Google Installs Free Municipal WiFi For Chelsea NYC Area

With all the hustle and bustle of CES surrounding us, let's take a moment for a feel-good story. The Chelsea district in New York is comprised of both rich and poor; the rich can undoubtedly afford Internet, while the poor may not. It's easy for a lot of us to take Internet for granted, but just imagine not having it. Some of us go insane without delay (or maybe that's just me).

To help resolve that issue for a lot of folks in the area, Google will be building the largest free WiFi zone the city has seen to date. Whether you're sitting in your sky-high villa or living in public housing, you'll be able to connect to the network via any device you have, as long as it supports WiFi, of course.

Miguel Acevedo, a manager of a youth program in the area states, "There's this stigma about people living in public housing, that we're not smart enough to use technology" and if true, that's rather disappointing. As mentioned before, the Internet is something most of us wouldn't want to live without. It's not just fun and games - it's our way of keeping in contact with the world, view breaking news, do research and so forth. For those in the area who haven't been able to afford their own Internet connection, Google will be doing them a massive favor here.

Of course, it's worth bearing in mind that Google's biggest focus is data-mining, so using such a network would give the company unparalleled access to data that could help it build its repertoire on you further. Unfortunate, perhaps, but given the option, it's hard to resist free WiFi.