About three dozen access points are deployed in common areas such as the grassy central mall, the library, the arboretum, the Taylor Cent Huebsch, a computer-science major, taps into the wireless network with his Dell Inspiron laptop and its Lucent networking card. He doesn't know how he did without them. I don't have to worry about being 5 feet from a wall jack. This is cool. There isn't a PC next to you.
Students are able to print out their papers via wireless, too.
In a separate loan program, any of 20 laptops can be used for two hours anywhere on campus at no charge. Wireless networking isn't limited to laptops. The Nokia phone maker is kicking in 200 handsets that can be used for simple Web browsing, e-mail swapping and access to school resources. At the University of Minnesota, meanwhile, maroon and gold Net kiosks with built-in keyboards and screens now let any student and staffer get online in a jiffy. A peek inside a kiosk reveals more cutting-edge capabilities.