Barnes and Noble
19120 East 39th Street, Independence
802.11g
SSID: attwifi
Full disclosure: I'm not posting this from there. Instead I'm reporting what I found when I dropped in yesterday while I was in the neighborhood (sales taxes are a little less in that part of the metro, which is important when you're buying your biggest gift) and decided not only to see if B&N had dropped their onerous two-hours-at-one-whack limit which I discovered when I reviewed their Country Club Plaza location a couple of years back, but also to find out if someone constrained to use a VPN, as I am when using my work laptop, could actually connect and...well, you know, work. I am pleased to confirm that the answer is yes on both counts. Too bad I also have to confirm that you'll need to charge up your laptop before leaving work, because there appear to be no power outlets in the cafe, which has the only convenient seating in the place.
And I'm not sure if we should really take heart at this news, but mine was the only laptop evident there. Seems as if everyone else was busying themselves with-dare I say it?-books. You remember books, don't you? Those things made up of leaves of paper with printed words on them? That don't require external power or an Internet connection? That you have to operate by hand and actually engage your brain to use? Yeah, that's right, those. Hmmm...maybe the era of movable type isn't as dead as some would have us think.
Something to contemplate, at least. Season's greetings, everyone!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The other shoe has dropped...
...in the case of the Michigan miscreant who, as I reported here back in August, went to extremes in order to hook into an open public library network and access That Which Should Not Be Accessed.
And it seems as though it could have dropped a little harder, if you ask me. Just six months, and only on a state charge? Where are the feds? Well, if the stuff really didn't cross state lines, here's hoping that the unnamed party of the second part-the creator of the downloaded material-is promptly reeled in and given a much more appropriate sentence.
While we're on the subject of libraries and yucky stuff, I thought I'd note in passing this item from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Curious how they wait until the third-from-last paragraph to point out that the patron in question might have been using a laptop and therefore possibly could have been on the Wi-Fi, which, of course, means that the library's ability to do anything about the situation would have been limited in that the computer wasn't one they owned or managed. And has it dawned on anyone out there that if the patron was using a laptop, he may have brought the questionable material into the library with him to start with?
Finally, why do so many of these my-kid-got-porned-in-the-library stories fall into the category of second-hand after-the-fact reports? At some point, you've got to wonder.
And it seems as though it could have dropped a little harder, if you ask me. Just six months, and only on a state charge? Where are the feds? Well, if the stuff really didn't cross state lines, here's hoping that the unnamed party of the second part-the creator of the downloaded material-is promptly reeled in and given a much more appropriate sentence.
While we're on the subject of libraries and yucky stuff, I thought I'd note in passing this item from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Curious how they wait until the third-from-last paragraph to point out that the patron in question might have been using a laptop and therefore possibly could have been on the Wi-Fi, which, of course, means that the library's ability to do anything about the situation would have been limited in that the computer wasn't one they owned or managed. And has it dawned on anyone out there that if the patron was using a laptop, he may have brought the questionable material into the library with him to start with?
Finally, why do so many of these my-kid-got-porned-in-the-library stories fall into the category of second-hand after-the-fact reports? At some point, you've got to wonder.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Could be better.
Made it into Jeff City and the Missouri River Regional Library about an hour and a half after bidding adieu to Sedalia. Filtered Wi-Fi (why does anyone even bother with this anymore?) and no dedicated power outlets for us microfilm researchers (you can plug into a power strip mounted on back of the reader table, but it's only energized-grrrr!-when the reader is turned on) serve to knock this one down from a 10 to about the 7.5 range in my book, unfortunately.
Oh, and that's the good part. Guess what you have to do to get the desired rolls of microfilm into your hot little hands so you can go to work. You've got to stop at the reference desk and have someone there get up, walk over and unlock a cabinet for you. I half-jokingly asked the reference librarian if anyone actually stole microfilm in this day and age. He replied-serious as a heart attack-that yes, they did. I suppose we'll have to take him at his word, but this has never been a problem in any other library I've ever visited (not counting UMKC's Miller Nichols Library, whose microfilm stacks, as I've reported here, used to be open but are now closed due to having been automated, not for security purposes).
You know, on second thought, make that a 6.5.
Oh, and that's the good part. Guess what you have to do to get the desired rolls of microfilm into your hot little hands so you can go to work. You've got to stop at the reference desk and have someone there get up, walk over and unlock a cabinet for you. I half-jokingly asked the reference librarian if anyone actually stole microfilm in this day and age. He replied-serious as a heart attack-that yes, they did. I suppose we'll have to take him at his word, but this has never been a problem in any other library I've ever visited (not counting UMKC's Miller Nichols Library, whose microfilm stacks, as I've reported here, used to be open but are now closed due to having been automated, not for security purposes).
You know, on second thought, make that a 6.5.
They call it Cyber Monday, but Tuesday's just as bad...
With apologies, of course, to the late great T-Bone Walker for mangling his song title above (sorry Bone, but my mom was a B. B. King fanatic so I grew up listening to his version of that).
Anyway...Once more, having prudently saved my vacation time until the use-or-lose last moment, I am off work and off on another adventure-not dodging spam and spyware on the information superhighway in search of treasure in the form of discounts, mind you, but rather dodging ditches and the occasional deer-fortunately, I haven't seen any of them this morning, though-on one of those other highways- U. S. 50 eastbound, in fact. I'm on my way to Jefferson City and the Missouri River Regional Library to chase down some more of that pesky historical data that hasn't found its way onto the Web yet. Halfway there seemed like a good place to stop for breakfast, so here I am at a McDonald's on Sedalia's main drag, and I thought I'd compliment the operator for making his or her location more laptop-friendly than many back home. For instance, take a gander at how easily I was able to plug in and thus use my "bad" battery, saving the two "good" ones for the Great Unknown that lies an hour's drive ahead:
Well..on to the capital. Further dispatches as the situation warrants.
Anyway...Once more, having prudently saved my vacation time until the use-or-lose last moment, I am off work and off on another adventure-not dodging spam and spyware on the information superhighway in search of treasure in the form of discounts, mind you, but rather dodging ditches and the occasional deer-fortunately, I haven't seen any of them this morning, though-on one of those other highways- U. S. 50 eastbound, in fact. I'm on my way to Jefferson City and the Missouri River Regional Library to chase down some more of that pesky historical data that hasn't found its way onto the Web yet. Halfway there seemed like a good place to stop for breakfast, so here I am at a McDonald's on Sedalia's main drag, and I thought I'd compliment the operator for making his or her location more laptop-friendly than many back home. For instance, take a gander at how easily I was able to plug in and thus use my "bad" battery, saving the two "good" ones for the Great Unknown that lies an hour's drive ahead:
Well..on to the capital. Further dispatches as the situation warrants.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
You can NOT be SERIOUS! (Sorry, John McEnroe)
And sorry to even be mentioning either the quasi-closed network at the North Kansas City Public Library or what I consider to be its least valuable component here once again, but whenever we come across something that could conceivably put you at risk, duty calls and we're obligated to point out the danger and suggest ways to protect yourself.
Well, your humble correspondent just has come across such a something while I was making my latest periodic scan of the local public library websites for changes. Seems NKCPL not only hasn't given up on flogging its Windows-only wireless printing capability, but it's now openly suggesting that you-are you ready for this?-enable file and printer sharing on your laptop just to make use of this dubious feature.
Memo to whomever is running the show up there: It just so happens that there's a dadgum good reason that file and printer sharing isn't enabled by default on a laptop running either Windows 7 or Vista, as you point out-having it enabled on a public network (i.e., any network other than the user's home network or one provided by his or her employer) is dangerous. And guess what else is dangerous? How about the user forgetting to turn it off after he or she is finished using your network and then going onto another open network with it still on?
Frankly, I'm still skeptical that enough people with laptops or other mobile devices either need or want to print away from home anymore (especially if they have to pay for the privilege) to justify NKCPL's continuing to offer this "service" in the first place. On the outside chance I'm wrong about that, however, here's a couple of alternate suggestions that won't open you up to an intrusion or malware attack.
First, in WIndows try printing to your default printer-even though it's not connected. Exactly how you'll proceed from here depends on whether the printer is usually directly connected to your computer (i.e., via a USB or parallel cable) or if it's a network printer. If it's directly connected simply go into the print queue (Start->Settings->Printers and Faxes, then double-click the printer in XP; Start->Control Panel->Printers, then do the same thing in Vista), click the "Printer" menu and then check the "Use printer offline" menu item. Then go ahead and send the jobs to the printer as normal. The jobs should begin to print automatically when you get home and reconnect the printer; if they don't you may need to manually uncheck the offline option to get them to start.
