Harlem Renaissance, 21st Century Edition

NYC Mayor's Office:  Harlem to become biggest Wi-Fi hotzone in USA.

Interesting, to say the least.  And it's not like the need isn't there, either.  I just hope it doesn't prove to be a crime magnet given that it's only going to be accessible outdoors.  People too scared to come out and use it won't benefit from it.  

You know, it might have been better to have made an effort to recruit either new or existing business owners to unwire and provide some safe indoor 24-hour venues-or at least locations open later than the public library branches which probably are taking the brunt of bridging the digital divide currently-in the covered neighborhoods, and perhaps this should be looked at anyway as a spur to economic development.  

In any event, here's hoping it works out in the end.  

I really didn't want my first post in such a long while to be such a downer...

...especially not at holiday time, but I came across this from out in California while researching another late-breaking report of someone else being investigated for accessing and/or possessing you-know-what and I thought I'd pass it on.  The "someone else" is an aide to a rather well-known elected official; I'll leave it to you to look that story up if you're interested since there's no indication as of yet that Wi-Fi is involved.

As for the incident in which Wi-Fi is involved, here we go again with the blanket pronouncement that the bad stuff definitely got onto the laptop over what the detective makes a point of stating was an open connection.  Care to back that up with some forensics, Detective?  After all, you did find more garbage when you searched the suspect's home; might it be at all possible that he had some of it on the laptop already before he arrived at the restaurant? 

Actually we should count our blessings that this piece of low-hanging fruit was brazen enough to do what he stands accused of doing in public-thus easily bringing his predation upon kids to what is hoped will be a permanent end. 

And though, to paraphrase Dickens, it may not be in keeping with the situation above, season's greetings to all regardless.

Remembrance and reflection: November 22, 1963

When your age is still in single digits, your priorities are different. 

My first priority, on that leaden, drizzly late autumn Friday would, under normal circumstances, have been to rush home after school and pick up the remaining copies of the coming week's edition of TV Guide I still had left to deliver to customers on my route (they hired kids to do that at four cents a copy back then; the new ones came out on Wednesday but some folks preferred you to bring theirs by a day or two later) and get them out, hopeful of avoiding that really scary black dog up the block that I was sure would devour me if I ever gave him half a chance.  Then back home, dinner, perhaps a late-night television movie if anything good was on, but off to bed right afterward so as not to miss the highlight of the week-"Fireball XL-5" on Channel 4 the next morning. 

Normal circumstances ended, however, about two hours earlier as we sat in the school auditorium watching the sixth-graders putting on a play-which I couldn't identify or describe for you now to save my life-when our principal strode onto the stage, stopped the performance and announced something I couldn't make out at first (microphones and amplification were reserved for very special occasions and this wasn't considered to be one).  Amid the resulting gasps from those sitting closer to the stage who had understood what he had said, I leaned over and asked a classmate who had heard the principal as well, and who filled me in: 

"President Kennedy's been shot!"

We were directed back to our classrooms; our teacher had already managed to procure a radio, tuned to the old Mutual Broadcasting Network, by the time I returned.  We simply sat in stunned silence as the story unfolded:  the governor of Texas had also been wounded and was in serious condition…the president's condition was unknown…he had been shot in the head…the gun was a .30-30 rifle…a Secret Service man had also been killed (these last two items, of course, would later turn out to be false)...a Dallas police officer had been shot to death (this one was sadly true)…

Then the time rolled around for those of us who had begun studying instrumental music earlier that year to make our way to the gymnasium, where that class was held.  No practicing scales that day, though-a radio was set up there as well.  The official announcement that Kennedy had died was just being repeated as I reached the door.  Some of the older students began weighing in on what that would mean; if things went as they did with our school "elections" the loser-Nixon-would now be president.

I am almost ashamed, even today, to admit that this made perfect sense to me at that moment.  I had only a vague concept of who the president was and what he did; in those days you really didn't get into studying government and the Constitution before junior high.  Pretty much all I remembered of the election by then was the schoolyard ditty we repeated over and over-come on, how many of you recited it, too?  "Kennedy, Kennedy, he's our man!  Nixon go to the garbage can!"  Lyndon Johnson?  Who was he?

