“Google is bringing Wi-Fi to the people of New York City — or at least some of them,” Ricardo Bilton reports for VentureBeat.
“The search giant plans to infuse the area around its Chelsea offices with glorious and free Internet access. The coverage will extend from Gansevoort St. to 19th St., from 8th Ave. to the West Side Highway, Google announced,” Bilton reports.
Bilton reports, “The big question with the latest development, however, is where Google plans to take it next. Could Google Wi-Fi one day blanket the entirety of New York City?”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
Before all the hate starts… I’d like to see Apple do more things like this. Ok… hate away.
Didn’t Steve Jobs give a city councilwoman flak for wanting Apple to do this in Cupertino? 😉
Yup. I just think it would be nice and they can use the positive publicity. They should under no circumstances be compelled to do so.
I also like Google’s Science competition. Some of those kids create such imaginative projects. Google gives them a little monetary prize. I’d like to see the prize bumped up to some serious cash. Make science as sexy as a stupid basketball.
Google does some good stuff but they’re mostly evil. There’s nothing benevolent about this free wi-fi stuff. They want to track people, period.
I agree with blillyjack… Google is not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, and there is nothing any more “free” about it than any of their other services.
you guys are idiots.
Can you elaborate?
@Xug
We are idiots? Wrong! We are all Morons, and I’m an imbecile, but idiots can’t read & write, so you must be stupid!
Welcome to the family 🙂
It is actually in Apple’s and Google’s best interest to do this. Haven’t the Cable companies been fighting against Net Neutrality and trying to add data caps? These data caps are only designed so that people use up all their available data if they try to disconnect Cable TV. With data caps it will be too expensive to get all of your TV from the internet which makes it impossible to quit Cable TV.
I believe this move is a shot across the bow of the Cable Companies. The message they are sending is this:
“Don’t even try to put data caps on your internet to block people from watching our movies, if you do, we will give away FREE internet, and you will not only lose your Cable TV monopoly, you will ALSO lose all of your internet customers to free internet as well!”
Now I doubt that Google really wants to wire up the whole country, but they can let the Cable Companies learn that in areas with Data Limits, we will wire them up and KILL you.
Apple should be doing this too. These Cable Monopolists need to learn that if they try to protect their turf by limiting our options, you could end up with no turf at all.
we get free wifi Internet at apple Stores 🙂
Get ready for your data to mined or basically stolen by Google. This is probably the only reason I would like Apple to do something like that.
Frick Google and frack New York City.
And screw Schmidt and Bloomberg too.
I know Google is considered an Apple rival, but for the purposes of this report, I don’t care – I love the idea of free wi-fi! 😀
It’s Google — where “free” isn’t really “free” because you sell your soul (i.e.: your private data).
millions of new ad impressions just got added to sellable inventory. nice way to to get around Android OS drop.
Free wi-fi for iPads, iPhones, and iPods, YAY!!!!!
Thank you, Google, for providing this boon to Apple’s business! 😀
Note to self: lock up aluminum futures market and sell foil hats
Wait until the NIMBYs get going claiming that WiFi causes cancer.
Free WiFi? Really?
So they can collect more data and make more money and destroy users’ privacy?
Don’t fall for this.
Yeah, and then Google will sell every byte of information of the NY surfers to their real customers, the advertisers.
Google doesn’t sell information, they sell ad space. There’s a big difference.
I would hope that someday Wi-Fi would be free and available to all cities just as we evolved from gas to electrical light. It would be considered as a normal municipal service because it would be a standard way of life.
+1
The way it should be.
Gas and electric service isn’t free, even when provided by municipalities. Neither is water service.
Not really likening the government snooping around with private data just to have free WiFi. They can easily retrieve data for their own political aspirations. Plus, would it be public data and could it be used against you by other citizens or government departments.
Really scary.
It’s called google Spy-Fi. You surf, we watch. Got to pay the bills somehow.
If you need to register to get the free wi-fi, it’s not free, baby. It’s like selling your self-worth to a drug peddler and getting your life fucked-up in the process.
Not free Wi-Fi, simply Wi-Fi you don’t pay for with $$.
BT have been doing this for years in the UK (BT-OPenZone plus the evil BT-Fon), and no, it costs nothing in terms of money, but it’s anything but free.
No free lunch from Google, ever.
Apple does provide free wifi at every Apple store in the world. Access is available on your own device and also on store display devices that anyone is welcome to use for virtually any length of time even on purely personal projects. We have seen all sorts of projects being worked on by folks in stores with no hassles from anyone.
Yes, but you have to be at the Apple Store to use their free wi-fi. I’m under the impression that this wi-fi could be used from anywhere in the area, in any building in the area, which would be a boon to those who work in an office and don’t have access to a wi-fi network during the day.
And the G will steal even more info about you and sell it.
Like Rat Poison …. They love it going down but end up paying big time!
OK, first off….is this in a needy neighborhood or a high dollar business district?
I see no glory in this move.
Light up a dirt poor neighborhood that can’t afford to buy access, yes.
Take business from companies that have paid millions to service an affluent area, then I say go to Hell, GOOGLE.
Chelsea? Last I checked times were pretty good in those parts…exactly their target demo is to take data from.
I’ll take outages from Cablevision any day of the week over that.
Apple does this at over 400 locations world wide, Apple Stores !
Could Google Wi-Fi one day blanket the entirety of New York City?”
Free Wi-Fi universal within a city full of steal skyscrapers. Hmm. Kind of difficult and expensive I’d imagine.
Someone call Steve Ballmer. What a wonderful way for Microsoft to compete with Google while burning a few more $million of Microsoft’s cash stockpile. Burn Ballmer burn!
😀