Unfortunately, unless the manufacturer has added it as a special feature accessible through the driver, the offline option isn't available for most network printers. In this case you can get away with sending the print job to the printer anyway, then going into the print queue as above and clicking the "Documents" menu. Click "Pause printing" to hold the job until you're back on your home network. Once you are, click "Resume" and the jobs should fire away; if not try the "Restart" option. I've never known one or the other not to work.
Second, if you have Microsoft Office installed, you should have a virtual printer available (in XP it's called the "Microsoft Office Document Writer") which will convert a print job sent to it into an Office document you can save for later printing. If you've bought the full version of Adobe Acrobat you can do the same thing by sending the job to the "Adobe PDF" pseudo-printer it installs on your machine.
And should anyone wonder why we Macintoshers don't really feel left out when it comes to these Windows-only pay-to-print-away-from-home installations, it's because we don't need them. We don't even need to buy the extra software Windows users do in order to exercise the second option above, owing to OS X's native PDF support.
Finally, if I am wrong about the demand for wireless printing up at NKCPL, here's hoping they'll take this as a cue not to stop offering it, but instead to fix it so users aren't put at unnecessary risk. Laptop users can print wirelessly at home or at work without sharing files; they can do it away from home as well. It's simple, folks: If your current solution can't accommodate that, do what good stewardship of public resources demands. Get tough with that vendor and demand that either they fix or replace what they sold you, or that they buy it back so you can purchase something else that works, and works right.
Well, your humble correspondent just has come across such a something while I was making my latest periodic scan of the local public library websites for changes. Seems NKCPL not only hasn't given up on flogging its Windows-only wireless printing capability, but it's now openly suggesting that you-are you ready for this?-enable file and printer sharing on your laptop just to make use of this dubious feature.
Memo to whomever is running the show up there: It just so happens that there's a dadgum good reason that file and printer sharing isn't enabled by default on a laptop running either Windows 7 or Vista, as you point out-having it enabled on a public network (i.e., any network other than the user's home network or one provided by his or her employer) is dangerous. And guess what else is dangerous? How about the user forgetting to turn it off after he or she is finished using your network and then going onto another open network with it still on?
Frankly, I'm still skeptical that enough people with laptops or other mobile devices either need or want to print away from home anymore (especially if they have to pay for the privilege) to justify NKCPL's continuing to offer this "service" in the first place. On the outside chance I'm wrong about that, however, here's a couple of alternate suggestions that won't open you up to an intrusion or malware attack.
First, in WIndows try printing to your default printer-even though it's not connected. Exactly how you'll proceed from here depends on whether the printer is usually directly connected to your computer (i.e., via a USB or parallel cable) or if it's a network printer. If it's directly connected simply go into the print queue (Start->Settings->Printers and Faxes, then double-click the printer in XP; Start->Control Panel->Printers, then do the same thing in Vista), click the "Printer" menu and then check the "Use printer offline" menu item. Then go ahead and send the jobs to the printer as normal. The jobs should begin to print automatically when you get home and reconnect the printer; if they don't you may need to manually uncheck the offline option to get them to start.
Unfortunately, unless the manufacturer has added it as a special feature accessible through the driver, the offline option isn't available for most network printers. In this case you can get away with sending the print job to the printer anyway, then going into the print queue as above and clicking the "Documents" menu. Click "Pause printing" to hold the job until you're back on your home network. Once you are, click "Resume" and the jobs should fire away; if not try the "Restart" option. I've never known one or the other not to work.
Second, if you have Microsoft Office installed, you should have a virtual printer available (in XP it's called the "Microsoft Office Document Writer") which will convert a print job sent to it into an Office document you can save for later printing. If you've bought the full version of Adobe Acrobat you can do the same thing by sending the job to the "Adobe PDF" pseudo-printer it installs on your machine.
And should anyone wonder why we Macintoshers don't really feel left out when it comes to these Windows-only pay-to-print-away-from-home installations, it's because we don't need them. We don't even need to buy the extra software Windows users do in order to exercise the second option above, owing to OS X's native PDF support.
Finally, if I am wrong about the demand for wireless printing up at NKCPL, here's hoping they'll take this as a cue not to stop offering it, but instead to fix it so users aren't put at unnecessary risk. Laptop users can print wirelessly at home or at work without sharing files; they can do it away from home as well. It's simple, folks: If your current solution can't accommodate that, do what good stewardship of public resources demands. Get tough with that vendor and demand that either they fix or replace what they sold you, or that they buy it back so you can purchase something else that works, and works right.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Random ramblings from the Golden Ghetto
Ever since discovering that the Johnson County Library has finally liberated its Wi-Fi, it seems I've been spending more and more time either at the Central Resource Library or on my way either there or back. Oh, it's not just that JCL is now doing a better job with Wi-Fi than KCMO's public libraries (and let's not even talk about KCK or the two local library systems still running closed networks, shall we?) but throw longer hours and free parking into the mix and it's a slam-dunk win for JoCo-driving distance and the price of gas notwithstanding.
So...how's this going over out there? Strangely, it doesn't seem to be drawing much more of a crowd. I don't think I've ever seen as many laptoppers there as I regularly do at KCMO's Plaza Branch, which despite being open similar hours and also offering free parking doesn't have anywhere near as many resources as JCL Central because it is a branch, not the main library. One wonders whether Plaza is more of a draw because it's in KCMO and closer to the urban core, and thus attracts laptop owners who come seeking only Wi-Fi and who perhaps, unlike their Johnson County counterparts, either don't have access to another broadband connection or can do better in the library than they can at home. Even if you can afford a faster connection, you can't buy one if no one will sell it to you.
And I share ath64's curiosity as to why the tablet revolution doesn't seem to have reached into public hotspots on either side of the state line. I thought I saw my first library iPad user out at Central last night...but alas, it turned out she was holding a tiny dry-erase whiteboard that from a distance, resembled you-know-what. Her tablemate, however, was equipped with a rather cute little Asus netbook.
Finally, speaking of curiosity, why has the tip someone passed on to ath64 a couple of years back that all of the Burger King locations in the metro were unwired turned out to be such a bum steer? On my way to or from JCL Central I've checked out several JoCo BKs, along with others in midtown and south KCMO. Not a single one lit up in the bunch. Too bad. Makes it harder to use those buy-one-get-one-free Whopper coupons.
So...how's this going over out there? Strangely, it doesn't seem to be drawing much more of a crowd. I don't think I've ever seen as many laptoppers there as I regularly do at KCMO's Plaza Branch, which despite being open similar hours and also offering free parking doesn't have anywhere near as many resources as JCL Central because it is a branch, not the main library. One wonders whether Plaza is more of a draw because it's in KCMO and closer to the urban core, and thus attracts laptop owners who come seeking only Wi-Fi and who perhaps, unlike their Johnson County counterparts, either don't have access to another broadband connection or can do better in the library than they can at home. Even if you can afford a faster connection, you can't buy one if no one will sell it to you.
And I share ath64's curiosity as to why the tablet revolution doesn't seem to have reached into public hotspots on either side of the state line. I thought I saw my first library iPad user out at Central last night...but alas, it turned out she was holding a tiny dry-erase whiteboard that from a distance, resembled you-know-what. Her tablemate, however, was equipped with a rather cute little Asus netbook.
Finally, speaking of curiosity, why has the tip someone passed on to ath64 a couple of years back that all of the Burger King locations in the metro were unwired turned out to be such a bum steer? On my way to or from JCL Central I've checked out several JoCo BKs, along with others in midtown and south KCMO. Not a single one lit up in the bunch. Too bad. Makes it harder to use those buy-one-get-one-free Whopper coupons.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
15...10...5...Touchdown, KAN-SAS-CITYYY!!!
Apologies to Mitch Holthus for the above, and shame on everyone else for letting us miss timely commemorating that this blog has taken it in for six-years, that is. On the Monday before last, in fact.
Well, forgive and forget, I always say. Just be sure to pass on a gentle reminder when it comes time to kick the extra point, OK?
Well, forgive and forget, I always say. Just be sure to pass on a gentle reminder when it comes time to kick the extra point, OK?
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Forward with resolve
Just as hearing the first sketchy reports of the events which spawned them did ten years ago this morning, watching today's commemoration ceremonies compels me to ask, "What, if anything can I do?"
Then, upon reflection, I realize that the question is already answered-I am already doing it.
The question was answered in the days and weeks immediately following the attacks, by our leaders who encouraged us to live our lives as normal-go back to work, keep shopping to sustain the economy, don't be afraid to travel by air again. In other words, show our new enemies that they had failed.
And they have failed, as the existence of this blog and the technology it chronicles, at least in some small measure, attests. It was five years ago today that I briefly recounted here having bought my first piece of Wi-Fi hardware the day before the disaster. Within slightly more than two years of that purchase I was using it regularly at Union Station, one of the metro's first free and open public hotspots and the first one this blog reviewed. Kansas City and the nation have only moved on from there, expanding free wireless Internet to the vast majority of our public libraries, many of our airports, and untold numbers of restaurants, cafes, retail stores and other locations. In short, we have reasserted that we are a free people committed to free expression-and to continuing our development and expansion of the means by which we will express ourselves.
