Ben Atkin's Weblog - Latest Comments in Better update those phrasebooks

Re: Better update those phrasebooks

Dave — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 23:12:07 -0000

Nice new theme, Ben! You really cleaned things up around here...

Re: Better update those phrasebooks

Ben Atkin — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:36:26 -0000

I don't hear "hotspot" too often. I think it's a holdover from when Wi-Fi was new and the next big thing. I normally say "Wi-Fi" or "wireless Internet". Since "Wi-Fi" is a brand name and has a logo that goes with it, it's the same in all languages -- and probably the first thing I would try when visiting another country.

I think Wi-Fi is great, but I wish it would be seen as an alternative to wires rather than nearly a complete replacement. The condo I'm currently renting had the electrical redone a few months before I moved in, but they didn't wire it for a LAN, presumably because they figured whoever got it could use wireless to go between rooms. Wireless connections are slower, less reliable, require extra hardware for desktops, and a bit of a pain to install on Linux and BSD.

Re: Better update those phrasebooks

David — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:20:55 -0000

I recently had someone walking into Inza Coffee ask me, "Oh, is this a hot spot?" Finally realizing they meant wireless so I said yes. Do geeks normally use "hot spot"? I would just ask for free wireless or free internet.