Yes, he does exist, and Mary Sanchez of the Kansas City Star has found proof. In fact, it looks like the Man with the Bag (love that song, by the way!) has already lightened his pack a bit over in Rosedale.
Bravo, Connecting for Good, bravo! Now let's hope a Certain Broadband Provider Which Shall Remain Unnamed and which came to town making similar promises will be moved by your example to more closely walk their talk.
And just in case this is my last post of the year, best wishes for the holiday season to everyone-and a prayer for special blessings of comfort and strength, of course, to all so horribly and wrongfully bereaved on Friday.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Horrors!
Breaking news-there's this big huge thing called the Internet out there-and there's-wait for it-dirty stuff on it! And if we don't prevent access to that dirty stuff, it will sweep over us like a tsunami, and...
Well, you get the idea. And perhaps the humorous tone I've taken above really isn't appropriate for this first story from Florida, given that the scumbag involved is accused of pulling down child porn. Nonetheless I feel I do need to take some issue with the detective quoted in the story when it comes to his veiled threat to those running free and open Wi-Fi networks. Remember, Sherlock-you caught this guy because he was sitting out in the open while accessing such a network-because that was all he had available.
And then we go across the pond to merrie old England, where it's apparently just dawned on some folks there that free and open Wi-Fi means free and open for bad stuff too-and that Wi-Fi networks don't care how old their users are. A gentle suggestion to our British friends with such concerns: Instead of running to the goverment demanding action, why not perhaps look a bit closer to home? Since parents generally do a better job of raising kids than governments can manage, it stands to reason that parental controls on privately owned Internet-connected devices ought to work better than government controls on businesses serving the public at large.
One would think that if the party currently in power over there was conservative in more than just name only, it wouldn't take a disaffected American to point this out.
Well, you get the idea. And perhaps the humorous tone I've taken above really isn't appropriate for this first story from Florida, given that the scumbag involved is accused of pulling down child porn. Nonetheless I feel I do need to take some issue with the detective quoted in the story when it comes to his veiled threat to those running free and open Wi-Fi networks. Remember, Sherlock-you caught this guy because he was sitting out in the open while accessing such a network-because that was all he had available.
And then we go across the pond to merrie old England, where it's apparently just dawned on some folks there that free and open Wi-Fi means free and open for bad stuff too-and that Wi-Fi networks don't care how old their users are. A gentle suggestion to our British friends with such concerns: Instead of running to the goverment demanding action, why not perhaps look a bit closer to home? Since parents generally do a better job of raising kids than governments can manage, it stands to reason that parental controls on privately owned Internet-connected devices ought to work better than government controls on businesses serving the public at large.
One would think that if the party currently in power over there was conservative in more than just name only, it wouldn't take a disaffected American to point this out.
Friday, November 09, 2012
Australians finally remember who they are
Well it took them long enough, but common sense has to a certain extent prevailed Down Under That harebrained scheme I first commented on here and here nearly four years ago to impose Chinese-style filtering on a national level has, according to the Associated Press, bitten the Outback dust.
Good news. And good riddance to an idea that I'm sure actually embarrassed many Australians. To be sure, protecting kids from exploitation by child pornographers must remain a priority not only in Australia but everywhere else. However, even back when this proposal first emerged, most of the garbage it was targeted against wasn't distributed via the World Wide Web anyway-and it still isn't.
Like terrorists, child predators are nothing if not resourceful. Law enforcement must, therefore, respond in kind. Undercover busts of the sort at which U. S. authorities have become so adept, coupled with mercilessly tough sentences that will strike the fear of God into these perverts and prove we're serious about this, have done and will continue to do much more than resorting to tactics better expected of besieged despots and tenuous totalitarian regimes-tactics that in the end, it should be remembered, neither quelled the Arab Spring nor dissuaded the naming of a dissident as a Nobel laureate.
Good news. And good riddance to an idea that I'm sure actually embarrassed many Australians. To be sure, protecting kids from exploitation by child pornographers must remain a priority not only in Australia but everywhere else. However, even back when this proposal first emerged, most of the garbage it was targeted against wasn't distributed via the World Wide Web anyway-and it still isn't.
Like terrorists, child predators are nothing if not resourceful. Law enforcement must, therefore, respond in kind. Undercover busts of the sort at which U. S. authorities have become so adept, coupled with mercilessly tough sentences that will strike the fear of God into these perverts and prove we're serious about this, have done and will continue to do much more than resorting to tactics better expected of besieged despots and tenuous totalitarian regimes-tactics that in the end, it should be remembered, neither quelled the Arab Spring nor dissuaded the naming of a dissident as a Nobel laureate.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you...
...that I finally saw someone with a tablet-to wit, an iPad-here at the library tonight, but he wasn't using it. Apparently he had it plugged into a USB port on his MacBook just to charge it.
Biennial off-topic rant, MMXII
So here we are again, twelve years after the Supreme Court had to pick a president because it couldn't be determined using the best technology in use at the time whom voters in Florida had chosen, four years after I first complained here about the lack of progress on the voting technology front since then, and two years after further lamenting the same.
You'd think things had gotten better by now, wouldn't you? Well, think again.
I just came from my local polling place-displaced from its usual neighborhood library branch location by road construction-and hasten to report that not only do the powers that be still consider only a single electronic touch-screen voting machine per location to be adequate, but that one machine wasn't even working when I signed in. At least that's what I overheard a poll worker telling another voter. Now, I wasn't really trying to start anything, mind you-after all, this is only the closest presidential election since Kennedy-Nixon, and we all know no one would even think of anything like...
Well anyway, no sooner had the seeds of suspicion been planted than another poll worker announced to one and all that the e-machine had suddenly and miraculously regained its good health and was once again available to cut down on the growing line of voters waiting for an available seat to open up so they could sit down and begin filling out their paper ballots.