Once I got home I turned on the TV and decided to wait for the evening newspaper to arrive-does anyone else recall getting both the Kansas City Times in the morning and the Star in the afternoon on weekdays?-before finishing my TV Guide route.  "PRESIDENT IS SLAIN FROM AMBUSH" screamed the black banner headline, over a story printed completely in italics-something I don't remember the Star or Times ever doing again.  If memory serves, I didn't start out with my TV Guides until after dark, having watched Air Force One's arrival back in Washington and President Johnson's first, halting words to the nation, along with the steady stream of details from Dallas on Lee Harvey Oswald.

No "Fireball XL-5" that Saturday, of course, as the networks continued with their nonstop coverage after having done so throughout the night-something almost unprecedented at a time when most television stations around the country (and all three of them in Kansas City) regularly signed off for at least a few hours nightly.

We were in church on Sunday when Oswald was shot, so I didn't see that live.  The endless replays of the moment, however, were no less gruesome.

School was canceled on Monday so we could watch the funeral and burial.  One of my most enduring memories, alongside those of the somber cadence of the muffled drums as the cortege made its way to Arlington and the strains of what I later learned was the Navy Hymn-which still takes me back to that weekend whenever I hear it-was my mother hoping out loud that the lowering of the casket would not be shown, as that might be too much for her.  (It wasn't, at least not on NBC.)

I understand now that I really was too young then to get it.  Grasping the loss to the nation would come only with an understanding of how the government worked and the president's role in it.  Being able to relate to bereavement, however, would take much longer, as I would not experience a death in my family until after I had grown to adulthood.

So what to make of it all now?  I will not waste time addressing any of the conspiracy theories; there is nothing new to say for or against any of them and thus no one's mind will be changed.  Better, I think, to reflect on the world of half a century ago and how Kennedy perhaps helped start us on the path to where we are today.

On the day he died, a pre-recorded television message from him was supposed to be relayed to Japan-the nation his daughter, ironically, just became our ambassador to-via satellite.  Live satellite television is something we take for granted now, but the first live commercial broadcast from overseas was, I think, still a couple of years in the future.  It was Kennedy's push for technological advancement-in particular the race to the moon-that spurred the revolution in electronics that among other things, eventually transformed the black-and-white console television sets with their vacuum and cathode-ray tubes upon which we watched that caisson and heard those drums, into today's big-screen solid-state Internet-smart full color TVs that are really more computer than receiver.  It also ultimately led to the establishment of ARPANET, which evolved into the medium through which you now read these words, along with the myriad means by which that medium can now be accessed. 

In short, we should celebrate the life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, as his family has long urged, rather than to continue commemorating and mourning his death.  Perhaps among the books and documentaries bound to be produced as the centennial of his birth on May 29, 2017 approaches will be several examining my premise above.  At least I hope so.

When your age is more than halfway to triple digits, your priorities are different.

A swing and a miss...

Had to go back out to Independence Center tonight to make an exchange, and just to be more than fair I did what I've never done before for any other failed hotspot since starting this blog.  After two unsuccessful attempts I gave it one last go.  Sad to say that for the third and final time it was a no-go.  After all, George Brett never got more than three strikes.  Of course, his claim to fame was that he only needed all of them every now and then.

Too bad there are so many businesses these days that don't take the examples set by genuine achievers like Brett to heart.  Oh sure, they pay lip service to buzzwords like "performance" and "excellence"-but the proof of the pudding is what happens when the rubber meets the road-or the pitch comes over the plate.

Sorry, Simon Malls.  You're out. 

Then again, there are those who DON'T learn from experience.

Remember my last sojourn out to Independence Center, the results of which were described in this post from more than a couple of years back?  If not, that's understandable.  One of my more underwhelming experiences, to understate matters.  Well, it just so happens I was out that way again earlier this evening and decided to stop in for a bit to see if things have changed. 

Sorry to say, they haven't.  OK, they've changed a little bit.  The login page loads maybe once every three to five tries, and even if anyone is stupid enough to put his or her real name and e-mail address into it (why do they even ask?), he or she still doesn't go anywhere-even with both cookies and Javascript enabled. 