A small victory? Considering the thousands of innocents slaughtered on that day, and the many thousands more serving under arms who have fallen since, perhaps. But it is a victory nonetheless.
We are not and never will be exactly the same as we were before September 11, 2001. But in the ways that truly count-the ways which those who visited evil upon us that day meant to erase-we did not and we will not change. Our core beliefs are the foundation of our progress as a society and as a people. We will not be intimidated into abandoning either those beliefs or that progress.
We are Americans, and the only way we ever move is forward. And if that is not yet understood by those who despise us for it, the ultimate grief and the ultimate failure that will inevitably result shall be theirs alone.
Then, upon reflection, I realize that the question is already answered-I am already doing it.
The question was answered in the days and weeks immediately following the attacks, by our leaders who encouraged us to live our lives as normal-go back to work, keep shopping to sustain the economy, don't be afraid to travel by air again. In other words, show our new enemies that they had failed.
And they have failed, as the existence of this blog and the technology it chronicles, at least in some small measure, attests. It was five years ago today that I briefly recounted here having bought my first piece of Wi-Fi hardware the day before the disaster. Within slightly more than two years of that purchase I was using it regularly at Union Station, one of the metro's first free and open public hotspots and the first one this blog reviewed. Kansas City and the nation have only moved on from there, expanding free wireless Internet to the vast majority of our public libraries, many of our airports, and untold numbers of restaurants, cafes, retail stores and other locations. In short, we have reasserted that we are a free people committed to free expression-and to continuing our development and expansion of the means by which we will express ourselves.
A small victory? Considering the thousands of innocents slaughtered on that day, and the many thousands more serving under arms who have fallen since, perhaps. But it is a victory nonetheless.
We are not and never will be exactly the same as we were before September 11, 2001. But in the ways that truly count-the ways which those who visited evil upon us that day meant to erase-we did not and we will not change. Our core beliefs are the foundation of our progress as a society and as a people. We will not be intimidated into abandoning either those beliefs or that progress.
We are Americans, and the only way we ever move is forward. And if that is not yet understood by those who despise us for it, the ultimate grief and the ultimate failure that will inevitably result shall be theirs alone.
Friday, August 26, 2011
And still the question is asked-why?
Apple Store4529 West 119th Street Suite 283, Leawood
802.11g
SSID: Apple Store
Long, long ago, when this blog first rose from the primordial ooze, yours truly took up temporary residence outside the Apple Store on the Plaza and confirmed it offered free Wi-Fi. Well, nigh on six years later, here I am outside Apple's other location (it's to the southeast of the intersection of 119th and Roe, behind Crate and Barrel and between Destination Maternity and Glacé Artisan Ice Cream) and I can again attest, for what it's worth, that if you sit on the bench outside the front door with a charged battery you can help yourself to all the free access you want for as long as your battery lasts.
I wouldn't think they'd take kindly to you bringing your rig into the store, however, unless it's one of theirs and you're there for repair or tech support. That and providing access for their demonstration machines-there's another SSID present that's suggestively named "Apple Demo"-are the only reasons I can think of for these places being unwired.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Don't mess with Texas.
In particular, you should avoid bothering anyone with a laptop sitting outside a public library in Kingsville while using the Wi-Fi there. Especially if you're already on parole for a robbery you committed in another state.
You just might end up getting 20 years to think it over afterward.
You just might end up getting 20 years to think it over afterward.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Well, wouldn't you know it?
No sooner does the local public library with the worst network finally whip itself into shape then we get this truly disheartening report from Michigan of an outright scumbag allegedly having gone to great lengths to avail himself of what apparently was an open Wi-Fi connection offered by a nearby library branch to do his dirt.
Let's hope this doesn't spark a reversal of the trend evidenced by JCL's recent moves toward holding patrons responsible for their own actions on wireless devices which they-not the library-own. And before the shrill calls to amend the Children's Internet Protection Act to extend it to cover those devices arise, let's everyone take a deep breath and remember that the authorities still easily managed to catch this guy the way things are now.
And while I hesitate to come off sounding like a candidate drumming up votes in today's just-concluded Iowa straw poll, bear in mind that even a stopped clock (one that still has hands and a dial opposed to a digital display, at least) is right twice a day. More laws, more regulation, or more government intervention isn't always the best answer to a problem.
Let's hope this doesn't spark a reversal of the trend evidenced by JCL's recent moves toward holding patrons responsible for their own actions on wireless devices which they-not the library-own. And before the shrill calls to amend the Children's Internet Protection Act to extend it to cover those devices arise, let's everyone take a deep breath and remember that the authorities still easily managed to catch this guy the way things are now.
And while I hesitate to come off sounding like a candidate drumming up votes in today's just-concluded Iowa straw poll, bear in mind that even a stopped clock (one that still has hands and a dial opposed to a digital display, at least) is right twice a day. More laws, more regulation, or more government intervention isn't always the best answer to a problem.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Introducing the latest free and open hotspots you can REALLY USE FOR SOMETHING!
(Dramatic crescendoing drum roll finished by a rimshot and cymbal crash, please.)
The Johnson County Library!
And no, I am NOT KIDDING!
We have never hesitated to take this network to task for its horrible shortcomings of the past, so when the scales have apparently fallen from someone's eyes out here and needed reforms made, it's only fair that we trumpet the good news to one and all.
Frankly, though, we were skeptical when we first began receiving reports soon after this item appeared on JCL's website that the hideous overfiltering and heavy-handed port and protocol blocking were a thing of the past. That's why one of us is just now getting out to the main library location to see for ourselves.
And have we seen! No more overblocks-especially of the silly keyword type that made many news sites (the Associated Press' site in particular) often tricky to read; no more blocking of secure POP/IMAP e-mail ports (at least for incoming mail; haven't tried outgoing yet) or, for that matter, Usenet port 119 and its secure equivalent (there's probably so little questionable content on Usenet anymore, and so few old crocks like yours truly who still bother with Usenet it's not worth doing). Why, even good old port 7000-remember my calling out the KCMO Public Library for denying a patron access to a support chatroom by blocking that one a couple of years back?-comes right through.
Good show, JCL. Too bad, though, it took you six years to see the light. But that's water under the bridge; let's let bygones be bygones and move forward. For starters, why not do what I suggested they do at the public library in Des Moines my last time up there-give laptoppers using these microfilm readers some convenient plug-ins by setting out some cheap power strips among them. For that matter, a few more wired-for-power tables and carrels wouldn't be a bad idea, either. Methinks there'll be somewhat more of a demand for them as word of this gets around.
Oops-I almost forgot: The new SSID is "JoCoLibrary Public Wireless."
The Johnson County Library!
And no, I am NOT KIDDING!
We have never hesitated to take this network to task for its horrible shortcomings of the past, so when the scales have apparently fallen from someone's eyes out here and needed reforms made, it's only fair that we trumpet the good news to one and all.
Frankly, though, we were skeptical when we first began receiving reports soon after this item appeared on JCL's website that the hideous overfiltering and heavy-handed port and protocol blocking were a thing of the past. That's why one of us is just now getting out to the main library location to see for ourselves.
And have we seen! No more overblocks-especially of the silly keyword type that made many news sites (the Associated Press' site in particular) often tricky to read; no more blocking of secure POP/IMAP e-mail ports (at least for incoming mail; haven't tried outgoing yet) or, for that matter, Usenet port 119 and its secure equivalent (there's probably so little questionable content on Usenet anymore, and so few old crocks like yours truly who still bother with Usenet it's not worth doing). Why, even good old port 7000-remember my calling out the KCMO Public Library for denying a patron access to a support chatroom by blocking that one a couple of years back?-comes right through.
Good show, JCL. Too bad, though, it took you six years to see the light. But that's water under the bridge; let's let bygones be bygones and move forward. For starters, why not do what I suggested they do at the public library in Des Moines my last time up there-give laptoppers using these microfilm readers some convenient plug-ins by setting out some cheap power strips among them. For that matter, a few more wired-for-power tables and carrels wouldn't be a bad idea, either. Methinks there'll be somewhat more of a demand for them as word of this gets around.
Oops-I almost forgot: The new SSID is "JoCoLibrary Public Wireless."
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Happy trails, Glenn.
Sad news from someone who served as a major inspiration for the creation of this blog and had been a big help to it ever since: Glenn Fleishman is shutting down Wi-Fi Networking News.