And while I'm going to have to admit, sadly, that the residents of this particular precinct perhaps may lean towards the old-fashioned-I'm sure many if not most of those taking paper ballots would have opted for them if they'd been asked-that's no excuse for not continuing efforts to improve the overall process-and that means modernization. The local election board ought to engage in more education-public demonstrations of touchscreen voting with hands-on time for participants, for example-and do a better sales job on how much faster and more convenient voters can do their patriotic duty that way than they can using the older one.
And as for my suggestion two years ago that we ought to seriously consider moving to some form of online-from-home voting, I wish I'd known it would take one of the worst hurricanes ever to hit the Northeast for someone to take the idea seriously. I might not have bothered.
You'd think things had gotten better by now, wouldn't you? Well, think again.
I just came from my local polling place-displaced from its usual neighborhood library branch location by road construction-and hasten to report that not only do the powers that be still consider only a single electronic touch-screen voting machine per location to be adequate, but that one machine wasn't even working when I signed in. At least that's what I overheard a poll worker telling another voter. Now, I wasn't really trying to start anything, mind you-after all, this is only the closest presidential election since Kennedy-Nixon, and we all know no one would even think of anything like...
Well anyway, no sooner had the seeds of suspicion been planted than another poll worker announced to one and all that the e-machine had suddenly and miraculously regained its good health and was once again available to cut down on the growing line of voters waiting for an available seat to open up so they could sit down and begin filling out their paper ballots.
And while I'm going to have to admit, sadly, that the residents of this particular precinct perhaps may lean towards the old-fashioned-I'm sure many if not most of those taking paper ballots would have opted for them if they'd been asked-that's no excuse for not continuing efforts to improve the overall process-and that means modernization. The local election board ought to engage in more education-public demonstrations of touchscreen voting with hands-on time for participants, for example-and do a better sales job on how much faster and more convenient voters can do their patriotic duty that way than they can using the older one.
And as for my suggestion two years ago that we ought to seriously consider moving to some form of online-from-home voting, I wish I'd known it would take one of the worst hurricanes ever to hit the Northeast for someone to take the idea seriously. I might not have bothered.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Seven years already?
Sure enough, the calendar's right-today is this blog's seventh anniversary.
Just further evidence that time really does fly when you're having fun.
Well, thanks to everyone who's helped to make this place what it is. And thanks in advance to everyone who will help to make it what it's going to become.
Just further evidence that time really does fly when you're having fun.
Well, thanks to everyone who's helped to make this place what it is. And thanks in advance to everyone who will help to make it what it's going to become.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
No place like home.
As bad as Sunday was, Friday was worse. The Big Airline That Couldn't tried hard, but only managed to get me out of Austin three hours late, obligating them to put me on a later connecting flight at DFW. One saving grace was that the delay allowed me to try Boingo once more as I'd promised below. At AUS it's basically play for pay, but a vendor with an ad on the login page usually offers a half-hour of free access in exchange for a clickthrough and ad view. After turning on Javascript, cookies and Flash-which you should only do (especially at the same time) if absolutely necessary and then only on a site you implicitly trust-I managed to get it to work after a few tries. Hey, it even stayed working once I turned those three malware conduits off. Still, it's not worth it unless you're desperate in my view.
And there must be a lot of people like that in Austin, given that they've actually got kiosk computers you can jump online with set up at some of the airport gates. I tried one just for the experience; it apparently runs a locked-down version of Internet Explorer on either Windows 7 or Vista and give access only to the Web. There's a clickable button on the screen that supposedly erases your private data, but I wouldn't trust it any more than I'd bank or shop on a public computer at a library. Heck, I wouldn't even borrow a computer from someone I knew for such a purpose, unless that someone had no problem with my making sure I'd covered my tracks afterward.
Now for a better idea. Southwest Airlines has tables in several of its gates at AUS not only wired for power but complete with USB charging ports so all you smartphoners and iPodders in dire need of an electron fix might find sustenance. Good going, Southwest. Now how about lighting up your gates with free and open Wi-Fi in airports that don't see fit to do it themselves-you do know that the airport can't stop you from doing this without running afoul of the FCC, don't you?-and while you're at it, why not light up your planes with it as well? As I intimated below, checked baggage isn't the only thing that shouldn't cost extra given today's fares.
And speaking of Sky-Fi...sorry but I didn't get to try it on either hop. Hop No. 1 from AUS to DFW was just too short to bother with pulling out ye olde laptop, and airplane seats have (ahem, ahem) shrunken so much since the last time I flew that I knew there was no hope of my reaching the power outlet purported to be underneath once I'd buckled in. I don't even know, therefore, if it was the 12-volt "cigarette lighter" plug like the one present on at least one of the DC-9s I rode on the last time I flew to Austin a dozen years ago, or the standard 110-volt AC outlet the airline claims to have outfitted many of its planes with. (Memo to the airlines: Anyone who thinks sticking power outlets under a seat is a good idea ought to try using one located there. Then come back and tell me whether you still think it's a good idea.)
By the time I got to DFW, I just had barely enough time to grab dinner to go before boarding for Hop No. 2-a packed flight of just over an hour's duration. Even if I'd been able to try out Gogo after eating, I would have had to do it on my battery, there apparently being no power outlets on that particular aircraft.
And if what I saw was any indication, there needn't be a great rush to install them. I didn't really notice anyone on either flight with a laptop or tablet out that appeared to be using Gogo. While handheld devices proliferated I seriously doubt that anyone with a Wi-Fi capable smartphone is gullible enough to hook it into a play-for-pay network because 3g/4g isn't available unless someone else-like their employer, perhaps-is picking up the tab. In-flight Wi-Fi isn't going to (bad pun alert!) take off unless forward thinkers like Southwest Airlines offer it at no extra charge and drag the rest of the industry along with them-kicking and screaming if need be. Just as Starbucks eventually did, they'll come around.
