The New York Times Sunday opinion section
had an interesting piece comparing the offering of free wi-fi at retail establishments to the days when air conditioning was first offered by movie theaters. Here in the South, movie theaters were for a long time the only places in most towns that had air conditioning. While it was extremely expensive for them to purchase air conditioning equipment at the time, it was good business. The article criticizes Starbucks for making their wi-fi service an extra expense.
I put airports in that same category. I find it extremely annoying that some cities like Dallas and Las Vegas manage to offer the service for free and others (including my own Memphis International Airport) charge an arm and a leg. The ones that make it free are sending the message that their city is pro-business.
And speaking of free wi-fi, are your law offices wireless hotspots that your clients can use when they need to? Ask your IT professional about helping with this if you don't have it. Odds are you have high speed Internet access in your office so adding this capability in your office would probably cost you less than $100.
# posted by Greg Siskind @ 8:12 AM