It was likely only a matter of time. Wi-Fi has matured to the point where writing about it in the manner Fleishman has for the past decade-discussing the technological and often social and financial implications of new developments in depth-doesn't provide enough material to produce regular posts anymore. Too bad, because no one did it better.
Anyway, the existing posts will stay up "forever," to quote their author. And if you missed the birth and formative years of the 802.11 era and want to get a feel for what they were like, I can't think of a better resource. Might even be enough left there to spawn a thesis or two, if not a dissertation.
So long, Glenn. Good luck with your other projects. And-oh,yes-thanks.
It was likely only a matter of time. Wi-Fi has matured to the point where writing about it in the manner Fleishman has for the past decade-discussing the technological and often social and financial implications of new developments in depth-doesn't provide enough material to produce regular posts anymore. Too bad, because no one did it better.
Anyway, the existing posts will stay up "forever," to quote their author. And if you missed the birth and formative years of the 802.11 era and want to get a feel for what they were like, I can't think of a better resource. Might even be enough left there to spawn a thesis or two, if not a dissertation.
So long, Glenn. Good luck with your other projects. And-oh,yes-thanks.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
It's simple, Simon. (Really, it is.)
Dear Simon Malls:
Stopped in last night out at Independence Center for the first time in never mind how long. I'm really not much of a mall person, but the convergence of Missouri's tax-free weekend and some new tenants you've recently acquired proved irresistible. Anyway, after having helped one of those tenants meet its obligations to you-and after my finder having detected an open 802.11g network with an inviting SSID-I sauntered down to the food court, hoping to maybe catch up on the headlines, go through a few e-mails and knock off a blog post or two while maybe chomping down on a slice of pizza or finding out if Orange Julius was still as good as I remembered from my childhood.
Well, I didn't. Guess why.
One would think I really wouldn't have to remind a company still so heavily involved in brick-and-mortar retailing that the customer experience is everything. Once you get me in the door, it's incumbent upon you to make me want to come back. Did you or anyone whose paycheck you're signing truly believe I'd ever be inclined to do so after having to battle interminably with your boneheaded clickthrough page and the programming error that kept it from delivering me to where I needed to go?
What's that? You weren't aware of any issues with that? Gee, that must mean you never bother with actually shopping in your properties to see for yourself what it's like for your customers. Kind of reminiscent of the top executives of a Detroit automaker I don't need to name, who infamously intended to fly to Washington in their corporate jets to make their pitch to Congress for being bailed out by taxpayers-until someone pointed out that if they'd rather fly than drive there in their own products...well, you get the idea.
Here's a hint: Take a laptop down to Crown Center, find a comfy seat in the atrium, then boot up and hook into their Wi-Fi. Try using it for a while. Afterward, go back out to Independence Center and attempt the same thing. Now you tell me: Which would you rather do on a regular basis?
Stopped in last night out at Independence Center for the first time in never mind how long. I'm really not much of a mall person, but the convergence of Missouri's tax-free weekend and some new tenants you've recently acquired proved irresistible. Anyway, after having helped one of those tenants meet its obligations to you-and after my finder having detected an open 802.11g network with an inviting SSID-I sauntered down to the food court, hoping to maybe catch up on the headlines, go through a few e-mails and knock off a blog post or two while maybe chomping down on a slice of pizza or finding out if Orange Julius was still as good as I remembered from my childhood.
Well, I didn't. Guess why.
One would think I really wouldn't have to remind a company still so heavily involved in brick-and-mortar retailing that the customer experience is everything. Once you get me in the door, it's incumbent upon you to make me want to come back. Did you or anyone whose paycheck you're signing truly believe I'd ever be inclined to do so after having to battle interminably with your boneheaded clickthrough page and the programming error that kept it from delivering me to where I needed to go?
What's that? You weren't aware of any issues with that? Gee, that must mean you never bother with actually shopping in your properties to see for yourself what it's like for your customers. Kind of reminiscent of the top executives of a Detroit automaker I don't need to name, who infamously intended to fly to Washington in their corporate jets to make their pitch to Congress for being bailed out by taxpayers-until someone pointed out that if they'd rather fly than drive there in their own products...well, you get the idea.
Here's a hint: Take a laptop down to Crown Center, find a comfy seat in the atrium, then boot up and hook into their Wi-Fi. Try using it for a while. Afterward, go back out to Independence Center and attempt the same thing. Now you tell me: Which would you rather do on a regular basis?
Friday, August 05, 2011
Well, they don't call it fast food for nothing.
Burger King
14001 East 42nd Street (42nd and Noland Road), Independence
802.11g
SSID: BK Hot Spot
Finally got around to verifying the long-ago lead from a reader that this one was lit up. Bring a charged battery (the only apparent pair of power outlets is under a seat by the north wall and is too inconvenient to use) and get here in time to finish eating and surfing by 10 p. m., when the dining room closes-which is why I'm wrapping this review now.
14001 East 42nd Street (42nd and Noland Road), Independence
802.11g
SSID: BK Hot Spot
Finally got around to verifying the long-ago lead from a reader that this one was lit up. Bring a charged battery (the only apparent pair of power outlets is under a seat by the north wall and is too inconvenient to use) and get here in time to finish eating and surfing by 10 p. m., when the dining room closes-which is why I'm wrapping this review now.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Just for the record...
...I made it out to both the remaining Borders locations in the last couple of days, and both apparently are still lit up. There's an open 802.11g network at each broadcasting a SSID of BORDERS. Whether the routers are still connected to anything, I can't say since I didn't bother bringing in my Mac-and since the cafes at both locations have been shut down, there's no place to sit with a laptop anyway.
Maybe one of you with a handheld device can drop by and fill us in, but you'd better do it fast. Those shelves are starting to look rather bare.
Maybe one of you with a handheld device can drop by and fill us in, but you'd better do it fast. Those shelves are starting to look rather bare.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Borders buys the farm
There'll be two fewer free and open hotspots in the metro soon-in fact, they may already be gone. The remaining Borders bookstore locations around town-the one Macenstein reviewed last November in Lee's Summit and the Olathe location-along with a Borders Express location over on Quivira Road in Johnson County that wasn't lit up are currently conducting their going-out-of-business sales. And according to Borders' website, the unwired 91st and Metcalf store closed in May (or was scheduled to). Whether the routers in the remaining stores have been turned off, I won't know until one of us (or one of you) drops by and finds out. Given that Borders was outsourcing its Wi-Fi to Verizon, it's likely they have gone cold for good.
Too bad. Maybe they should have abandoned play-for-pay and joined the free world sooner than they did, as I intimated in this post commemorating the fifth anniversary of "One Unwired Day" nearly three years back. It might have helped.
Too bad. Maybe they should have abandoned play-for-pay and joined the free world sooner than they did, as I intimated in this post commemorating the fifth anniversary of "One Unwired Day" nearly three years back. It might have helped.
Arch-cybercriminality-or what passes for it-in Washington state
Had to laugh when I ran across this little tidbit from Freeland, Washington. You've got to wonder why anyone would go to all that trouble to "steal" what would amount to only several cents' worth of electricity. The gasoline this miscreant burned getting to the library's parking lot would have cost her much more. She's obviously never contemplated why counterfeiters don't make dollar bills.
And kudos to the library manager for getting right on the case. A suggestion, if I might: If the few dollars a month you stand the potential of losing via this outdoor outlet are worth it to you, call an electrician and have an internally-mounted switch installed on the circuit so you can turn it off before you leave each night. That might not be a bad policy to follow with respect to your wi-fi router(s) as well if users congregating on your property after hours is a concern.
Yes, technically this is stealing...but it's still hilarious when you think about it.
And kudos to the library manager for getting right on the case. A suggestion, if I might: If the few dollars a month you stand the potential of losing via this outdoor outlet are worth it to you, call an electrician and have an internally-mounted switch installed on the circuit so you can turn it off before you leave each night. That might not be a bad policy to follow with respect to your wi-fi router(s) as well if users congregating on your property after hours is a concern.
Yes, technically this is stealing...but it's still hilarious when you think about it.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Why the rush-or lack thereof?
This just in, courtesy of Glenn Fleishman at Wi-Fi Networking News: Taco Bell unwires-slowly but surely.
Seriously, if the tone of the press release Fleishman quotes is any indication, even Taco Bell's management doesn't seem too enthusiastic about the prospects for this combination Wi-Fi/television package, which won't even be in all 5,600 of their locations until 2015. That's right-four years to roll out less than 6,000 hotspots. By then not only will direct competitor McDonald's have roughly a decade-long head start as a Wi-Fi venue, as Fleishman points out, but both they and indirect competitor Starbucks will have been free and open for half that time.
And maybe it's just because I'm not the fan of Mexican food that others are, but Taco Bell has always struck me as being more of a grab-and-go place than a sit-and-surf one. I'm sure that changing that perception is one of their motiviations for this, but once again, four years is a long time period over which to try and effect that change. It's also still somewhat of an open question whether a scheme that sounds suspiciously like an attempt to replicate the shop-at-home craze that accompanied the rise of cable TV in the 1980s is the best way to do it.
Look for reviews once the rollout reaches the metro...if it ever does.
Seriously, if the tone of the press release Fleishman quotes is any indication, even Taco Bell's management doesn't seem too enthusiastic about the prospects for this combination Wi-Fi/television package, which won't even be in all 5,600 of their locations until 2015. That's right-four years to roll out less than 6,000 hotspots. By then not only will direct competitor McDonald's have roughly a decade-long head start as a Wi-Fi venue, as Fleishman points out, but both they and indirect competitor Starbucks will have been free and open for half that time.
And maybe it's just because I'm not the fan of Mexican food that others are, but Taco Bell has always struck me as being more of a grab-and-go place than a sit-and-surf one. I'm sure that changing that perception is one of their motiviations for this, but once again, four years is a long time period over which to try and effect that change. It's also still somewhat of an open question whether a scheme that sounds suspiciously like an attempt to replicate the shop-at-home craze that accompanied the rise of cable TV in the 1980s is the best way to do it.
Look for reviews once the rollout reaches the metro...if it ever does.
Friday, June 24, 2011
BREAKING NEWS...
Isn't it awful how the 24-hour news cycle has cheapened that phrase? I mean, when was the last time you tuned into one of the cable news channels and didn't see a screaming banner proclaiming such?
But enough grumbling-it's Friday and here I am again in the Crown Center atrium, and I'm happy to report that not only did I not have to resort to fending for myself when it came to grabbing an IP address from the router (in fact I haven't had to do that again since telling you how in this January post), but it seems CC is catching on to this public-relations thing. Boot up and hunt for the SSID down here now, and your eyes are no longer assaulted by the arcane "aircore.ccf" but the more benign and inviting "Crown Center food court." Hey, it's a start.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled whatever.
But enough grumbling-it's Friday and here I am again in the Crown Center atrium, and I'm happy to report that not only did I not have to resort to fending for myself when it came to grabbing an IP address from the router (in fact I haven't had to do that again since telling you how in this January post), but it seems CC is catching on to this public-relations thing. Boot up and hunt for the SSID down here now, and your eyes are no longer assaulted by the arcane "aircore.ccf" but the more benign and inviting "Crown Center food court." Hey, it's a start.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled whatever.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Been there and done that, Sam
Interesting guest editorial in today's Kansas City Star authored by Sam Hossain, a student at Avila University. He thinks KC ought to go all out-literally-by unwiring the city's parks.
Hmmm. Now just where have we heard something like that before? Oh, that's right-here and here. And here too, come to think of it.
In short, open-air hotspots aren't a new idea. And sadly, they haven't proven to be a very successful one either, at least locally. I'm just not aware of any place around town that if lit up would work as well as say, the much-publicized Bryant Park hotspot adjacent to the New York City Public Library. Frankly, I'd be too leery of sitting with a laptop out in too many of our local parks even in broad daylight-and even if the screen were readable under such conditions. That's too bad.
What I'd like to see as an alternative, as I suggested last winter when I reported on the previous summer's restaurant parking lot robbery-slaying, is an indoor location with Wi-Fi that would be available to the public either early and late, or better yet, around the clock. In other cities large college libraries sometimes fill the bill, but as Macenstein noted in the post below, the largest one around here isn't currently motivated to do so. Perhaps instead of unwiring the parks, the community could come together to pay for extending the hours at the Plaza Library-say to maybe 7 to midnight Monday through Friday, and 9 to 9 on Saturday. Let's go with college hours on Sunday-how about 1 to 9?
Or let's really dream-that someone with a large ego and deep pockets bites on Macenstein's suggestion big time and funds UMKC's turning the Miller Nichols Library into a 24/7 operation like growing numbers of other university libraries are becoming-and just to sweeten the pot, opening up the hotspot there to everyone.
Hey, you never know.
Hmmm. Now just where have we heard something like that before? Oh, that's right-here and here. And here too, come to think of it.
In short, open-air hotspots aren't a new idea. And sadly, they haven't proven to be a very successful one either, at least locally. I'm just not aware of any place around town that if lit up would work as well as say, the much-publicized Bryant Park hotspot adjacent to the New York City Public Library. Frankly, I'd be too leery of sitting with a laptop out in too many of our local parks even in broad daylight-and even if the screen were readable under such conditions. That's too bad.
What I'd like to see as an alternative, as I suggested last winter when I reported on the previous summer's restaurant parking lot robbery-slaying, is an indoor location with Wi-Fi that would be available to the public either early and late, or better yet, around the clock. In other cities large college libraries sometimes fill the bill, but as Macenstein noted in the post below, the largest one around here isn't currently motivated to do so. Perhaps instead of unwiring the parks, the community could come together to pay for extending the hours at the Plaza Library-say to maybe 7 to midnight Monday through Friday, and 9 to 9 on Saturday. Let's go with college hours on Sunday-how about 1 to 9?
Or let's really dream-that someone with a large ego and deep pockets bites on Macenstein's suggestion big time and funds UMKC's turning the Miller Nichols Library into a 24/7 operation like growing numbers of other university libraries are becoming-and just to sweeten the pot, opening up the hotspot there to everyone.
Hey, you never know.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Forgive me, for I have sinned...
Just had a birthday go by-none of your business which one-and decided to treat myself to something I'd long coveted: truly mobile Internet access, to wit, by tethering my cell phone to my Mac. I know what you're thinking-"What are you, the champion of free and open Wi-Fi, doing throwing yourself headfirst into the clutches of the most egregious form of play-for-pay?" Well, for one thing, I'm probably one of only two or three people still alive who actually does carry a cell phone only for emergencies, which is another way of saying I'm using prepaid at the cheapest pay-as-you-go rate. Those unused credits pile up eventually, and later this year I'd have run into my provider's account limit when I tried to add money to roll over my balance unless I began burning it off by spending some of it on something. And there just happens to be one place in particular that I frequent on occasion where something like bring-your-own Internet access comes in rather handy. More on that later.
Anyway, playing around with trying to read news on that hopelessly tiny screen and enter URLs using a telephone keypad has given me a new appreciation for ath64's observation in October's fifth-anniversary post that cellular-only access does indeed reduce its users to second-class netizens, so to speak. You've just got to have more going for you than that if you're going to do serious work. So...after a little tinkering and tweaking, I'm able to pull up your favorite search engine and mine on a 15 inch screen with a full-size keyboard attached, no matter where I happen to be.
Even if I happen to be in the Miller Nichols Library on the UMKC campus, where the wireless network is closed to outsiders. Now I can't really quibble with that-UMKC, after all, owes more to tuition-paying students than it does to anyone else. It simply would be nice, though, if-perhaps through the largesse of a carefully-solicited donor, maybe-they could see fit to open the Wi-Fi in this one location on campus up to everyone-as the Ethernet ports the wireless access replaced once were. Once again, I realize this isn't a public library we're talking about, but it's not like they're totally unwilling to serve the public.
Seven years is probably long enough to wait for nice, however, so I sauntered over to the neighborhood of 51st and Rockhill last night, laptop and phone in tow, not just to see how my new birthday present would perform where I bought it to use, but to take a gander at the place for the first time since its recent big makeover.
The long retractable power cords dangling from the ceiling are cool. Some of the power-challenged hotspots around town ought to consider them at the next remodel. Not so cool, however, is what they've done with the microfilm newspaper archive-a prime attraction for yours truly because of its more convenient location and hours of access. Before, you pulled the roll with the paper you wanted on it right out of the cabinet and carried it a few steps to a reader, then went to work. Now, you first pay a visit to the library's online catalog-which if you're not a student or a faculty or staff member means you either find a dedicated catalog computer or make use of bring-your-own access to get there-and request that the library's new robot retrieve the roll or rolls you need from closed stacks. Whether said robot actually does retrieve the requested material apparently depends on its mood. Bad enough when you're pursuing research for personal purposes when the local public libraries with newspaper morgues are closed. It would have been much worse had I been a student with a paper due in the morning. Good that there was still human intervention available-in the form of a helpful, competent staffer who got the materials in time for me to go through at least some of it.
Moral of the story: Just because something's newer and more sophisticated, it isn't necessarily better. After all, Rube Goldberg made a career of pointing that out. On second thought, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that no one currently enrolled at UMKC has ever heard of him. I must be getting old.
Anyway, playing around with trying to read news on that hopelessly tiny screen and enter URLs using a telephone keypad has given me a new appreciation for ath64's observation in October's fifth-anniversary post that cellular-only access does indeed reduce its users to second-class netizens, so to speak. You've just got to have more going for you than that if you're going to do serious work. So...after a little tinkering and tweaking, I'm able to pull up your favorite search engine and mine on a 15 inch screen with a full-size keyboard attached, no matter where I happen to be.
Even if I happen to be in the Miller Nichols Library on the UMKC campus, where the wireless network is closed to outsiders. Now I can't really quibble with that-UMKC, after all, owes more to tuition-paying students than it does to anyone else. It simply would be nice, though, if-perhaps through the largesse of a carefully-solicited donor, maybe-they could see fit to open the Wi-Fi in this one location on campus up to everyone-as the Ethernet ports the wireless access replaced once were. Once again, I realize this isn't a public library we're talking about, but it's not like they're totally unwilling to serve the public.
Seven years is probably long enough to wait for nice, however, so I sauntered over to the neighborhood of 51st and Rockhill last night, laptop and phone in tow, not just to see how my new birthday present would perform where I bought it to use, but to take a gander at the place for the first time since its recent big makeover.
The long retractable power cords dangling from the ceiling are cool. Some of the power-challenged hotspots around town ought to consider them at the next remodel. Not so cool, however, is what they've done with the microfilm newspaper archive-a prime attraction for yours truly because of its more convenient location and hours of access. Before, you pulled the roll with the paper you wanted on it right out of the cabinet and carried it a few steps to a reader, then went to work. Now, you first pay a visit to the library's online catalog-which if you're not a student or a faculty or staff member means you either find a dedicated catalog computer or make use of bring-your-own access to get there-and request that the library's new robot retrieve the roll or rolls you need from closed stacks. Whether said robot actually does retrieve the requested material apparently depends on its mood. Bad enough when you're pursuing research for personal purposes when the local public libraries with newspaper morgues are closed. It would have been much worse had I been a student with a paper due in the morning. Good that there was still human intervention available-in the form of a helpful, competent staffer who got the materials in time for me to go through at least some of it.
Moral of the story: Just because something's newer and more sophisticated, it isn't necessarily better. After all, Rube Goldberg made a career of pointing that out. On second thought, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that no one currently enrolled at UMKC has ever heard of him. I must be getting old.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Wonder what changed their minds?
Google, that is. After first having spurned the bigger Kansas City in favor of its more diminutive sister to the west, they now want to build out their gigabit network on the Missouri side anyway.
Curious in that one of the reasons they gave for going with KCK initially was that the electric utility whose poles they'd need to string fiber on over there-the Board of Public Utilities-was municipally owned, in contrast to investor-owned Kansas City Power and Light.
You don't suppose that feelers were put out to some of the also-rans after the big March announcement along the lines of, "Well, if we could perhaps work out something like the same deal with you that we got from KCK..." now, do you? I guess if there are any more expansion announcements elsewhere in the coming weeks, we'll know.
In the end, of course, it doesn't matter. There are clearly neighborhoods in KCMO where the need for something like this is every bit as great as it is anywhere in Wyandotte County. So start pulling the wire and digging the trenches already! The sooner the better.
Curious in that one of the reasons they gave for going with KCK initially was that the electric utility whose poles they'd need to string fiber on over there-the Board of Public Utilities-was municipally owned, in contrast to investor-owned Kansas City Power and Light.
You don't suppose that feelers were put out to some of the also-rans after the big March announcement along the lines of, "Well, if we could perhaps work out something like the same deal with you that we got from KCK..." now, do you? I guess if there are any more expansion announcements elsewhere in the coming weeks, we'll know.
In the end, of course, it doesn't matter. There are clearly neighborhoods in KCMO where the need for something like this is every bit as great as it is anywhere in Wyandotte County. So start pulling the wire and digging the trenches already! The sooner the better.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Your tax dollars at work-at least through Thursday
Just came across this nice little consumer alert from your friends and mine at the Federal Trade Commission trying to scare the bejeezus out of you when it comes to open Wi-Fi. Well, no it doesn't-in actuality it's well thought out and informative, for the most part. Unfortunately, it still shows a few symptoms of Clark Howard Disease-sorry, ath64-as evidenced by this pair of half-truths:
"An encrypted website protects only the information you send to and from that site. A secure wireless network encrypts all of the information you send while online."
Half-Truth No. 1 ignores the reason that the Secure Sockets Layer protocol was developed in the first place-and why it was adopted years before anything like Wi-Fi was even contemplated. Of course it's true that it encrypts only traffic between you and the remote host to which you're connected-what other traffic is there to protect? What the FTC neglects to stress is the fact that the encryption is end-to-end, protecting you not only between the client device and the router, but beyond.
And that brings Half-Truth No. 2 into play. As ath64 has stressed in responding to each of Clark Howard's missteps, connecting to a secured router provides protection ONLY BETWEEN YOU AND THE ROUTER. UNLESS THERE IS THIRD-PARTY ENCRYPTION BEYOND THAT, YOUR TRAFFIC IS STILL SUBJECT TO INTERCEPTION BETWEEN THE ROUTER AND THE REMOTE HOST. So saying that "a secure wireless network encrypts all of the information you send while online" is misleading, because it only provides such protection for that data on its first hop-from your device to the router.
Those criticisms aside, the FTC deserves praise for recommending Wi-Fi users make sure they only log into fully encrypted websites and extolling the virtures of virtual private networks, both of which serve to obviate the need for hassling with access-point encryption away from home. Maybe it's not such a bad thing that it will now be open for business as usual on Monday.
"An encrypted website protects only the information you send to and from that site. A secure wireless network encrypts all of the information you send while online."
Half-Truth No. 1 ignores the reason that the Secure Sockets Layer protocol was developed in the first place-and why it was adopted years before anything like Wi-Fi was even contemplated. Of course it's true that it encrypts only traffic between you and the remote host to which you're connected-what other traffic is there to protect? What the FTC neglects to stress is the fact that the encryption is end-to-end, protecting you not only between the client device and the router, but beyond.
And that brings Half-Truth No. 2 into play. As ath64 has stressed in responding to each of Clark Howard's missteps, connecting to a secured router provides protection ONLY BETWEEN YOU AND THE ROUTER. UNLESS THERE IS THIRD-PARTY ENCRYPTION BEYOND THAT, YOUR TRAFFIC IS STILL SUBJECT TO INTERCEPTION BETWEEN THE ROUTER AND THE REMOTE HOST. So saying that "a secure wireless network encrypts all of the information you send while online" is misleading, because it only provides such protection for that data on its first hop-from your device to the router.
Those criticisms aside, the FTC deserves praise for recommending Wi-Fi users make sure they only log into fully encrypted websites and extolling the virtures of virtual private networks, both of which serve to obviate the need for hassling with access-point encryption away from home. Maybe it's not such a bad thing that it will now be open for business as usual on Monday.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
In which "public" becomes a relative term.
Finally got some feedback on the North Kansas City Public Library's closed network, which I reported here as such back in October '09. You don't need a library card for the password; just ask at the desk and they'll hand it to you on a slip of paper. In fact I'd pass it along, except for two reasons:
1.) I'm not comfortable doing that from either an ethical or legal standpoint-it's not my network, and its owners can run it any way they want, and:
2.) The security on the network is WPA-Personal, also known as WPA-PSK, where PSK is an acronym meaning "public shared key." Which means, in short, that everyone is using the same password, just as you and your housemates probably do on your network at home. Not really the best method of controlling access on a large public network like a library's.
And that causes me to wonder once more just why NKC is doing this. You'd think that especially these days, public libraries would put the emphasis on public. The fewer hoops patrons have to jump through, the fewer obstacles placed between them and what they came in for, the fewer hassles and snags in their user experience, and the better case you can make for the public library's status as an institution still relevant and worthy of our support in an increasingly wired (and unwired) world where, as ath64 sagely reminded us in last fall's fifth-anniversary post, more and more information lies at our fingertips rather than behind reference and circulation desks.
Whether NKCPL's status in the guide changes is up to ath64, but my guess is-and my vote would be-that it won't. The network is still closed unless you obtain the necessary credential-the password-in advance. That said, it would be nice if NKCPL updated its website and told people the truth about its network-and finally got rid of the nonsensical instructions for connecting they've listed since it went live. I mean, "Open your web browser and connect to 'Zone CD...' " Really? Come on!
And on another note, I'd hazard a guess that NKC's vaunted Windows-only wireless printing capability is still a service in search of customers. The only other laptopper our source saw there was using-drum roll culminating in a cymbal crash, please-a Mac.
1.) I'm not comfortable doing that from either an ethical or legal standpoint-it's not my network, and its owners can run it any way they want, and:
2.) The security on the network is WPA-Personal, also known as WPA-PSK, where PSK is an acronym meaning "public shared key." Which means, in short, that everyone is using the same password, just as you and your housemates probably do on your network at home. Not really the best method of controlling access on a large public network like a library's.
