Ah, California – the state that churns out most of the GDP for the entire US, and is a champion for green technology and lifestyle albeit being one of the more expensive places to live in especially if you want to plant yourself in its major cities. San Francisco’s BART commuter railway system has plans to roll out Wi-Fi access on all of its trains and stations by the time 2011 comes about in a 20-year deal that was signed last Friday with Wi-Fi Rail. This means all 104 miles of track and 43 stations will allow passengers to check their email in double quick time without having to rely on a data plan, although there is a price to pay – $30 per month. Makes us wonder whether this is really worth it or not unless you have a really, really long commute each day and cannot bear to be away from an Internet connection for more than 30 minutes. In this case, we think carrying around a 3G modem to work with your laptop is a better idea, although you might be plagued with spotty connections when going through tunnels. Ah well, bring a book along then – the email can wait.

Source: CNET