Too bad.  They've added a "charging station" with a couple of pairs of power outlets in the seating area just inside the 39th Street entrance on the upper level.  It's a shame there's really not much use for them as things stand, except perhaps for smartphone, tablet or mobile hotspot users with a generous data plan. 

Come on, people.  This isn't something really hard like enrolling people for healthcare.  Once again, I refer you to Crown Center.  They make do without jumping customers through hoops.  Why can't you?

Eighth anniversary reflections

I'll have to admit to being a bit melancholy as I contemplate how different things are from how they were when I published this blog's first post this very evening in 2005.  I'm sure part of that is simply due to Wi-Fi's having been something new and exciting around town in those days, whether it was free and open or not.  Going months without posting, as I'm sure you've noticed I've done lately, was unthinkable then.  Well, the world has kept turning, of course, and booting up a laptop or powering on a tablet or smartphone and finding you've got free Internet without wires doesn't provide the joyusly electrifying jolt to the psyche it once did.  

And to be honest, my life has changed a bit since that night, too.  I just don't get out as often as I did before I got broadband at home; in fact, I now work from home about half the time.  Makes it a bit harder to keep up on where the latest local hotspots are popping up and whether or not they're play-for-pay, among other things.  

I did drop in again at a local fast-food establishment previously reviewed here this past Monday, though (got to take advantage of the Chiefs' sudden resurgence and grab those buy-one-get-one-free burgers, you know), and what I saw there late in the afternoon could have been either a sign of success or maybe just a little sad, depending on your outlook.  There was what I took to be a high-school student in the back hunched over a laptop and, I hope, digging into her homework, but even if she were simply tweeting or Facebooking the day away, so what?  She was there and taking advantage of a local business' efforts to bridge the digital divide, and rewarding those efforts with her patronage.  There was also, however, an older gentleman sitting up front, whom I passed on my way out.  I really didn't pay too much attention to what was on his screen, but the presence of a cable lock securing his computer to the base of the table was somewhat disheartening.  I pray that he was moved to this by caution rather than experience.  

In addition, I'm sure it probably doesn't help that many of our recent posts have been of the look-at-what-some-criminal-used-Wi-Fi-to-do type, and while I'd like to thank Macenstein for those (and feel free to put up more of them, Mac, if you find them interesting), it's just that those seem to be the kind of stories about Wi-Fi that make the news these days.  As an example, here's one from the Associated Press about how and where they caught the black-market drug website operator who's been in the headlines.   

In the end, it really doesn't matter.  Change is inevitable, and if the changes over the last eight years as well as those still to come mean fewer and less frequent posts, so be it.  Thanks once again to you, the reader, and rest assured that we aren't going anywhere, so don't you either.

   

21st Century Opportunity, shake hands with 20th Century Thinking.

New York Post:  Wi-Fi-using freelancers persona non grata at growing number of NYC cafes.

At first glance it all makes sense.  Camping at a table in such an establishment without making frequent and continued purchases does cost the proprietor revenue.  No one can rationally argue that.

But is the knee-jerk solution really the best one?  I mean, you throw out one customer and you have to go out and pull in another from somewhere.  And in New York City in today's economy, what are the chances that your new customer will just be one more freelancer?  See how you could just be starting a vicious cycle-chasing your tail in a race to the bottom?

Why not, therefore, look at the problem in a new light?  Wi-Fi has done its job by drawing in the customer; now it's your job to provide the range of services that will make his or her patronage profitable for you.  Obviously, lattes and sandwiches aren't cutting it.  How about turning some of the other things you offer into sources of revenue from these users?  Power, perhaps?  In fact, this might-just might, mind you-be one circumstance where going play-for-pay could possibly be a good idea.  A nominal monthly charge for "business" customers, which would cover your costs for power and bandwidth in return for perhaps a quiet place for them to work and collaborate, in conjunction with an incentive program to encourage more purchases, could go a long way toward turning what you see as liabilities into assets.

Of course, you have to be the forward-looking and forward-thinking sort in order to see people with the drive and energy to work for themselves as potential partners in your success, and want to partner with them in the quest for theirs.

So, just how many NYC cafe operators fall into that category? 

