About two months ago, one of my friends was over for our block party. He brought his new girlfriend, as well as his new toy - the iPhone. All day long he was playing with it and showing off its amazing features to the other guests. Toward the end of the party, he asked me, "Who are the Smiths?" (No, that's not their real last name.) I looked at him slightly confused. "They're my neighbors. Why?" "I've been using their broadband all day," my friend said, still working his new toy. My friend is far from a hacker, and to be honest I wouldn't even classify him as computer savvy. The device just made it too easy for him to connect to an open network. Today you can even get keychain Wi-Fi detectors. Now, people chipping off broadband from open wireless networks is nothing new. The reality is that the days of war chalking have just given way to the Wi-Fi hotspots we see today. But what happens when you're not close to a Starbucks or McDonald's that offers free service? Users still expect their expensive Wi-Fi device to work.
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