Hot Spots

By Anita Hamilton

Bali

OUT OF TOUCH...NOT Lots of people go to Bali for vacation. A few even get sent there for business. And if they are really lucky, they get to stay at the Ritz-Carlton resort. Now that the hotel has wi-fi in its conference room, business users can get more work done before they venture into the sun

London

NEXT STOP: HOLLYWOOD Digital artists at Framestore, a firm that creates special effects for movies and commercials, rely on heavy-duty workstations to create new scenes. Using a secure wireless network, producers can then review the artists' work on their laptops and suggest changes

Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA

CONNECTING FLYERS Travelers at the airport just outside Malaysia's capital can check out the international terminal's ultramodern interior, then hop online to send e-mails to friends and colleagues. This tech-friendly nation in Southeast Asia has about 300 hot spots and plans 700 more for next year

Bellevue WASHINGTON

EVEN FASTER FOOD With its juicy burgers and extra-thick shakes, this Burgermaster, near Seattle, has lots of old-fashioned appeal. But the drive-in burger shop is surprisingly high-tech: waitresses punch orders into wi-fi-enabled Compaq iPaq handhelds. The typical meal takes just seven minutes to go from the iPaq to your car

Baltic Sea

MAKING WAVES Wireless isn't just for landlubbers. Now travelers in the Scandinavian region (which has long been in the forefront of wireless technology) can get wi-fi while crossing the Baltic Sea. Passengers on Silja ferries running between Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn, Estonia, can log on for free while seated near the bar

Krakow POLAND

WEB EXTRAS For decades, visitors to Krakow's main city square have admired the historic buildings, browsed the souvenir stands and sipped coffee at the many outdoor cafes. This year, for the first time, they get to browse online for free--thanks to a nationwide effort to bring wi-fi to Poland

Boston

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston use wireless handhelds and laptops to submit prescriptions, read laboratory results and view X rays and ultrasounds. At right, an emergency-room doctor checks a PDA equipped with a plug-in wi-fi card

Vienna

WI-FI WITH A VIEW Perched nearly 500 ft. above the city, the observation deck at the Danube Tower offers panoramic vistas of historic Vienna and the Danube River. Now guests at the tower's restaurant can surf the Web while they enjoy their meal and the view--as long as they bring a laptop