PAYING FOR WI-FI
I'm blogging from a sidewalk table outside the Starbucks in Westwood. Unlike the mighty Instapundit, I'm more than happy to pay t-Mobile $29.95 a month for unlimited access. (Maybe that University of Tennessee Internet access has spoiled him into thinking broadband access naturally comes free.) This way, I don't feel obligated to buy Starbucks coffee or Borders books unless I want to. Since I rarely drink coffee, I'm notorious for using Starbucks' Wi-Fi from adjacent stores that sell beverages (a.k.a. Diet Coke) more to my liking. Also, as a Dallas-based frequent traveler, I belong to the American Airlines Admirals Club, which uses the same t-Mobile system. Rather than hoping lots of businesses will throw in the Wi-Fi free with their products, which I may or may not want to buy, I'd like to see the t-Mobile network expand into more public places. The more it expands, the more I get for my $29.95.
One compromise between my proposal and Glenn's would be for traditional shopping malls, which need to find ways to compete with drive-up shopping centers, to install the t-Mobile network or one of its competitors. Malls these days succeed mostly when they become "third places" rather than "machines for shopping," and Wi-Fi access that doesn't require camping outside Starbucks or The Apple Store would be a lure.