Wireless - It's Everywhere
Ethan Frank '01
Issue date: 10/5/00 Section: Technology
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When I started my internship at eGM this summer, I was pleasantly surprised to learn I would be working on wireless strategy. My story is not unique, many of my classmates also spent their summers working on wireless "this and that." And the High Tech Club is starting a wireless forum to be held every Wednesday at 11:25. Wireless is increasingly becoming a major part of our lives. But it's the wireless web where a lot of businesses and organizations are discovering all types of new possibilities.
Now, I return to Cornell to find wireless is everywhere - yes, even here in Ithaca. Most of you are probably aware that the Johnson School is testing a wireless LAN environment. Currently we are testing the network to determine how much activity it can handle. The results will be reviewed after this semester. If all goes well, Johnson School students will have unlimited (well, less limited than the test) access to our LAN via a wireless connection. This will really allow us to work in collaborative teams without always having to find that breakout room with a LAN connection.
But we aren't the only ones. The Computer Science and Communications Departments are working on wireless initiatives also. In fact, I am taking a class called Human Computer Interaction (COMM 639) where each student is given a laptop with wireless LAN access as part of Project Nomad. The project is evaluating student collaboration and team-based development in a nomadic computing environment.
There are nodes all over campus that allow students in this class to access the internet. Imagine a wireless Cornell in just a few years, when all the students carry laptops or mobile computing devices with them everywhere, because they can be connected wherever they are on campus. Current locations include: Carpenter Library, Center for Theater Arts, Kennedy Hall, Mann Library, Olin Hall, Olin Library, Phillips Hall, Uris Library, Veterinary College, and Willard Straight Hall.
Now, I return to Cornell to find wireless is everywhere - yes, even here in Ithaca. Most of you are probably aware that the Johnson School is testing a wireless LAN environment. Currently we are testing the network to determine how much activity it can handle. The results will be reviewed after this semester. If all goes well, Johnson School students will have unlimited (well, less limited than the test) access to our LAN via a wireless connection. This will really allow us to work in collaborative teams without always having to find that breakout room with a LAN connection.
But we aren't the only ones. The Computer Science and Communications Departments are working on wireless initiatives also. In fact, I am taking a class called Human Computer Interaction (COMM 639) where each student is given a laptop with wireless LAN access as part of Project Nomad. The project is evaluating student collaboration and team-based development in a nomadic computing environment.
There are nodes all over campus that allow students in this class to access the internet. Imagine a wireless Cornell in just a few years, when all the students carry laptops or mobile computing devices with them everywhere, because they can be connected wherever they are on campus. Current locations include: Carpenter Library, Center for Theater Arts, Kennedy Hall, Mann Library, Olin Hall, Olin Library, Phillips Hall, Uris Library, Veterinary College, and Willard Straight Hall.