Finally, one last word with regard to hotel access. The word is communication. If you're going to toss in Internet access at no additional charge for the duration of my stay, great! However, it would have been a big help if you'd have made that clear when I checked in. Finding literature in my room to the contrary-especially after getting caught out by your bottled water trick (open it and then find out too late it'll be added to the bill) should be an obvious source of confusion and anxiety. And isn't travel these days confusing and anxiety-producing enough as it is?
And there must be a lot of people like that in Austin, given that they've actually got kiosk computers you can jump online with set up at some of the airport gates. I tried one just for the experience; it apparently runs a locked-down version of Internet Explorer on either Windows 7 or Vista and give access only to the Web. There's a clickable button on the screen that supposedly erases your private data, but I wouldn't trust it any more than I'd bank or shop on a public computer at a library. Heck, I wouldn't even borrow a computer from someone I knew for such a purpose, unless that someone had no problem with my making sure I'd covered my tracks afterward.
Now for a better idea. Southwest Airlines has tables in several of its gates at AUS not only wired for power but complete with USB charging ports so all you smartphoners and iPodders in dire need of an electron fix might find sustenance. Good going, Southwest. Now how about lighting up your gates with free and open Wi-Fi in airports that don't see fit to do it themselves-you do know that the airport can't stop you from doing this without running afoul of the FCC, don't you?-and while you're at it, why not light up your planes with it as well? As I intimated below, checked baggage isn't the only thing that shouldn't cost extra given today's fares.
And speaking of Sky-Fi...sorry but I didn't get to try it on either hop. Hop No. 1 from AUS to DFW was just too short to bother with pulling out ye olde laptop, and airplane seats have (ahem, ahem) shrunken so much since the last time I flew that I knew there was no hope of my reaching the power outlet purported to be underneath once I'd buckled in. I don't even know, therefore, if it was the 12-volt "cigarette lighter" plug like the one present on at least one of the DC-9s I rode on the last time I flew to Austin a dozen years ago, or the standard 110-volt AC outlet the airline claims to have outfitted many of its planes with. (Memo to the airlines: Anyone who thinks sticking power outlets under a seat is a good idea ought to try using one located there. Then come back and tell me whether you still think it's a good idea.)
By the time I got to DFW, I just had barely enough time to grab dinner to go before boarding for Hop No. 2-a packed flight of just over an hour's duration. Even if I'd been able to try out Gogo after eating, I would have had to do it on my battery, there apparently being no power outlets on that particular aircraft.
And if what I saw was any indication, there needn't be a great rush to install them. I didn't really notice anyone on either flight with a laptop or tablet out that appeared to be using Gogo. While handheld devices proliferated I seriously doubt that anyone with a Wi-Fi capable smartphone is gullible enough to hook it into a play-for-pay network because 3g/4g isn't available unless someone else-like their employer, perhaps-is picking up the tab. In-flight Wi-Fi isn't going to (bad pun alert!) take off unless forward thinkers like Southwest Airlines offer it at no extra charge and drag the rest of the industry along with them-kicking and screaming if need be. Just as Starbucks eventually did, they'll come around.
Finally, one last word with regard to hotel access. The word is communication. If you're going to toss in Internet access at no additional charge for the duration of my stay, great! However, it would have been a big help if you'd have made that clear when I checked in. Finding literature in my room to the contrary-especially after getting caught out by your bottled water trick (open it and then find out too late it'll be added to the bill) should be an obvious source of confusion and anxiety. And isn't travel these days confusing and anxiety-producing enough as it is?
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
On the road again...
Been out of town this week for the first time in about five years. Got off to a late start so I didn't have time to sample the KCI Airport Wi-Fi to see if it's still as it was the last time I reported on it. I can tell you, however that neither Houston's George Bush International Airport nor the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport-IAH and AUS, in three-letter airport-speak, respectively-are truly free and open (this despite IAH being listed by wififreespot). No, you've got to get in bed with Boingo if you want "complimentary" access. I tried during a layover at IAH only to be told, courtesy of a Boingo landing page, that it "works best with Javascript turned on." Well, it didn't in Firefox, at least, only bringing up Google and a few other sites. E-mail, RSS feeds or Usenet? Forget it. I'd have monkeyed around with it a little more had I had more time but duty called. And since I won't be coming home through Houston we'll just have to leave things at that. Sad that this was apparently the best that the fourth-largest city in the country could manage to do.
Depending on whether the scheduling of my return trip holds up, I may give Boingo another shot at AUS on Friday-but not if it's play-for-pay. I'll let you know.
And about that scheduling...I was originally supposed to fly down here on a Major Airline That Shall Go Unnamed, which is currently experiencing labor problems while simultaneously trying to lift itself out of bankruptcy-but you didn't get those hints from me, understand? Anyway, said airline has partnered with Gogo for in-flight Wi-Fi, which I might have been tempted to try out just to report on it here had those original plans played out. They didn't, however, and I ended up on Another Major Airline That Shall Go Unnamed, which unlike its aforementioned competitor has only rolled out Gogo on its big equipment flying transcontinental and international routes. So, Gogo was a no-go on Sunday. If Friday turns out differently, you'll find out here. Not that I'm all that wild about forking over more cash for what at today's ticket prices and added fees ought to be an included amenity, mind you, but who knows? Maybe I'll come across a coupon code or something like that today or tomorrow. Either that or someone at Major Anonymous Airline Number One will, in a stroke of genius, come up with the perfect promotion to build customer good will-"Free Friday Fly-Fi" or some such. Hey, you never know.
Oh, yes-the hotel situation. As I stated back in '07, I normally don't review Wi-Fi at lodging facilities regardless of whether their networks are secured since they obviously aren't intended for use by anyone other than paying guests. This particular location just happens to be listed in wififreespot, however, for its purported free and open access in the lobby. No such luck, however-you've got to obtain a login from the front desk.