And that causes me to wonder once more just why NKC is doing this. You'd think that especially these days, public libraries would put the emphasis on public. The fewer hoops patrons have to jump through, the fewer obstacles placed between them and what they came in for, the fewer hassles and snags in their user experience, and the better case you can make for the public library's status as an institution still relevant and worthy of our support in an increasingly wired (and unwired) world where, as ath64 sagely reminded us in last fall's fifth-anniversary post, more and more information lies at our fingertips rather than behind reference and circulation desks.
Whether NKCPL's status in the guide changes is up to ath64, but my guess is-and my vote would be-that it won't. The network is still closed unless you obtain the necessary credential-the password-in advance. That said, it would be nice if NKCPL updated its website and told people the truth about its network-and finally got rid of the nonsensical instructions for connecting they've listed since it went live. I mean, "Open your web browser and connect to 'Zone CD...' " Really? Come on!
And on another note, I'd hazard a guess that NKC's vaunted Windows-only wireless printing capability is still a service in search of customers. The only other laptopper our source saw there was using-drum roll culminating in a cymbal crash, please-a Mac.
Friday, April 01, 2011
So now the 'Dotte is REALLY going to be hot...or is it?
For all two or three of you out there who don't know by now, Google has chosen Kansas City, Kansas as the initial rollout location for its greatest-thing-since-sliced-bread gigabit network. Yes, that's right-gigabit. As in one billion bits. As in a 1 with nine zeroes behind it. As in download a whole DVD in maybe 40 seconds to a minute. Cool. Too bad, though, that it'll take years for wireless networking speeds to catch up to where they can take full advantage of a backhaul that fast. Right now the best state-of-the-art Wi-Fi equipment would have trouble carrying anything more than about 150 megabits per second, and then only under ideal conditions.
But who's complaining? Give me a gigabit right now and I'll gladly saw it into tenths and share it with nine other users, especially for free-which is the price Google plans to charge for nonprofit use (read libraries). One can only hope that being hooked into the most 21st-century of networks will alleviate the rampant epidemic of 20th-century thinking among so many people that has made eastern Wyandotte County such a digital backwater-and has kept its public libraries in particular from doing nearly as much as they ought to be doing to remedy that.
In short, there'll be plenty of news of interest here emanating from between the viaduct and the speedway over maybe the next 18 to 24 months. Stay tuned.
But who's complaining? Give me a gigabit right now and I'll gladly saw it into tenths and share it with nine other users, especially for free-which is the price Google plans to charge for nonprofit use (read libraries). One can only hope that being hooked into the most 21st-century of networks will alleviate the rampant epidemic of 20th-century thinking among so many people that has made eastern Wyandotte County such a digital backwater-and has kept its public libraries in particular from doing nearly as much as they ought to be doing to remedy that.
In short, there'll be plenty of news of interest here emanating from between the viaduct and the speedway over maybe the next 18 to 24 months. Stay tuned.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
None dare call it cyberbullying.
Methinks the thugs the big movie studios have hired to threaten suspected online pirates into forking over settlement money without a fight have grown a bit big for their britches, given this story from Des Plaines, Illinois. Either that or the robots they use to spam out their extortion messages can't discern the difference between a person and a library.
Well, at least the library had the backbone to come back at them with "Look, here's proof we paid for all the copies of your crappy film that we own, and if that isn't enough for you we'll see you in court." A better response than the one we saw from the panicked politicos of Coshocton County, Ohio a year and a half ago, don't you think?
That said, the library is probably taking a good step by strengthening its acceptable use policy's provisions against copyright infringement-even if it's still very unlikely they'd ever catch an illegal downloader in the act. A better one would be to ban peer-to-peer file sharing-at least in its present form-altogether.
Save your brains and fingers, torrent fans. Don't give me that blather about how legitimate software vendors are using P2P for distribution and support; any software worth buying-and any freeware worth using-is still going to be available from traditional safe sources that don't put customers at risk.
P2P is simply going to have to legitimize itself before gaining acceptance. That means it's going to have to attract investors willing to follow Napster's lead-by kicking out the pirates, pornographers and cybercrooks, making sensible deals with content providers (and if Big Entertainment's thinking is still too twentieth-century to catch the rising tide, maybe going with Little Entertainment for starters will eventually force the big guys into the same corner iTunes maneuvered the Beatles into), and working with operating-system and security software vendors to remedy P2P's current status as a malware conduit. As long as anyone runs the risk of either getting a letter like the library received, or winding up serving time for distributing kiddie porn because their P2P client software passed it through their computer, the torrent community will remain a disreputable corner of the Internet, sorely in need of a Times Square-like makeover.
And frankly, I hope it gets one. Even though public hotspots are getting faster all the time-take a gander at how good users at Chandler, Arizona's downtown public library have it, will you?-the P2P infrastructure might still offer advantages. Those advantages, however, simply don't justify having to wade through the cesspool that currently lies before them.
Well, at least the library had the backbone to come back at them with "Look, here's proof we paid for all the copies of your crappy film that we own, and if that isn't enough for you we'll see you in court." A better response than the one we saw from the panicked politicos of Coshocton County, Ohio a year and a half ago, don't you think?
That said, the library is probably taking a good step by strengthening its acceptable use policy's provisions against copyright infringement-even if it's still very unlikely they'd ever catch an illegal downloader in the act. A better one would be to ban peer-to-peer file sharing-at least in its present form-altogether.
Save your brains and fingers, torrent fans. Don't give me that blather about how legitimate software vendors are using P2P for distribution and support; any software worth buying-and any freeware worth using-is still going to be available from traditional safe sources that don't put customers at risk.
P2P is simply going to have to legitimize itself before gaining acceptance. That means it's going to have to attract investors willing to follow Napster's lead-by kicking out the pirates, pornographers and cybercrooks, making sensible deals with content providers (and if Big Entertainment's thinking is still too twentieth-century to catch the rising tide, maybe going with Little Entertainment for starters will eventually force the big guys into the same corner iTunes maneuvered the Beatles into), and working with operating-system and security software vendors to remedy P2P's current status as a malware conduit. As long as anyone runs the risk of either getting a letter like the library received, or winding up serving time for distributing kiddie porn because their P2P client software passed it through their computer, the torrent community will remain a disreputable corner of the Internet, sorely in need of a Times Square-like makeover.
And frankly, I hope it gets one. Even though public hotspots are getting faster all the time-take a gander at how good users at Chandler, Arizona's downtown public library have it, will you?-the P2P infrastructure might still offer advantages. Those advantages, however, simply don't justify having to wade through the cesspool that currently lies before them.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
No Irish need apply?
OK, it's St. Patrick's Day...so sue me.
And speaking of-well, you see, there was this big tan tent out in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue not far from the aforemetioned business, with a zipped-down entrance and a uniformed guard in front-and a sign clearly stating "VALID U. S. ID REQUIRED." I resisted the temptation as long as I could, finally giving in and asking a young lady just outside who was obviously an associate of whatever enterprise was being conducted within exactly what was going on in there that wasn't fit for foreigners. Her response was not one question but two: "Are you 21?" and "Do you smoke cigarettes?"
Now, I suppose I could have effected my best brogue and implored whether on this day of all days, they would truly deny one fresh off the Old Sod, just for want of an American-issued...naaah!
And to conclude this on-topic, I dropped in again at the Westport branch of the KCMO Public Library to post this, and while I'm happy to report that the two-hours-per-day seating limit signs I saw here around five years ago are gone, so, unfortunately, are the power outlets I found then as well. Only two pairs of them are readily apparent now-one on each side of a post between a couple of tables in front of the checkout desk. Better news than that, though, is that even if you have to go battery only, you'll have the speed to get plenty done before recharge time, what with just over 7 megabits per second down and 3 up.
Friday, March 11, 2011
You say you want a revolution...
I've asked before, and I'll ask again: Where are all these iPads and now competing tablets that are supposed to be sweeping us stodgy old laptoppers into the past alongside keypunch cards and 5 1/4-inch floppy drives? I've been at the Plaza Library since having gotten off work, and I'm currently one of a half-dozen Wi-Fi users here-all using laptops. Frankly, I've never run across a tablet user at a hotspot yet. I did notice someone with a netbook here earlier this afternoon, but that's the lightest artillery I've seen deployed during this operation.
Clearly, tablets are in demand-Apple just launched the second iteration of the iPad today to great fanfare-but you've got to wonder what that tidal wave of buyers is using them for afterward. They don't appear to be frequenting Kansas City area hotspots with them, that's for sure.
By the way, I ran a speed test here earlier and hit 12-count 'em, 12!-megabits down and nearly 3 up. Fastest I've ever seen here. Has fiber finally made its way to Midtown?
