Bwog is a champion of the people. We save cats from trees, we give you free food, we defend the lowliest, saddest, most seemingly indefensible parts of our fair campus. We’ve tackled Wien, Famiglias, and the Freshman Fifteen. In response to a recent CUIT push for wireless to replace ethernet, Zoe Camp takes on the haters and gives you a reason to fight for the wire.

There’s something magical about the lovely clicking sound that lets you know your ethernet cable is hooked up to your computer. Wireless signals may come and go and be as speedy as Mail Services, but that click? It’s golden. It says, “I’ve got you connected, pal – at least until your knee nudges me out or you trip over me or something.”

While it’s laudable that the University wants to bring things into the 21st century and get rid of unnecessary technology that just wastes space (does anyone really use the room phone instead of their own?), getting rid of the ethernet jack is a whole different matter. Ethernet allows for a secure connection when wind gusts and other nasty stuff make wireless service spotty. The cable is like that one friend who may not be super cool or technologically savvy, but who still has your back if all your friends are busy or wasted and you just want to play Parcheesi and eat Cheez-its. He’ll never let you down.

Now, that’s not to say that this friend doesn’t have his flaws. Just like that one friend might have a nasty habit of forgetting to put on deodorant, the ethernet cable has a nasty habit of falling out of the jack – in fact, you could get CAVAed off a drinking game where you take a shot every time the cable slips out. Cords create death-zones where they lie, and nobody wants to trip in the middle of the night en route to the bathroom. While ethernet cords are certainly reliable, there’s something to be said for the simplicity of wireless internet – no fumbling and cords keep you between you and your beloved Bwog.

Is ethernet really worth ditching altogether? We may depend on wireless in our day-to-day routine, whether checking Facebook in class or lounging in bed watching Megavideo. But for times when you’re tired of waiting for the connection to come back, or the time it takes to load Courseworks seems to exceed the time it takes for you to do your homework, it’s nice to have that lovably dopey but oh-so-dependable pal around – your friendly neighborhood ethernet cable.

Lovable cable via Wikimedia.