Robbie Paplan posted an interesting article over on Rain City Guide last week proposing new fields in real estate MLS (Multiple Listing Service) systems that cover the interests of today's home buyers. While it comes from a tech perspective, there are plenty of non-techies who would be just as interested in Paplan's suggestions, including home based employees, consultants, and anyone else with a need for tech productivity from their home.

Here are three suggested by Paplan:

1. Broadband Internet Access: I wouldn't consider buying a house without access to broadband today. Having the ability to filter out homes without access or noting the estimated date of broadband arrival would make my day.

2. Cell Phone Reception: Couldn't agree more. I've been to friend's houses right in the middle of Minneapolis where I can barely get a signal from Sprint. That makes the home unlivable from my perspective. Sure, I could switch to a different provider but where would that leave visiting friends?

3. Include Richer Media: Absolutely. Any form of communication that helps me learn about the property, from photos, to audio descriptions, to video helps me better understand the property and decide whether it's worth investing time to visit. It also saves my agent time showing me properties I could have scrubbed from my list before visiting had I received more information about them.

Here are a few more I'd like to see:

1. Locations of nearby WiFi hotspots. Coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, etc. Anywhere I could hold a meeting with a laptop, or get out of the house for a while.

2. Locations of computer stores. How far to the nearest Best Buy, Apple Store, or MicroCenter?

3. Kinko's Locations. Occasionally, I need to fax something or run a large print job, but not often enough to get carried away with a land line or fancy printer.

What other tech specs would you like to see in the MLS system?