You just can't win these days.
Depending on whether the scheduling of my return trip holds up, I may give Boingo another shot at AUS on Friday-but not if it's play-for-pay. I'll let you know.
And about that scheduling...I was originally supposed to fly down here on a Major Airline That Shall Go Unnamed, which is currently experiencing labor problems while simultaneously trying to lift itself out of bankruptcy-but you didn't get those hints from me, understand? Anyway, said airline has partnered with Gogo for in-flight Wi-Fi, which I might have been tempted to try out just to report on it here had those original plans played out. They didn't, however, and I ended up on Another Major Airline That Shall Go Unnamed, which unlike its aforementioned competitor has only rolled out Gogo on its big equipment flying transcontinental and international routes. So, Gogo was a no-go on Sunday. If Friday turns out differently, you'll find out here. Not that I'm all that wild about forking over more cash for what at today's ticket prices and added fees ought to be an included amenity, mind you, but who knows? Maybe I'll come across a coupon code or something like that today or tomorrow. Either that or someone at Major Anonymous Airline Number One will, in a stroke of genius, come up with the perfect promotion to build customer good will-"Free Friday Fly-Fi" or some such. Hey, you never know.
Oh, yes-the hotel situation. As I stated back in '07, I normally don't review Wi-Fi at lodging facilities regardless of whether their networks are secured since they obviously aren't intended for use by anyone other than paying guests. This particular location just happens to be listed in wififreespot, however, for its purported free and open access in the lobby. No such luck, however-you've got to obtain a login from the front desk.
You just can't win these days.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Well, there's iniquity...
...and then there's absolute scumbaggery such as that perpetrated by this guy from Oregon.
Memo to similarly inclined scumbags: Stay away from open Wi-Fi. Why, you ask? Well, for the same reason you should stay away from open windows. Anything you're seen doing through either by law enforcement doesn't require a search warrant in order to be used against you in court.
Better yet, get the help you need so that you won't have to hide behind curtains or encryption-and society won't have to hide its most vulnerable from you anymore.
Oh, and to the aforementioned scumbag of the first part: Enjoy your stay.
Memo to similarly inclined scumbags: Stay away from open Wi-Fi. Why, you ask? Well, for the same reason you should stay away from open windows. Anything you're seen doing through either by law enforcement doesn't require a search warrant in order to be used against you in court.
Better yet, get the help you need so that you won't have to hide behind curtains or encryption-and society won't have to hide its most vulnerable from you anymore.
Oh, and to the aforementioned scumbag of the first part: Enjoy your stay.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Open Wi-Fi hotspots: Dens of iniquity!
At least that's the assessment of Iowa's top cybercop, according to this story from a Quad Cities TV station. (For the geographically challenged, the Quad Cities are four adjacent municipalities straddling the Mississippi River just below where Interstate 80 crosses; they are Davenport and Bettendorf on the Iowa side, across from Rock Island and Moline in Illinois. East Moline, the site of the incident detailed in the story, is an Illinois suburb of its larger partial namesake.)
So...where have we heard about anything like this before? Here, maybe? Well, at least this time the affected library isn't wasting any time in (I hope) cutting off access to the peer-to-peer filesharing networks that were almost certainly implicated in this event. Too bad that the P2P community hasn't taken heed of the warnings in my post about the previous incident. Stay on that path, ladies and gentlemen, and you will only further marginalize yourselves-to your own detriment.
And finally-thirteen hundred bucks for a solution? Seems kind of steep to me. Maybe they should have dropped in at the local community college to see if an IT student would have taken on the project for a nominal salary-or just for the experience. For that matter, a student the library brought on as seasonal help or as an intern might have sufficed. After all, it is summer.
So...where have we heard about anything like this before? Here, maybe? Well, at least this time the affected library isn't wasting any time in (I hope) cutting off access to the peer-to-peer filesharing networks that were almost certainly implicated in this event. Too bad that the P2P community hasn't taken heed of the warnings in my post about the previous incident. Stay on that path, ladies and gentlemen, and you will only further marginalize yourselves-to your own detriment.
And finally-thirteen hundred bucks for a solution? Seems kind of steep to me. Maybe they should have dropped in at the local community college to see if an IT student would have taken on the project for a nominal salary-or just for the experience. For that matter, a student the library brought on as seasonal help or as an intern might have sufficed. After all, it is summer.
Friday, July 13, 2012
That's one way to keep them out of the landfill, I guess.
ABC News: New York City phone booths to become Wi-Fi hotspots.
You've got to wonder, though, how many people will be willing to sit-especially after dark- in a town like New York with a laptop, tablet or smartphone out in an area where criminals will know they'll be-and with what.
That said, it'll be interesting to see how it works out. If anyone from around here is going to NYC anytime soon, a first-hand report would be appreciated.
Oh, and if you happen to be in or around one of those booths when a nerdy, bespectacled, newspaper-reporter-looking fellow dashes in and begins pulling off his jacket, do a good turn for truth, justice and the American Way and kindly step aside-because someone, somewhere is in big trouble.
You've got to wonder, though, how many people will be willing to sit-especially after dark- in a town like New York with a laptop, tablet or smartphone out in an area where criminals will know they'll be-and with what.
That said, it'll be interesting to see how it works out. If anyone from around here is going to NYC anytime soon, a first-hand report would be appreciated.
Oh, and if you happen to be in or around one of those booths when a nerdy, bespectacled, newspaper-reporter-looking fellow dashes in and begins pulling off his jacket, do a good turn for truth, justice and the American Way and kindly step aside-because someone, somewhere is in big trouble.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
The king's X
Well, so much for the idyllic dream of the preceding post.
It ain't gonna happen.