Clearly, tablets are in demand-Apple just launched the second iteration of the iPad today to great fanfare-but you've got to wonder what that tidal wave of buyers is using them for afterward. They don't appear to be frequenting Kansas City area hotspots with them, that's for sure.
By the way, I ran a speed test here earlier and hit 12-count 'em, 12!-megabits down and nearly 3 up. Fastest I've ever seen here. Has fiber finally made its way to Midtown?
Friday, February 25, 2011
Meanwhile, back to the east...
McDonald's
812 Minnesota Avenue, KCK
802.11g
SSID: Wayport_Access or attwifi
After the somewhat depressing results of my West Wyandotte expedition, and the even sadder news, delivered by the Kansas City Star earlier this week, that the YWCA has closed its coffeehouse a few blocks away from here which was reviewed in October by ath64, it's somewhat heartening to find that at least here in the most underserved part of the metro, Mickey D's is really coming through like we thought they would everywhere else upon joining the free world a year ago.
No power outlets, so charge up in advance or type and surf faster than you eat. Speaking of speed...has anyone here checked lately? An online test reported only around 300 kilobits per second down and merely one-third that up. Is that the best Ma Bell can do?
Let's hope not, and let's also hope more businesses that are still managing to thrive in this recession wil consider unwiring, to make up for the loss of some that aren't-such as Borders Books, which (bad pun alert) has turned the first page of Chapter 11 in case you haven't heard. As the KC Business Journal reports, the closeout sale is already under way at the one local store-in the Northland-closing as a result of the filing. And I didn't even realize that their 119th and Metcalf store, the subject of another ath64 review a couple of Christmases back, is already gone.
The confines are a bit more friendly, but...
Kansas City Kansas Public Library, West Wyandotte Library
1737 North 82nd Street, KCK
802.11g
SSID: KCKPLWEST
Well, in hopes that things had gotten a bit better since KCKPL effectively opened up their network to everyone, I sauntered out this way this afternoon-but sadly must report that should you do the same, you'll have to endure the same onerous filtering and port blocking I observed back in October at KCK's main branch, albeit in surroundings much better suited to laptop use. Take a gander, for instance, at this table, replete with a pair of convenient power outlets at the base of the lamp.
There are at least a couple of these here, along with armchairs incorporating swivel trays that could accomodate a laptop or netbook, similar to the chairs that at least used to be in the Miller Nichols Library at UMKC (haven't been there in a while and their laptop connectivity has been restricted to students, faculty and staff for some years now so I don't know if they're still there). And some of those armchairs are right next to power outlets in the floor.
In short, this place could show a few things to some libraries around town. Now, if KCKPL's administration would only take a few hints from them. Usability isn't all furniture and wiring, folks.
Friday, January 14, 2011
I ought not, but I'm going to (among other things).
Yes, I really shouldn't-but five years of waiting for these nice folks down here at Crown Center to get their Wi-Fi working consistently as it's supposed to is long enough. Perhaps, on this Friday before we celebrate the life and achievements of that most Gandhi-like of Americans, it's time for a little not-so-civil disobedience.
So...okay. For those of you who've come down here and run into the problems I did again tonight with not being able to go anywhere after connecting and wondered about my previous allusions to being able to get around the problem myself, here's what you do: Manually configure your TCP/IP (look in help for whatever operating system you're running for how to do this) to give yourself an IP address somewhere around 192.168.2.100. In other words, set it to not use DHCP and input the above address instead. If it asks for a router or gateway try putting in the router's address of 192.168.2.1. Don't mess with the netmask if it's there; the default setting should work. For your computer's address I'd start with 192.168.2.100 and go up to maybe 110 or even higher depending on whether there are other users around who don't appear to be having problems. By the way, for those who don't know, change only the last three digits. Try surfing after each address change. If five to ten tries don't get it, you probably need to also make an entry for a DNS server. Google now offers a pair of these for free public use at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. You can also try Open DNS at 208.67.222.222 or 208.67.220.220.
Oh, I almost forgot-remember to change everything back to where it was originally just before you shut down to leave. Generally this means simply re-enabling DHCP and deleting any DNS servers you entered. Might make connecting again at home or work a tad easier.
And should anyone with Crown Center's management take exception to the above-well, bring on the dogs and fire hoses. Better yet, do what your conscience ought to be telling you to do about right now-go hire a kid who can fix this network and keep it fixed.
And with that, on to tonight's hisses and cheers. Cheers for Microsoft, who now gives you the option of setting Hotmail accounts so that they can be accessed with full, Firesheep-proof HTTPS-on-every-page protection if you try to access the login page that way. It'd be better if they'd just do this by default, but at least it's a start. Hisses however for Lycos and NetZero, both of whom are still way behind the curve on this. Lycos seems to think there isn't a problem, while NetZero offers only a partially encrypted login page-to which you must specifically navigate-and nothing beyond that. I guess there are going to have to be some high-profile Firesheep shearings before some people get the message.
So...okay. For those of you who've come down here and run into the problems I did again tonight with not being able to go anywhere after connecting and wondered about my previous allusions to being able to get around the problem myself, here's what you do: Manually configure your TCP/IP (look in help for whatever operating system you're running for how to do this) to give yourself an IP address somewhere around 192.168.2.100. In other words, set it to not use DHCP and input the above address instead. If it asks for a router or gateway try putting in the router's address of 192.168.2.1. Don't mess with the netmask if it's there; the default setting should work. For your computer's address I'd start with 192.168.2.100 and go up to maybe 110 or even higher depending on whether there are other users around who don't appear to be having problems. By the way, for those who don't know, change only the last three digits. Try surfing after each address change. If five to ten tries don't get it, you probably need to also make an entry for a DNS server. Google now offers a pair of these for free public use at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. You can also try Open DNS at 208.67.222.222 or 208.67.220.220.
Oh, I almost forgot-remember to change everything back to where it was originally just before you shut down to leave. Generally this means simply re-enabling DHCP and deleting any DNS servers you entered. Might make connecting again at home or work a tad easier.
And should anyone with Crown Center's management take exception to the above-well, bring on the dogs and fire hoses. Better yet, do what your conscience ought to be telling you to do about right now-go hire a kid who can fix this network and keep it fixed.
And with that, on to tonight's hisses and cheers. Cheers for Microsoft, who now gives you the option of setting Hotmail accounts so that they can be accessed with full, Firesheep-proof HTTPS-on-every-page protection if you try to access the login page that way. It'd be better if they'd just do this by default, but at least it's a start. Hisses however for Lycos and NetZero, both of whom are still way behind the curve on this. Lycos seems to think there isn't a problem, while NetZero offers only a partially encrypted login page-to which you must specifically navigate-and nothing beyond that. I guess there are going to have to be some high-profile Firesheep shearings before some people get the message.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
The opposite side of the equator-and the wrong side of history as well?
Well gosh, I'd have made mention of Wi-Fi-related news closer to home than either New Zealand or California had there been any, but these two tidbits do make something of an interesting juxtaposition.
I've come across rumblings from the New Zealand town of Nelson before about the local public library offering-horrors!-free and open Wi-Fi for everyone, which doesn't set well with at least one local businessman who's apparently still able to sell play-for-pay sessions for $4 (I assume that's in New Zealand dollars; I have no idea of the current exchange rate). Now, according to a local newspaper over there, he's steamed that operators of tour buses cruising through town make a point of advising laptop-toting backpackers of the library's access. Like they'd cram into his place to fork over for his overpriced sessions instead, rather than find another free venue run by a true competitor of his. Yeah, right.
As for why the town government should perhaps listen to him with a jaundiced ear, consider the following newspaper item from Lodi, California. While I personally would feel a bit better if a person in the protagonist's situation were a bit more inclined to use the library's access as a means toward getting out of it, it is heartening to know that free and open Wi-Fi is, at least in this one case, really helping to narrow the digital divide.
Oh, I almost forgot-Happy New Year!
I've come across rumblings from the New Zealand town of Nelson before about the local public library offering-horrors!-free and open Wi-Fi for everyone, which doesn't set well with at least one local businessman who's apparently still able to sell play-for-pay sessions for $4 (I assume that's in New Zealand dollars; I have no idea of the current exchange rate). Now, according to a local newspaper over there, he's steamed that operators of tour buses cruising through town make a point of advising laptop-toting backpackers of the library's access. Like they'd cram into his place to fork over for his overpriced sessions instead, rather than find another free venue run by a true competitor of his. Yeah, right.
As for why the town government should perhaps listen to him with a jaundiced ear, consider the following newspaper item from Lodi, California. While I personally would feel a bit better if a person in the protagonist's situation were a bit more inclined to use the library's access as a means toward getting out of it, it is heartening to know that free and open Wi-Fi is, at least in this one case, really helping to narrow the digital divide.
Oh, I almost forgot-Happy New Year!
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