| Since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, | | | | was actually sitting in their driveway. My dad was not |
| we've been scrambling to improve upon the | | | | as amused, because he was the one that dealt with |
| technology as quickly and efficiently as possible. From | | | | the very expensive bill that followed. |
| party lines to dedicated lines, and then on to | | | | It wasn't until the third generation that we began to |
| conference calls and the advent of the Internet, | | | | apply this wireless technology to our Internet |
| wired technology seemed to be boundless. Then, in | | | | connections. Up to this point, we had telephone |
| the 1980's, we figured out how to get rid of the | | | | modems and then cable modems, and we were |
| wires, and a whole new generation of communication | | | | pretty pleased with the speed of data transfer. The |
| was born. | | | | idea of being able to take our work outside to the |
| The first generation of wireless technology was | | | | back deck on pretty days was appealing, though. |
| pretty basic by today's standards. It was slow, | | | | And when smartphones picked up the technology |
| unreliable, and capable of sending only minimal | | | | and made wireless calls and wireless Internet available |
| amounts of data. Pagers, however, became a fixture | | | | on one device, it was love at first sight. |
| in some professions, as it was possible to reach | | | | It may be hard to imagine that this wireless |
| people at any time, even when a telephone was | | | | technology could get any better, but it actually can! |
| nowhere around. 2G, or the second generation, | | | | Prepare yourself for the fourth generation in wireless |
| cropped up in the early 1990's. It was quite a bit | | | | communication, or 4G. The industry name is actually |
| better, making it possible to communicate wirelessly | | | | WiMAX, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability |
| by telephone. These early cell phones were quite | | | | Microwave Access. While your familiar WiFi keeps |
| large, and usually had a bag attached. I remember | | | | you tethered to your home or office, WiMAX will |
| the joy of being able to trick my friends into thinking | | | | make it possible to venture out into the city with |
| that I was just about to leave my house, when I | | | | your laptop and surf from just about anywhere. |