Anyone have free wireless Internet(s) in their city?

[hiaasenrocks]

Ours will start by the end of March. It's based downtown but has a six-mile range so even though I'm closer to the beach, I'm well within that range. Anyone have any experience with this?

I have a laptop that is wireless capable, but I don't have a wireless setup in my house, so I'm looking forward to using it.

[hiaasenrocks]

1. I guess I'm the only one!

:woohoo:

Or people don't care.

:cry:

But I'm gonna have free high-speed, so...

:woohoo: again!

[alarimer]

2. It was free here until Jan1

Now they charge but I think it is a small fee.

[hiaasenrocks]

10. There will be two levels of service.

Free = 250kbps

$19.95 = 1mbps

I just got that information, after my original post.

250kbps isn't bad for free. The wireless connectivity is what'll be cool.

[pointblank]

3. THATS AWESOME

I wish my town would do that!

I just got a Palm TX for X-mas and it had WIFI. I love going to the few bars around here that have wireless.

Actually, I am very close to talking my favorite bar into letting me hook up wireless for them (I work in computer networking, so I kinda know what Im doing)

[HillDem]

5. When i first got my laptop

I would drive around the neighborhood seeing who had WIFI and who didn't. It turns out there tons of networks and practically everyone I could access.

[hiaasenrocks]

7. I'm no expert, but...

be careful. It MIGHT be illegal...someday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardriving

[HillDem]

4. In DC there's a free WIFI

If you live on capitol hill. It's called OpenPark, but i can only get it if i go up on my roof.

[HillDem]

6. HAHA i just got that internets joke

very funny


:rofl:

[hiaasenrocks]

8. Thankya. Thankyavurymuch.

I see it all the time in GD. Can't really take credit for keeping the joke alive. But everyone should join in!

[Maddy McCall]

9. NOLA is supposed to get it.

But I live too far away to pick it up. :(

[merh]

11. IMHO, free wireless is just another way our government will be able

to freely & without warrant, access our communications.

The key to illegal access is the expectation of privacy. How can one expect privacy when the internet service if public and free. :shrug:

Just food for thought.

[hiaasenrocks]

12. Interesting. Good points.

I don't know if it makes a difference to your point, but this wireless service is being provided by two local companies. No government involvement, no taxpayer funds, etc.

I should have made it clear in my original post that this was just happening in the city, not being provided by the city.

[merh]

13. Does it make a difference who is providing it?

If it is given freely and to the public, is there any "harm" if others intercept the electronic signals with whatever devices available? Again, is there an expectation of privacy when the service is freely provided to the public?

I just do not trust the corporate world giving the public anything for free and I do not trust our government.

[hiaasenrocks]

15. I don't know if it makes a difference.

That's why I said "I don't know if it makes a difference" in my response. :)

[merh]

16. That makes sense.

I don't know if it makes a difference either. :P

[hiaasenrocks]

17. And this brings up another issue.

It's one of technology, and I'm no expert on these things, but I'd like to know how easy it is to locate a wireless laptop.

Say I'm downloading something illegal or I'm communicating with someone who is being watched, and they want to find me. I log in to the wireless network. How do they trace it to me?

I could be at home (which is where I use my laptop the most). I could be at the coffee shop. I could be at work, at the library, at a neighbor's house... And no matter where I am, how do they follow a signal like that? Can they? Hmmm.

See what I mean? I'd like to know more about it. Not necessarily every techno-detail, but just whether this is possible and how difficult it might be.

[merh]

18. That is a very good question.

I would think that they would be tracking a person that uses the technology and have no problem accessing what he/she accesses, given it is publicly available.

I am not sure though, we need to ask your question of folks with the tech know how.

[hiaasenrocks]

19. You're right about the tracking of data, etc.

But how do they find the person or the laptop?

They could watch all kinds of illegal things going to a particular computer, but how do they find that computer or the person using it? I know about IP addresses and such, but it seems to me a mobile device on a free wireless system (therefore, I assume unregistered) would be very difficult to track down, physically.

[merh]

20. It would be watching the particular person and intercepting

the electronic information sent or received.

Now, they can do that with a warrant, but they have to have probable cause.
Don't know if a warrant would be necessary.

[pitohui]

14. they got it in orleans (new orleans) EOM

,

[Shine]

21. They were talking about setting it up in San Francisco a while ago

but I don't know what the status is now. It seems like a great idea, though.

Greetings, from California!
:hi:

[hiaasenrocks]

22. I'm surprised it isn't there already.

Larger city and all. I dunno.

Greetings back, Shine!

[Shine]

23. It actually might be and I'm just too lame to know. heheh.

It wouldn't be the first that's happened. Silly me. :eyes: