Homeless Dudes With WiFi. Awful or Awesome?

Earlier this week, Gizmodo provided these two awesome photos—along with a little analysis:

There's something really wrong in the world if we can see scenes like this.

At the risk of taking a quick, funny photo post and over-analyzing it: I actually think these images are a sign of something really right in the world. Don't get me wrong—homelessness blows, and I'd guess the life stories of these guys are not all rainbows and lollipops.

But if Gizmodo is right that the second guy has WiFi and some speakers, then he has access to more information and entertainment than even the richest, most powerful men could imagine for most of human history—and he can share it with whomever he likes. When he's bored of beans straight from the can, he can research for-the-homeless, by-the-homeless cooking tips. He can read about the latest in funny cardboard signage. He can watch this week's episode of Glee. He can look at porn (or maybe he doesn't need porn because he's keeping an eye on forums like this one.)

Pew reports that one-third of Americans consider high-speed Internet access a necessity, not a luxury. And that's good news.