jan 18 12:58:53 2004

Look up "fidelity" in a dictionary; it has nothing to do with the concept of Wi-Fi. The term "Wi-Fi" doesn't stand for anything, though what has happened is that some clueless marketing drone has extrapolated that the "Fi" must stand for "fidelity", because it does in "hi-fi", despite the fact that the only thing the two concepts have in common is their use of electronic technology.

Posted by: Graham
http://grudnuk.com/
Sun Jan 18 14:16:04 2004

Maybe it stands for "Wireless Fiction"...

Posted by: Alex
http://
Mon Jan 19 10:39:52 2004

My sister's name is Fiona, abbreviated to Fi, pronounced 'Fee'. If you apply this pronunciation to 'Wi' then one could quite reasonably pronounce 'Wi-Fi' as We Fee.

Posted by: acb
http://dev.null.org
Mon Jan 19 13:25:24 2004

If she was your younger sister, you could call her "wee Fee". Especially whilst wearing that fetching kilt you have.

Posted by: mark
http://donotuselifts.net/
Tue Jan 20 06:49:20 2004

That's such a good idea, Andrew, that I believe I'm going to go adopt a little kid named Fiona and affect a Scottish accent right <em>noooooo</em>!

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