Wifi Use Statement

Because we are a technology reuse and recycling organization, we mainly deal with old technology; things that are almost universally adopted and thus abundant in the waste steam. We don't promote its use, but make it possible for people to acquire it and "catch up." The decisions we make about technology generally have to do with what we will give away (both with respect to hardware and software) and are guided by our mission to reuse equipment and empower people.

One technology that has gone from rare to widespread in the time since we opened our doors is wireless networking (wifi), which uses similar technology to cell phones to allow network access without wires.

Although we were pushed to adopt wifi from quite early on, we were reluctant to start using it (thereby promoting its adoption among our volunteers) without considering the impact this technology might have. Many concerns our research turned up are of the "it's too early to really know" persuasion, as this technology has not been around and tested long enough for us to know its impact on the people and other creatures exposed to it.

For example:

• there may be short or long-term effects on the brain