Here's hoping, however, that the Rosedale activists don't give up and follow though on trying to do what they can with what's available now. Sure, a megabit is only a thousandth as much as a gigabit, but it's still a megabit more than nothing.
And speaking of nothing...it's been nearly 15 months since the Big Announcement. Did I miss my invitation to the initial public demonstration? Oh, it hasn't happened yet.
Hmmm...curious. And I think more and more people are beginning to share that opinion.
It ain't gonna happen.
Here's hoping, however, that the Rosedale activists don't give up and follow though on trying to do what they can with what's available now. Sure, a megabit is only a thousandth as much as a gigabit, but it's still a megabit more than nothing.
And speaking of nothing...it's been nearly 15 months since the Big Announcement. Did I miss my invitation to the initial public demonstration? Oh, it hasn't happened yet.
Hmmm...curious. And I think more and more people are beginning to share that opinion.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Seems like there's just no getting away from it.
The more we try not talking here anymore about the coming of Google Fiber (the official name of the project now) to the metro, the more reason someone else gives us to. Well, blame the Kansas City Star for this one.
An intriguing proposal, to say the least-and one that looks as if it really could go a long way toward moving eastern Wyandotte County in the right direction. All the more incentive for someone, somewhere, to begin cracking the whip and getting at least some of that fiber hung and lit. You know, Rosedale wouldn't be a bad place to start.
An intriguing proposal, to say the least-and one that looks as if it really could go a long way toward moving eastern Wyandotte County in the right direction. All the more incentive for someone, somewhere, to begin cracking the whip and getting at least some of that fiber hung and lit. You know, Rosedale wouldn't be a bad place to start.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Ho hum...
Kansas City Star: Don't get ready to sign up for Google Gigabit just yet.
Gee, do you think maybe they should have taken on something a bit simpler instead-like a cure for the common cold, perhaps?
Gee, do you think maybe they should have taken on something a bit simpler instead-like a cure for the common cold, perhaps?
Sunday, April 22, 2012
And while we're on the subject of those who still just don't get it...
Not wanting to waste a whole Friday evening after the KCK library stop proved fruitless, I decided to continue westward, giving myself a chance to keep an eye peeled for potential new locations along State Avenue (didn't see any) and eventually, of course, to check out how things were going out around the Speedway these days. Not so well, I'm sorry to report. The onetime open-air network that served the Legends shopping center is now gone-thanks, ath64, for updating the guide page to reflect this-and the Yard House Restaurant has now thrown up some sort of crazy clickthrough page on its network that I couldn't get to work without enabling more than I'm comfortable starting a browser with. Jazz: A Louisiana Kitchen apparently also now offers what may be free and open Wi-Fi but their clickthrough page didn't work any better.
Finally, Books-a-Million (which has taken to calling itself just "BAM!") apparently is still dead set on following its onetime competitor Borders into oblivion by being even more obstinate when it comes to moving away from fee and towards free. They still expect anyone who isn't a member of their discount club to pay for access.
Since this company is obviously run by people who just woke up after being in a coma for the past couple of years, or maybe have recently returned from an Antartctic expedition or something like that, here's a brief refresher. Barnes and Noble went to free and open with its Wi-Fi while Borders stayed play-for-pay until competitive pressures forced them to follow B&N's lead. The upshot: B&N is still around. Borders isn't.
Oh, and to bring you totally up to speed-Will and Kate really went through with it, Casey Anthony walked and Francisco Franco is still dead.
Finally, Books-a-Million (which has taken to calling itself just "BAM!") apparently is still dead set on following its onetime competitor Borders into oblivion by being even more obstinate when it comes to moving away from fee and towards free. They still expect anyone who isn't a member of their discount club to pay for access.
Since this company is obviously run by people who just woke up after being in a coma for the past couple of years, or maybe have recently returned from an Antartctic expedition or something like that, here's a brief refresher. Barnes and Noble went to free and open with its Wi-Fi while Borders stayed play-for-pay until competitive pressures forced them to follow B&N's lead. The upshot: B&N is still around. Borders isn't.
Oh, and to bring you totally up to speed-Will and Kate really went through with it, Casey Anthony walked and Francisco Franco is still dead.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Just in case you were wondering...
Stopped in again at the KCK Public Library's main branch, and no, the Wi-Fi here hasn't gotten any better. You've still got to accept a self-signed certificate to connect, you still can't read Usenet posts or even e-mail if your provider, like most, now requires you to connect securely via SSL, and I didn't even bother to check the filtering. Too bad, because they've set up a vending-machine cafe at the front of the first floor reading room with even a few wall-mounted power outlets readily accessible. It's a shame they won't get much use unless some attitudes change around here-fast.
Saturday, March 03, 2012
And speaking of filtering...
...I coincidentally came across this guest editorial by Ernest Istook, the erstwhile Oklahoma congressman who principally authored the Children's Internet Protection Act.
Funny how some things-and some people-just don't change. Years out of office, he still beats the drum for his burdensome and unworkable solution to what was then (in 2000) and still is now a largely nonexistent problem. A dozen years ago, there was no such thing as a computer program capable of making subjective judgments about the data it processes-such as whether such data meets the legal definition of obscenity or "harmful to minors"-and there is still no such thing today. And he's shocked-shocked!-that more and more public library systems around the country have taken the route of responsible stewardship of their increasingly scarce resources and opted out of the E-Rate program rather than spend more money complying with CIPA than their E-Rate discount would be worth.
Poor Mr. Istook. He's just more evidence that boxer Muhammad Ali's famous quote is truly a sage observation of the human condition. Istook still sees the world the same as he did in 2000, and has thus wasted the past twelve years of his life.
