Going out and about with an iPod Touch, you get into the habit of seeing which areas have unlocked wifi in the hope of checking your email as you walk along. It’s a bit like fishing — you’re always hoping to catch something rather than just eat frozen breaded haddock at home. Over the past six months I have noticed a big drop off in the number of people leaving their wifi unlocked — the rivers have been polluted by those who abuse the privilege by downloading gigabytes of porn.
Until yesterday I left my wifi unlocked — I enjoyed seeing that numerous passing iphones and iPod touches had connected using it — then I got an email from my ISP saying that I had almost reached my monthly download limit. I checked and saw that someone had downloaded 2.5gb of stuff — I was scandalized and promptly added two layers of security, joining the paranoid multitudes.
Alas, the iPod Touch isn’t much good when you’re out and about. You can scour around for a cafe with free wifi but then you have to get a drink, but it’s no good when you’re going from A to B and just want to check Google Maps. I suppose I could subscribe to BT’s roaming openzone thing if I am willing to stump up £6 a month for the privilege but I am someone who only spends £2.50 a month topping up his mobile so it seems a bit much. And, of course, once you’ve bought it you’ll be scrabbling around like a rat searching for places that have it in order to get your money’s worth.
So is the Touch worth having in a world without wifi? Definitely. Music, photos, videos, notes, contacts, calendar, chess, feeds, oblique strategies, books, dictionary, converter, sketches — all of these applications don’t need the internet and can keep you from scratching your eyes out in boredom in moments of solitude. It’s just a shame that wifi hasn’t become a friendly sharing thing.
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