is there anywhere
as starkly cold
as a subway station
in the early morning
i think not
people come to wait
insulated
introverted
many
spend the few minute wait
eye glued
to their mobile phones
no matter
if
you are a crackberry
or
iphone user
checking email
oogling instagram
or
even
playing a game
while waiting
the other morning
as i walked down the stairs
into the subway
a new sign
caught my eye
WiFi
it proclaimed
this station
has wifi
to reaffirm this
there are signs
taped to the pillars
proclaiming
wifi
indeed there is
boingo is providing wifi service on the 79th street subway platform
if you are unfamiliar with boingo
i can tell you
it costs $7something a month
if
you can find a boingo hot spot
i signed up for a free month's trial of boingo a year or so ago
to use while travelling
however
i quickly discovered
that even if i was in a boingo hot spot
chances are
it didnt work
before the month was up
i decided not to go for a contract
i now have an iphone 5 with 4g lte connectivity
i dont need to have wifi
in order to get online
to check email or instagram
or even pop onto the web
for some on the spot fact find
on the street
in a cab
or
bus
my subway commute
takes me a quick 10 minutes
that includes
the wait time on the platform
i cant imagine
why anyone waiting for a subway train would need wifi
even the worst case scenario of waiting 12 minutes
- just this morning
as i hopped into the subway car
i looked at the 'clock'
which advises how long til the next train arrives
and saw it was 12 minutes -
i cant imagine
needing to connect
via wifi
especially boingo's not so reliable hot spot connectivity
so
answer me this
if you worked in nyc, rode the subway would you need to access wifi while you waited?
yes?
what would you be doing?
I often use my Iphone and chek my mails in subway...
ReplyDelete;-)
Pierre
If ѕome one wants to be updateԁ wіth latest tеchnologieѕ afterωaгԁ he muѕt
ReplyDeletebе pаy a quick vіѕit this wеb site and be up to dаte all the time.
Also viѕit my homeρage - taxi service irving tx
When IRL be IRL is my antique policy. At home the web prevails.....pictures, news, jazz, meditation timer, email, FB, local traffic/weather.......I sometimes imagine my life IF, subway mornings......
ReplyDeleteAloha, Dar
It would help pass the time, but I'd be afraid of getting hacked out in the open like that, with all sorts of people hanging about. (I'm a bit paranoid after someone hacked into my parents' laptop a few months ago when they were using the wifi in a campground full of retirees and caused them all sorts of trouble and expense.)
ReplyDeleteI guess for some people who just jumped out of bed, jumped into their clothes, jumped onto the subway, maybe those12 minutes are all they'll have to check their messages before they grab a coffee as they get off the subway and rush into work!!
ReplyDelete;-)
I do know a lot of people rely on their phone for work calls like my daughter, so it could be handy. Or for meeting people, when time poor. As I used my texts when I was visiting to contact the family, especially when in charge of small children who weren't exactly mine (grandchildren).
I doubt I would use it. I just had to ask my sister how to turn off the blinking lights and messages my new smart phone was sending me whenever there was a gmail or fb message. I don't want to be checking them when I am out all the time. If it is urgent then they will ring or text me, that's all I want to check!! If I want to sit down and check emails etc sometime I will, just not ALL THE TIME!
Heard/read about the wifi on the subways, it was funny everyone waiting for a station that came out of the underground system to send/check their messages. Could be handy for some, is what I am saying. Some people do have much longer commutes, and waits too I think. Occasionally I had to wait longer than 12 minutes.
;-) And the commute to Inwood, at the tip of Manhattan was 20 minutes to 45 minutes, depending.
I commiserate with the charges on updating your new phone, Daryl...oh, they drive me nuts, especially when I get to talk to an American, and I ask where he is located...in the Philippines!! argh! Usually they aren't even American, usually someone I can't understand their accent. Just had cause to argue with them again last night, this time a live chat on the computer! GRRR.
We don't have subways where I live but if we did I wouldn't be using my phone for anything other than an emergency for a 12 minute commute.
ReplyDeleteNo, probably would not need it.
ReplyDeleteI have the iPhone 5 also, but in all honesty, rarely use the WiFi capabilities.
Now my iPad is a different story, but still would not need it in the subway station.
Have a great day, Daryl!
Nope.
ReplyDeletedon't need it but if I had it I would be checking my mail & reading blogs!
ReplyDeleteHi Daryl! Hope this finds you and yours well. Very interesting post. I would hope I didn't need WiFi while waiting, although I might find myself in that situation. We're considering the iPhone 5 and it sounds like you would recommend it. I usually take my iPad to use while waiting in medical offices.
ReplyDeleteI need it NOW!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI would not Daryl. My iPad connects to the home line when at home and I have a sort of pre-paid little chip thingy (I know all the technical terms haha!)that I just top up when necessary (haven't done it once yet) so that I can use it anywhere. It's all I need. If I was waiting in a tube station in NYC I'm quite sure people watching would be waaaay more interesting than fiddling with 'stuff'!
ReplyDeleteNO...I want to be connected as little as possible.
ReplyDeleteI am all for being connected...within reason. If you can not take a couple of minutes break while you wait for a train, something might be wrong.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that if I took my phone out of my handbag in the subway, I would probably mistakenly stumble off the platform onto the rails :).
ReplyDeleteFirst off, that is a fantastic photo. First rate!
ReplyDeleteIf I was alone there, I probably would. I'd check my email and things like that. However, if there were a lot of people around I wouldn't. Not because I'd be embarrassed about it, but because I need to pay more attention when others are around. Paranoia maybe, but I don't want to be caught off guard...
Not me! I prefer to people watch and to see what's going on around me in the world. It amazes me how much people are missing because they are looking at their stupid phones!
ReplyDeleteAs for your comment over on mine - my shoulders sagged.... :0)
xoxo
Wouldn't be doing wifi in the subway. I'd be too busy sneaking shots.
ReplyDeleteWell, you know me and subways. I enjoy them. So, doing anything else would just take away from that enjoyment. No WiFi for me, thanks.
ReplyDeleteNo, I would not need WiFi. I would be people watching.
ReplyDeleteBeing an out-of-towner, there would be too much for me to look at while waiting for the subway. I think I could live without wifi for the short wait and the short ride.
ReplyDeleteNo. I would not be looking down for any reason, me being from here. I guess if you lived there and were used to it, no, still nothing that important LOL
ReplyDeleteThe photo makes me cold hahahaha!
I have no idea and you wouldn't want this country girl who uses a dumb as a rock flip phone to even attempt an answer. I go all day without internet and I sure as heck wouldn't be worried about fiddling with it if I were waiting on a subway.
ReplyDeletesince i don't have a smart phone, just a "dumb" phone, i'd have to pass. a book will suit me just fine while i wait.
ReplyDeleteI'm a wifi addict but 12 minutes doesn't seem like enough time to do anything.
ReplyDeleteI'd likely have my audiobook going, so I could wait out the 12 minutes.
ReplyDeleteWifi addict here ... so much one can do in those 12 minutes! Especially a news junkie like me!
ReplyDeleteNo I wouldn't need to but I might want to. What for? To read your blog. ;) Nah, I wouldn't care.. though if I got a text, I would check it, I suppose. Mostly, I'd probably have my camera in hand.
ReplyDeleteThe subway is too good for people watching for me but if I lived in the city and it became routine I would probably check my phone to make that 12 minutes seem more like 6:)
ReplyDelete