We shall see.

Well, at least they got the category right...

BBC:  British Library's Wi-Fi blocks Shakespeare's Hamlet as "violent."

Which, of course, is not to say that it isn't.  Been a few years since high school (had to read it for senior English Lit) but I'd put its body count on a par with, say, a more contemporary offering like, say, the movie The Wild Bunch.

Come to think of it, the ol' Bard kind of had a thing for not sparing the stage blood, if you ask me.  Seems I now recall having to suffer through Julius Caesar as a sophomore, and the "Speak, hands, for me"/"Et tu, Brute?" sequence jumps out in my memory.

Anyway, that's enough reminiscing.  I'd held off commenting on Brit Prime Minister David Cameron's harebrained scheme to require Internet service providers over there to filter all their customers' connections unless they opt out, but this episode, as more than one commentator has pointed out, shows what some of the problems could be with that.  Let a filter vendor-or a government-decide what's appropriate, even for children, and you get these silly attempts at a one-size-fits-all solution and what inevitably results from them.  

We had our fling with that sort of nonsense Over Here with one of George W. Bush's pet projects, the "kids.us" domain.  Its ultimate failure was due to the arbitrary roadblocks erected by those given control over content decisions within the domain-barriers that eventually drove off even those few entities which ever even expressed an interest in hosting sites there.  Just as time and tide wait for no one, technology swamped Bush 43's cookie-cutter solution.  What content provider today would even seriously consider investing a dime in developing a site that had to be hosted entirely within one domain-and meet the whims of the domain administrators to ensure its continued existence? 

And it's disheartening that British ISPs, British media and most of all the British people seemingly aren't up in arms over what Cameron''s proposing.  Eventually, the Austrailians came to their senses and dumped plans for a similar scheme, so hope springs eternal. 

Funny, though, that when it comes to the question of whether a government-or an entitiy empowered to act on its behalf-has any business deciding what the people living under it should be able to read, hear or watch, it appears more and more that the word "conservative" doesn't mean what it used to.

Four dreaded words...

...seen yesterday afternoon at the Johnson County Library's Central location.

It really wasn't, of course-what was down was their Internet access, both wired and wireless.  The SSID was visible, but connecting to the network didn't take you anywhere.  Yours truly just made do with ye olde Bluetooth-tethered cell phone, which was (barely) sufficient for the search-engine access I mainly need to augment my research.  It was really creepy, however, to see the dozens of desktop workstations sitting idle.  They're usually just about all in use at that time of day on a Friday. 

A staffer I spoke with said no one had much of an idea as to why or how long; it had already been more than 24 hours and the best info she had was something about a "configuration problem."  And now that I think about it, I should have asked if it was a systemwide issue or just a problem there at Central, but didn't.

Interestingly, there's no mention of the problem anywhere I can find on the library's website.  An oversight, perhaps?

Anyone with more info is welcome to weigh in.

Ma Bell kicked to the curb! (?)

Los Angeles Times:  Starbucks to hook up with Google for Wi-Fi ten times as fast as AT&T's.

All 7,000 locations are supposed to be upgraded within the next year and a half, according to the story.

Hmmm...now where have we heard anything that sounded even remotely like that before? 

Well, just as with the Coming of Fiber, I'll believe the above actually happens when I see it.  And when-or if-either does happen, you'll read about it right here.

Foolish in Fresno

From the Fresno Bee:  Yet another laptop-wielding child predator caught red-handed after being brazen and stupid enough to peruse potential additions to his collection in what was essentially a public place-the Wi-Fi at the Fresno County Public Library in California.

Good for us he was that dumb, too-he was homeless, meaning that had he somehow gotten access to a private connection somewhere he'd likely still be out there, beyond the easy reach of the law enforcement agencies who made masterful use of the library's network being open in order to reel him in, per this second story from a local TV station.

And contrary to the expected reaction from the library administration, I wouldn't go any farther in "locking down" things than to block file-sharing, which no one has any business doing on a public connection anyway. 