Funny how some things-and some people-just don't change. Years out of office, he still beats the drum for his burdensome and unworkable solution to what was then (in 2000) and still is now a largely nonexistent problem. A dozen years ago, there was no such thing as a computer program capable of making subjective judgments about the data it processes-such as whether such data meets the legal definition of obscenity or "harmful to minors"-and there is still no such thing today. And he's shocked-shocked!-that more and more public library systems around the country have taken the route of responsible stewardship of their increasingly scarce resources and opted out of the E-Rate program rather than spend more money complying with CIPA than their E-Rate discount would be worth.
Poor Mr. Istook. He's just more evidence that boxer Muhammad Ali's famous quote is truly a sage observation of the human condition. Istook still sees the world the same as he did in 2000, and has thus wasted the past twelve years of his life.
The problem wasn't so much what he was watching...
...as this story recounting the arrest of a laptopper at a public library in Loudoun County, Virginia explains. Rather, it was what he was (alleged to have been) doing while he was watching it.
Of course, the reporter states flatly that he was using the library's Wi-Fi at the end of the piece without so much as a shred of documentation to support either that claim or the obvious inference that the suspect pulled the offensive materials down over the connection. Hmmm...I didn't read in there anything about a forensic analysis of the computer having been done yet to show the stuff wasn't on the hard drive beforehand, did you?
In fairness to our intrepid correspondent above, however, I slipped over to the library's website to check out the available information on the nature of the connection and yes, it's unfiltered. So draw your own conclusion.
Of course, the reporter states flatly that he was using the library's Wi-Fi at the end of the piece without so much as a shred of documentation to support either that claim or the obvious inference that the suspect pulled the offensive materials down over the connection. Hmmm...I didn't read in there anything about a forensic analysis of the computer having been done yet to show the stuff wasn't on the hard drive beforehand, did you?
In fairness to our intrepid correspondent above, however, I slipped over to the library's website to check out the available information on the nature of the connection and yes, it's unfiltered. So draw your own conclusion.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Only about four hours left...
Subway3214 Main, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: Subway
Well, I couldn't resist, so I did another sandwich grab-and-go this afternoon and while wating in line, decided to pull out ye olde finder on the outside chance this one was lit up. A little outside the area we'd promised to focus on, but unlike yesterday's find it stays open a couple of hours later during the week-until 10 p. m. in fact. On weekend nights it closes at midnight. So get a move on if you want to take advantage of their $5 footlong special which ends after today.
Oh, by the way, the power outlets shown above-under a window on the north side of the building-are the only ones apparent. The windows face north, east and west and appear to be nicely tinted so unless you have to sit close to one as shown here when there are bright reflections from outside, screen readability ought not be much of a problem.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Be thankful it's a leap year.
Subway6311 Troost, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: Subway
Well, if you hurry you can enjoy a $5 footlong while you surf; the chain is selling them for that through the end of February-i.e., tomorrow. No power outlets, so charge up first. And in the interest of full disclosure, I grabbed and went today rather than sit and boot up, so all I know for sure is the SSID and that the router is open. That and the fact that you likely won't want to sit by those west-facing windows when the sun is shining directly through them towards evening-especially during summer.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
(Sigh...)
It's like a religion, I tell you-this unshakable belief held by so many that open Wi-Fi is inherently dangerous to use for any sensitive purpose. As further evidence thereof, herewith this from a blogger over at Yahoo News recounting her baptism into the gospel of Thou Shalt Not Bank Whilst Thou Art Connected to a Router That Be Not Encrypted.
And now, once again, with apologies to ath64, A Brief Pause For the Facts.
As long as you are connected to a web page that properly implemets the Secure Sockets Layer protocol, it is perfectly safe for you to do anything you want on that particular page no matter how you're connected to it. In the case of an entire site such as that of a bank or credit card issuer, as long as all the pages on the site are so protected, you are too. The actual dangers the blogger saw demonstrated are, in fact, not specific to open Wi-Fi, but instead stem from two possible causes. The first is a website with an unencrypted login page (hard to imagine on a banking or other financial website in this day and age); the second is one whose owner either doesn't keep its certificates up to date (again hard to fathom for a truly responsible organization) or doesn't bother purchasing valid SSL certificates at all, opting instead to create its own self-signed ones.
Either of these last two situations should have given the author a browser warning about the certificates that she almost certainly ignored. SSL, after all, is designed to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks such as she described. But SSL, like any other security technology, isn't capable in most cases of protecting against what in less polite circles at least used to be referred to as a PEBCAK-a Problem that Exists Between the Computer And Keyboard.
And it is that sort of problem one must be the most on guard against. Once again, if the webpage you're logging into for any sensitive purpose has an URL that doesn't begin with "https://" don't log into it-on open Wi-Fi or anywhere else. If you still have an account with an institution whose website doesn't protect all of its pages with SSL, find another bank or take out someone else's credit card. How do you tell? Simple. Either look for "https://" at the start of the URL of each page or, better yet, set your browser to warn you when you're about to leave an encrypted page for one that isn't. If you see that warning when you shouldn't, take your business elsewhere and tell the institution you're leaving why.
Finally, do what ath64 famously reminded everyone to do-or more accurately, not to do-in this post some four years back decrying the KCK Public Library's then-closed network. If you get any message regarding a website's certificates, don't enter or access any sensitive information on that site afterward. Thankfully, you likely don't have to worry about anyone in an Afghan cave anymore, but the results of flouting this admonition could still be as bad as Guantanamo Bay-or worse.
And now, once again, with apologies to ath64, A Brief Pause For the Facts.
As long as you are connected to a web page that properly implemets the Secure Sockets Layer protocol, it is perfectly safe for you to do anything you want on that particular page no matter how you're connected to it. In the case of an entire site such as that of a bank or credit card issuer, as long as all the pages on the site are so protected, you are too. The actual dangers the blogger saw demonstrated are, in fact, not specific to open Wi-Fi, but instead stem from two possible causes. The first is a website with an unencrypted login page (hard to imagine on a banking or other financial website in this day and age); the second is one whose owner either doesn't keep its certificates up to date (again hard to fathom for a truly responsible organization) or doesn't bother purchasing valid SSL certificates at all, opting instead to create its own self-signed ones.
