It was probably a naval thing.
Battlestar Galactica (The new one) had wireless, too. But Adama and the rest still had to sign things for work requests, shipping details, etc.
One of the plot twists of the new Battlestar Galactica was that it was getting ready to be retired and had never been integrated into the fleet computer network. That's why it was able to escape and fight back when the rest of the fleet was betrayed by their electronics. I enjoyed that series for a while until it got so depressing I found myself wearing a noose while watching it.