No, we want these types to continue to stumble into the tar pit of public Internet access, thus facilitating their apprehension and prosecution.  While it doesn't prevent the initial victimization inflicted by the production of child porn, continuing to go after its consumers-and publicizing collars like this one-can have a chilling effect that may eventually reduce the ongoing exploitation of those poor kids.  Besides, admit it-watching someone accused of something this disgusting doing ye old perp walk just feels so good.

Of course this is just the first stage of the proceedings, mandating the standard disclaimer that all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Anyway, until you make bond at least, enjoy your stay.

Like a bad penny...

...the idea that it makes sense for Wi-Fi users to pay for the ability to print at a hotspot just won't go away.

Gosh, I don't know.  Maybe there are people out there so wedded to the twentieth-century concept of having something on paper-and so steeped in the culture of instant gratification-that something like this does make sense to them.  I just don't recall running across any lately, that's all.

Anyway, I happened upon this on a blog local to Brockton, Massachusetts about the public library there implementing this coveted feature.  For only fifteen cents per black-and-white page, or thirty-five for color, you too can figure out how you'll get all that wood-pulp output home without crinkling or otherwise damaging it-a problem you wouldn't have if you'd just wait.

But here's the one sentence from the post I had to read twice to make sure I hadn't been struck with sudden-onset dyslexia:

"You’ll even be able to place your print command from home, come into the library within two hours, pull up your job at the printer, and print."

Give. Me. One. Good. Reason. Why. I. Would. Ever. Want. To. Do. That.

I couldn't resist, though.  I hit the library's website and here are the instructions.   My goodness, thirteen steps?  The Bible made do with only ten.

And I think it will come as a shock to whomever is running the show there that only someone really desperate is going to jump through that many hoops-especially on a regular basis.  I mean come on, you can still buy a decent single-function printer for less than $40 (all right, less than $50 if you buy the almost-certainly-not-included USB cable along with it if you don't have one lying around already).  Paper hasn't gotten that much more expensive either; you can still get it for around $3 a ream if you shop.  At thirty-five cents a pop, it'll all pay for itself soon enough.

Besides, all you true road warriors out there wouldn't dream of stooping to use someone else's printer while on the go, would you?  No, you'd suavely slide off your backpack, open it with a flourish and pull out one of these babies.

Or at least I would if I could honestly justify spending so much for something like that in this day and age. 

So, how much does free Wi-Fi in San Antonio cost?

Eight years.

Or at least it may come to that if you're the type who goes around in search of open networks in order to do things like the scumbag at the center of this story did.

And before the shrill cries of "Why was the router still running after hours?" and "Why didn't the library use a filter?" drown out the voices of reason, remember once more that this guy likely wouldn't have been caught so easily-or at all-if he'd done what he did behind closed doors on a private connection.  He'd still be victimizing kids, instead of perhaps now being in line to receive a well-deserved taste of his own medicine from his new neighbors-who, by and large, take a very dim view of his kind.

Enjoy your stay, señor.

Numbness of skull

That's the only reason I can fathom for the KCMO Public Library closing its network.  Well, they'll probably weigh in with something like "Gee, we haven't really closed it-just ask and we'll give you the password."  Sorry, but to this blog-and more importantly, to the law-that qualifies as closed.

And why?  Why, after a decade of running free and open with no problems, do this?  And did anyone down there even stop to consider what this means for people who may still be stuck with running older hardware that can't handle WPA?  You know, like my old backup laptop?  Can't have unfortunate souls coming from that far over on the wrong side of the digital divide to the Plaza or downtown, can we?  Heck, no-if we don't stop 'em in their tracks, they just might start getting ideas and finding access to means to better themselves!  I mean, what do they think we are-a public library system or something?

Security, you say?  Please don't go there-you'll only embarrass yourselves.  How secure is giving the same password to everyone, huh?  About as secure as keeping it for a month between changes, that's how much.  Anyone who wants to break in is going to under those circumstances-while chuckling at you under his or her breath while doing it.

I'd save everyone a trip down here and reveal the password, but honor and this blog's longstanding tradition won't let me.  As with other closed networks, we respect the operators' right to run locked down if that's their choice.  So if you want to know, ask them.

Guide page duly updated (sigh...).

The return of "Communi-Fi?"