Either of these last two situations should have given the author a browser warning about the certificates that she almost certainly ignored. SSL, after all, is designed to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks such as she described. But SSL, like any other security technology, isn't capable in most cases of protecting against what in less polite circles at least used to be referred to as a PEBCAK-a Problem that Exists Between the Computer And Keyboard.
And it is that sort of problem one must be the most on guard against. Once again, if the webpage you're logging into for any sensitive purpose has an URL that doesn't begin with "https://" don't log into it-on open Wi-Fi or anywhere else. If you still have an account with an institution whose website doesn't protect all of its pages with SSL, find another bank or take out someone else's credit card. How do you tell? Simple. Either look for "https://" at the start of the URL of each page or, better yet, set your browser to warn you when you're about to leave an encrypted page for one that isn't. If you see that warning when you shouldn't, take your business elsewhere and tell the institution you're leaving why.
Finally, do what ath64 famously reminded everyone to do-or more accurately, not to do-in this post some four years back decrying the KCK Public Library's then-closed network. If you get any message regarding a website's certificates, don't enter or access any sensitive information on that site afterward. Thankfully, you likely don't have to worry about anyone in an Afghan cave anymore, but the results of flouting this admonition could still be as bad as Guantanamo Bay-or worse.
Well, the evening wasn't a total loss.
After the lead on the southeast side yesterday afternoon failed to pan out, I headed north to catch the going-out-of-business sale of the Big Box Electronics Retailer Who Shall Not Be Named at their location across Barry Road from the Metro North Mall. Don't bother; all the good stuff's gone-and the store itself will be after Tuesday. Even sadder was my brief, nostalgic stop at Metro North itself. Less than a dozen stores left open in the whole place. Needless to say, no Wi-Fi-there'd hardly be anyone there to use it if there were. At least those wonderful hot-air balloons in the atrium are still there and, incredibly, still functioning. I hope they can be saved and set up somewhere else (Union Station, maybe?) before the inevitable day when the lights go out and the bulldozers roll in.
Enough tears shed over the past, however. Let's move on to finding out where you can still hook up to check in while feeding your face or perhaps meeting other needs in the neighborhood. Full disclosure: I didn't actually go into any of these locations except the first one-and I didn't boot up in any of them. Connection data is based solely on previous experience and what I saw with my finder, so take these hit-and-run reviews as what they are-merely evidence of the existence of an open router that appears intended for free public use.
McDonald's
150 NW Barry Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: attwifi or Wayport_Access
I went in and grabbed to go here, staying only long enough to whip out my finder to confirm this location as being among Mickey D's unwired. No visible power outlets anywhere, so charge up beforehand. The location faces south, so daylight should be LCD-friendly for the most part, except perhaps during the winter.
Great Clips
115 NW Barry Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: Great Clips Free WiFi
After striking out at another barber/beauty shop earlier in the day, there was no way I could resist verifying what my finder indicated from across the street while I was getting my hamburger fix. Again I didn't actually go in, so if one of you wants to provide more info re power availability or how easily you can read your screen in the daytime, feel free. With only north-facing storefront windows, the latter really shouldn't be a problem.
Mr. Goodcents
117 NW Barry Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: Mr Goodcents
Not long after I came on board this blog I stopped at this chain's Main Street location, but unlike tonight I hadn't come there from McDonald's, so I went in and stayed a bit. Anyone who wants to do so here is welcome to fill us in on any pertinent details missing from this rather cursory report. Like those of its neighbor just to the east, its storefront windows face north, which should help with daytime LCD viewability this time of year.
Enough tears shed over the past, however. Let's move on to finding out where you can still hook up to check in while feeding your face or perhaps meeting other needs in the neighborhood. Full disclosure: I didn't actually go into any of these locations except the first one-and I didn't boot up in any of them. Connection data is based solely on previous experience and what I saw with my finder, so take these hit-and-run reviews as what they are-merely evidence of the existence of an open router that appears intended for free public use.
McDonald's
150 NW Barry Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: attwifi or Wayport_Access
I went in and grabbed to go here, staying only long enough to whip out my finder to confirm this location as being among Mickey D's unwired. No visible power outlets anywhere, so charge up beforehand. The location faces south, so daylight should be LCD-friendly for the most part, except perhaps during the winter.
Great Clips
115 NW Barry Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: Great Clips Free WiFi
After striking out at another barber/beauty shop earlier in the day, there was no way I could resist verifying what my finder indicated from across the street while I was getting my hamburger fix. Again I didn't actually go in, so if one of you wants to provide more info re power availability or how easily you can read your screen in the daytime, feel free. With only north-facing storefront windows, the latter really shouldn't be a problem.
Mr. Goodcents
117 NW Barry Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: Mr Goodcents
Not long after I came on board this blog I stopped at this chain's Main Street location, but unlike tonight I hadn't come there from McDonald's, so I went in and stayed a bit. Anyone who wants to do so here is welcome to fill us in on any pertinent details missing from this rather cursory report. Like those of its neighbor just to the east, its storefront windows face north, which should help with daytime LCD viewability this time of year.
Friday, February 10, 2012
OK-we're trying here, folks. We REALLY are.
No sooner does ath64 proclaim a crusade to root out and publicize hotspots in the metro's most underserved areas than we get a lead on one that really sounds intriguing-a combination barber/beauty shop not far from the KCMO Southeast Branch Library. Frankly, I haven't heard of any other hair emporiums that have unwired, despite their seeming to be a natural location for it. And anything that would take the pressure off Southeast's beleaguered network would be most welcome as well.
Don't bother.
