Lendable library wifi hotspots

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File this under “Things that are cool”: thanks to a grant from Google, the Seattle Public Library is going to be lending people wifi hotspots that they can take home for three weeks, just like books. You can also renew them if no one else has a hold, just like books. Did you know that some 15% of the households in the Seattle area don’t have internet service? I didn’t.

Later this summer, they expect to have lendable laptops, too.

It makes me feel like an old fogey to say it, but I remember looking at the earliest laptops and thinking WTF is the point of THAT? Now I write all my fiction on one.

Anyway, this isn’t the first program in the country, but it’s a welcome addition. For people who are looking for a job or a place to live, the internet is vital. In fact, it’s so important for the public to be able to utilize it, it ought to be a public utility.

I hope it goes well.