How many of us now remember Wi-Fi's early days-that heady period right around the turn of the century when 802.11b reigned and eleven megabits per second seemed like all the bandwidth anyone would ever need?  When wardrivers roamed with abandon, meticulously charting and publicizing the location of open networks (a practice that the laws have, thankfully, caught up with since then)?  And when those of a certain idealistic bent banded together in communities across the nation, hoping through partnering with business and government to turn this new technology into a bridge across the digital divide?

Well...it never happened, for the most part.  Public libraries, thank goodness, did come to see ensuring public access to the online realm for all as part of their mission, and consequently public library locations were originally and are still today among the most prolific of America's open wireless hotspots.  But the hope of a Great Unwiring of the inner cities and rural areas bypassed by commercial broadband providers had evaporated along with most of the grassroots organizations pushing for it by the middle of the decade. 

Maybe, just maybe, however, the pendulum could be swinging back.  Witness this item from Houston which just mentions in passing a California utility's having set up a Wi-Fi network for meter reading-and just coincidentally, deciding to open it up for public use.  They mention it in passing to let readers know that right there in Houston is a community organization trying to bring the same benefits to their hometown. 

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, and not just for purposes of nostalgia.  The incumbent providers who managed to scuttle this sort of thing in past years will have a harder time arguing against it now, what with all the time they've had to expand access in areas they still aren't serving. 

Stay tuned.

A gentle suggestion...

...to anyone inclined to seek out what you think will be the anonymity of someone else's Wi-Fi network-particularly one provided for public use such as in a library-for unlawful purposes you don't want traced back to you.

Don't do that in Australia.

As a matter of fact, it's not all that great of an idea much closer to home, either.  (Sorry I missed this when it happened and therefore can only link to a story still up on an outstate newspaper's site.  All that snow, you know...)

TRUMAN DEFEATS DEWEY...

...and, moving on to more timely news, you won't be enjoying free government-provided wireless Internet access over airwaves near you anytime soon-despite this Washington Post story by Cecilia Kang which seems to raise the possibility that you will.

Anyway, thanks to Forbes contributor Anthony WIng Kosner and especially Jon Brodkin over at Ars Technica for setting the record straight.  (And Jon, I loved your use of the famous photo I alluded to in this post's title.)

Oh, for the days when journalists were good enough writers to simply make stories up out of whole cloth and try to get away with that rather than fumble facts and then stumble over half-hearted non-corrections.  Does the name Janet Cooke ring a bell?

"I saw her again last night, and you know that I shouldn't..."

Okay, okay, so what if I am old enough to remember the Mamas and the Papas?  That particular lyric suggested itself yesterday evening at the Plaza Library, when I was again asked by a woman I didn't know from Eve-and who, judging from the college textbooks she had with her ought to have known better-to look after her laptop while she took a bathroom break. 

I've simply decided as a matter of policy to politely but firmly decline all such requests-and you should too, especially if the person asking is a total stranger.  Obviously if your significant other or one of your awsomely bright offspring is doing the asking, that's a totally different situation.  So is being asked by a truly trusted friend or coworker.  If I know where you lay your head at night, or where you trudge off in the morning to earn your daily bread, I've got at least some recourse should I return from the pause that refreshes-sorry, but I'm just in a nostalgic mood all of a sudden-and discover you've disguised yourself and that rather expensive apparatus I left with you as thin air.  At least I know where to start looking. 

I suppose I should have been flattered to have impressed the woman I encountered last night as the trustworthy sort, but I'm still convinced that begging off is the best thing to do.  After all, what if something had happened while she was gone?  I'm not the police.  Not only would I therefore not have been inclined to be able to intervene had someone just brazenly grabbed the laptop,  I'd have been at a disadvantage against a con man or woman pretending to be with the owner.  How could I have prevented that person from leaving with the machine before proving who he or she was? 

And I don't want to even think about the potential legal consequences.  Even if no one ended up going to jail, any civil litigation arising from such a situation could get very nasty very quick.

No, thanks.  I'll stick with what I do when nature calls-shut down the laptop, shove it into the bag and tote it along.  And I'll continue to suggest everyone else do the same.  You might get away with leaving it nine times out of ten-but is that tenth time really worth it?

Not to me, it isn't.