The network is locked down, making it off limits as far as this blog is concerned. And what's worse is that it's locked down with WEP, which anyone with a criminal bent and modest hacking skills who wanted to break in would overcome in mere seconds, if not minutes. And what's worst is that it appears no one there knows why it's locked down in the first place.
A kindly reminder to our valued and highly appreciated tipsters: "Free and open" means just that-you don't have to ask for anything in order to connect to the network. Those are the only networks we review and publicize here, because accessing any other kind without prior authorization is against the law. All right-everyone got that?
And a gentle nudge to the proprietors of the above-mentioned establishment, along with others who are at least trying to bridge the digital divide: If you don't know why you're doing something, that's probably a good reason not to do it. There's a reason the routers at the Southeast and Bluford library branches aren't encrypted. It's the same reason yours shouldn't be either.
Don't bother.
The network is locked down, making it off limits as far as this blog is concerned. And what's worse is that it's locked down with WEP, which anyone with a criminal bent and modest hacking skills who wanted to break in would overcome in mere seconds, if not minutes. And what's worst is that it appears no one there knows why it's locked down in the first place.
A kindly reminder to our valued and highly appreciated tipsters: "Free and open" means just that-you don't have to ask for anything in order to connect to the network. Those are the only networks we review and publicize here, because accessing any other kind without prior authorization is against the law. All right-everyone got that?
And a gentle nudge to the proprietors of the above-mentioned establishment, along with others who are at least trying to bridge the digital divide: If you don't know why you're doing something, that's probably a good reason not to do it. There's a reason the routers at the Southeast and Bluford library branches aren't encrypted. It's the same reason yours shouldn't be either.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Speak of the devil, and...
Kansas City Star: Google starts hanging the fiber.
All right, we'll treat this project like the proverbial watched pot from here on out-until it goes live. Katie bar the door once it does.
All right, we'll treat this project like the proverbial watched pot from here on out-until it goes live. Katie bar the door once it does.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Giga-Fi? I'll buy THAT, but...
Interesting story in today's Kansas City Star concerning the latest wrinkle in the coming of Google Gigabit to the metro. Seems that someone shared the concern I expressed in my original post on the subject that Wi-Fi speeds were-and still are-far too slow to make truly practical use of that much bandwidth, at least compared to a wired connection.
So now I suppose we can attribute the fact that, at least as far as I know or have heard, there's no actual construction underway anywhere yet to Google's concentration on developing and arranging for licensing and production of these new high-speed interface devices.
Well, pardon me for a moment, but if this is the case, the cart just might be getting in front of the horse here. We're coming up on a year since the big announcement and no one's gigabitting yet-wired or otherwise. Maybe whoever is in charge of this decision ought to stop and remember how long it took 802.11n to go from draft to final adopted standard, and then ask himself or herself whether taking the chance of Big Telecom, Colossal Cable or the Goliaths who own the power grid stealing a march on Google are worth it.
Besides, although achieving gigabit Wi-Fi within a reasonable time sounds plausible, that executive might want to consider the experiences of someone I know who's occasionally pulling the Internet in over Bluetooth right now. If that someone's reports of its speeds (or lack thereof) are to be believed, Gigatooth may be a slightly more daunting proposition.
So now I suppose we can attribute the fact that, at least as far as I know or have heard, there's no actual construction underway anywhere yet to Google's concentration on developing and arranging for licensing and production of these new high-speed interface devices.
Well, pardon me for a moment, but if this is the case, the cart just might be getting in front of the horse here. We're coming up on a year since the big announcement and no one's gigabitting yet-wired or otherwise. Maybe whoever is in charge of this decision ought to stop and remember how long it took 802.11n to go from draft to final adopted standard, and then ask himself or herself whether taking the chance of Big Telecom, Colossal Cable or the Goliaths who own the power grid stealing a march on Google are worth it.
Besides, although achieving gigabit Wi-Fi within a reasonable time sounds plausible, that executive might want to consider the experiences of someone I know who's occasionally pulling the Internet in over Bluetooth right now. If that someone's reports of its speeds (or lack thereof) are to be believed, Gigatooth may be a slightly more daunting proposition.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Sit, sup and surf while the dining room's open-but be careful otherwise
McDonald's
6406 Troost, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: attwifi or Wayport_Access
In the interest of public service-since it's now obvious Google won't be able to ride to the rescue of those still on the wrong side of the digital divide as early as had been hoped-we've resolved to make an effort to find hotspots in the affected areas that we may have missed up until now. Feel free to let us know of any you're aware of and we'll check them out as we go.
Anyway...this one's pretty much a standard local McDonald's, Wi-Fi wise-i.e., plenty of comfortable seating but no power outlets, so charge up before you come. You also might want to take a seat towards the interior early in the day, as the building faces east and has the standard big unshaded windows.
Oh, and one more thing. This, unfortunately, is the location where this happened, so I'll reiterate my admonition, hinted at in the title, that perhaps you shouldn't hang around the parking lot during drive-through-only hours-especially with a laptop out.
6406 Troost, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: attwifi or Wayport_Access
In the interest of public service-since it's now obvious Google won't be able to ride to the rescue of those still on the wrong side of the digital divide as early as had been hoped-we've resolved to make an effort to find hotspots in the affected areas that we may have missed up until now. Feel free to let us know of any you're aware of and we'll check them out as we go.
Anyway...this one's pretty much a standard local McDonald's, Wi-Fi wise-i.e., plenty of comfortable seating but no power outlets, so charge up before you come. You also might want to take a seat towards the interior early in the day, as the building faces east and has the standard big unshaded windows.
Oh, and one more thing. This, unfortunately, is the location where this happened, so I'll reiterate my admonition, hinted at in the title, that perhaps you shouldn't hang around the parking lot during drive-through-only hours-especially with a laptop out.
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