Sleek wireless laptops shared picnic table space with hot dogs and Frisbees as business leaders and tech fans came together for Thursday afternoon's "Wi-Fi Day" in the Erie Basin Marina.
While Buffalo Mayor Anthony M. Masiello spoke of the importance of expanding wireless Internet hot-spots across the city, Nicole Walter and her husband, Todd Walter, sat nearby testing the connection at the marina, a hot-spot added last summer.
"It's lightening fast," said Nicole Walter, a 30-year-old sales representative for CXtec in Williamsville.
The Walters were planning to leave soon to go shopping for a carpet, but changed their minds. They decided not to leave the cool lake breezes and harbor views, and instead started their shopping online.
Stories like that please Les Hoffman. As director of technology and training for the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, Hoffman started the process of getting Buffalo wired for wireless connections.
A few years ago, Hoffman started BuffaloWiFi.org, a quasi-public entity that has set up eight locations where anyone with a wireless-enabled computer can get on the Internet for free. The organization is funded by private donors and utilizes the City of Buffalo's Internet service.
It was also the main sponsor of Thursday's event, which featured booths by various Internet service and equipment providers as well as contests for free equipment.
"We wanted to have a summer event where we can highlight wireless technology and future technology," Hoffman said.
Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, is a transmission standard for wireless Internet connections from a transmitter, which allows wireless-enabled laptops within a certain radius to connect to the Internet. Starting on college campuses and in coffee shops, it has now spread to suburban restaurant districts, parks, homes and office buildings.
Hoffman described the city's wiring as an effort to improve the Buffalo's business environment and image in technology circles. If the city wants to lure technical talent through initiatives such as the Center for Excellence in Bioinfomatics, it must provide these types of amenities, Hoffman said.
Buffalo ranked 56th in Intel's latest "Most Unwired Cities Survey," ahead of Rochester and Syracuse but behind many tech centers like Austin, Texas, and Colorado Springs, Colo.
"Everything is becoming wireless," he said. "So we're just keeping Buffalo up to speed with the rest of the world."
A small crowd came out for Thursday's event, and Hoffman said his organization did not have any numbers on how many people are actually using the Wi-Fi sites.
"But we know there's a demand out there for it, so we're not overly concerned," Hoffman said.
He said part of that demand would come from the younger generation, which is getting used to such amenities on college campuses.
That's true for Ed Schmidt and Ben Sheron, two recent Canisius High School graduates who are heading to college in the fall. Schmidt, who will attend the University at Buffalo, said he and his friend came to Wi-Fi Day to learn more about what's going on in the wireless world in the Buffalo area.
Both talk expertly about things like wireless cards and Internet protocols and say they've been "techies" for awhile. Schmidt said it all started in 5th grade when he got the family's old computer.
"(My mom) was very surprised I set the whole thing up myself, and its pretty much been known since then that I'd do something with technology," Schmidt said.
He called the wiring of his home city "a very good thing" and said he would seriously considering coming down to the marina to enjoy the weather and surf the Web.
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