Or did they feel the heat? Either way, it appears from this that they've loosened their death grip on their wireless network.
Although a password-protected network is still a closed one in my book (even though it's suggested they'll give a login to anyone, cardholder or not, this isn't made clear), this is certainly a step in the right direction.
Memo to the library: If you're OK with giving login credentials to anyone, why still bother with requiring a login? Less hassle getting onto your network will result in more usage of the network. Which, of course, will result in less demand for time on your public computers, making them more available for people who really need them. You know, the people the computers are there for in the first place.
Win-win all around, wouldn't you say?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
At least it LOOKS inviting...
Latte Land
7900 State Line Road, Prairie Village
802.11g
SSID: LATTELAND
I must be honest and tell you I didn't sit down at this location and boot up like Macenstein did at the other Latte Land locations we've reviewed. I was in the area on other business and was pressed for time, but since we've reported so infrequently from the Golden Ghetto since the blog's early days, I didn't want to pass up this opportunity entirely. So, I pulled out ye olde finder which verified the protocol and SSID on the open access point, and pressed my nose to the window to try and give you an idea of the layout's laptop-friendliness.
While I saw a pair of power outlets in the corner to the right of the entrance, it didn't seem as if there were more along the north wall. However, there are a couple of booths like Macenstein found at the 47th Street Plaza location on the opposite side of the building, with the same hard-to-reach outlets on front beneath the seat cushions. The appealing thing about them, however, is that they're next to a fireplace built into the south wall. I may be tempted to come back around the holidays when they fire that up. Might make it a nice place to take a brief respite from shopping.
And I can only guess, but since the building faces east, with big windows to the front and north side, it might be best to plan your visit sometime other than early morning while the sun is still low if you're bringing a laptop with you.
7900 State Line Road, Prairie Village
802.11g
SSID: LATTELAND
I must be honest and tell you I didn't sit down at this location and boot up like Macenstein did at the other Latte Land locations we've reviewed. I was in the area on other business and was pressed for time, but since we've reported so infrequently from the Golden Ghetto since the blog's early days, I didn't want to pass up this opportunity entirely. So, I pulled out ye olde finder which verified the protocol and SSID on the open access point, and pressed my nose to the window to try and give you an idea of the layout's laptop-friendliness.
While I saw a pair of power outlets in the corner to the right of the entrance, it didn't seem as if there were more along the north wall. However, there are a couple of booths like Macenstein found at the 47th Street Plaza location on the opposite side of the building, with the same hard-to-reach outlets on front beneath the seat cushions. The appealing thing about them, however, is that they're next to a fireplace built into the south wall. I may be tempted to come back around the holidays when they fire that up. Might make it a nice place to take a brief respite from shopping.
And I can only guess, but since the building faces east, with big windows to the front and north side, it might be best to plan your visit sometime other than early morning while the sun is still low if you're bringing a laptop with you.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Well, 'tis it or 'tain't it?
An open letter to the proprietor(s) of the Main Street Laundry at 3324 Main in Kansas City:
Sir(s) and/or Madam(s):
As one would readily expect sooner or later, it has come to our attention that there are signs proclaiming "Wi-Fi" adorning your establishment. I wish I could tell you that we were in the process of doing just the most awesome writeup we've given a newly discovered location in years.
Well, we aren't.
You see, in order for that to happen, there are certain other things that have to happen first. For one thing, we have to verify that you actually are offering wireless Internet access. The question of whether that access is free and open-and therefore eligible to be listed here-is, of course, still to be determined at that point.
That first step, however, can prove to be a bit daunting when it isn't even possible to discern which, if any, of the plethora of access points detectible on your premises is, in fact, yours. You do realize that the mere existence of an open network does not by itself constitute evidence that it is intended for use by others, don't you? Your signs merely say "Wi-Fi." They don't mention whether it's free, play-for-pay, open only to customers who obtain an access code from you, or just what. For all anyone knows, the pair of open APs with default SSIDs that were reported to us could belong to an unsuspecting apartment dweller or businessperson around the corner, and yours could be one of the encrypted ones.
As a first suggestion, why not try what we advised Latte Land to do at one of its Plaza locations, and what they are actually doing at the other-change the SSID on your router to something that will CLEARLY identify it as the one to which you intend your customers to connect? If I may be so bold, how about something like "Main Street Laundry?"
And if your Wi-Fi is free and open, why not tell everyone? Those signs in front could (ahem, ahem) use a little work.
On the other hand, if you do restrict access or if your network is play-for-pay, you really need to make that clear through signage and possibly some printed handouts. If people are coming in and inadvertently connecting to those open APs thinking they're yours, you conceivably could eventually be held accountable for aiding and abetting a crime. Can't have that, can we?
Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me if you'd like to discuss this or have us check out the place again-which we'll be happy to do if it's free and open.
Sir(s) and/or Madam(s):
As one would readily expect sooner or later, it has come to our attention that there are signs proclaiming "Wi-Fi" adorning your establishment. I wish I could tell you that we were in the process of doing just the most awesome writeup we've given a newly discovered location in years.
Well, we aren't.
You see, in order for that to happen, there are certain other things that have to happen first. For one thing, we have to verify that you actually are offering wireless Internet access. The question of whether that access is free and open-and therefore eligible to be listed here-is, of course, still to be determined at that point.
That first step, however, can prove to be a bit daunting when it isn't even possible to discern which, if any, of the plethora of access points detectible on your premises is, in fact, yours. You do realize that the mere existence of an open network does not by itself constitute evidence that it is intended for use by others, don't you? Your signs merely say "Wi-Fi." They don't mention whether it's free, play-for-pay, open only to customers who obtain an access code from you, or just what. For all anyone knows, the pair of open APs with default SSIDs that were reported to us could belong to an unsuspecting apartment dweller or businessperson around the corner, and yours could be one of the encrypted ones.
As a first suggestion, why not try what we advised Latte Land to do at one of its Plaza locations, and what they are actually doing at the other-change the SSID on your router to something that will CLEARLY identify it as the one to which you intend your customers to connect? If I may be so bold, how about something like "Main Street Laundry?"
And if your Wi-Fi is free and open, why not tell everyone? Those signs in front could (ahem, ahem) use a little work.
On the other hand, if you do restrict access or if your network is play-for-pay, you really need to make that clear through signage and possibly some printed handouts. If people are coming in and inadvertently connecting to those open APs thinking they're yours, you conceivably could eventually be held accountable for aiding and abetting a crime. Can't have that, can we?
Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me if you'd like to discuss this or have us check out the place again-which we'll be happy to do if it's free and open.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
DUH!!!
Well, I thought there wouldn't be much call for the ability to print at wireless hotspots, but if the results of my Googling the subject over the last few days are any indication, maybe I'm wrong.
Seems like a growing number of public and especially academic libraries are implementing schemes to allow this, most of them involving third-party vendors providing web-based printer access. Whether this is what the North Kansas City Public Library is offering I don't know, and we won't find out until they update their webpage with the straight dope since I'm not planning on going there any time soon to check. (And I'd guess neither is Macenstein, who's probably already camped out on the sidewalk outside the Apple Store.)
Anyway, I'm curious as to whether my initial hunch is right. Does the prospect of being able to pay to use someone else's printer away from home particularly appeal to any of you? I still think it makes more sense to just save what you want to print until you get home-or back to your hotel room if you're traveling (with printers selling new for as little as $25, why not just pack one and carry it along if you think you'll absolutely need to print?). I'd especially like to hear from those of you currently going to school. Is hotspot printing worth the hassle of having to first pay and then haul home the hardcopy, or are you more likely to wait until you're back in your dorm room or apartment and make use of the ink and paper you've already paid for?
Comments please, ladies and gentlemen, comments!
And hang tough, Mac. Sounds like a real gullywasher of a storm out there.
'
Seems like a growing number of public and especially academic libraries are implementing schemes to allow this, most of them involving third-party vendors providing web-based printer access. Whether this is what the North Kansas City Public Library is offering I don't know, and we won't find out until they update their webpage with the straight dope since I'm not planning on going there any time soon to check. (And I'd guess neither is Macenstein, who's probably already camped out on the sidewalk outside the Apple Store.)
Anyway, I'm curious as to whether my initial hunch is right. Does the prospect of being able to pay to use someone else's printer away from home particularly appeal to any of you? I still think it makes more sense to just save what you want to print until you get home-or back to your hotel room if you're traveling (with printers selling new for as little as $25, why not just pack one and carry it along if you think you'll absolutely need to print?). I'd especially like to hear from those of you currently going to school. Is hotspot printing worth the hassle of having to first pay and then haul home the hardcopy, or are you more likely to wait until you're back in your dorm room or apartment and make use of the ink and paper you've already paid for?
Comments please, ladies and gentlemen, comments!
And hang tough, Mac. Sounds like a real gullywasher of a storm out there.
'
Friday, June 27, 2008
Get there first, or brush up on your Dale Carnegie.
Latte Land
Country Club Plaza, 4771 Jefferson, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: Latteland
Well, I'm gratified that here, as opposed to their sister location to the east, they've taken to heart my advice to change the default SSID on their router. That and the shaded windows facing Jefferson to the west are the good news. The could-be-better news is that those shades don't do an awful lot when there's direct sunlight coming through them, as there is right now (just before 5 p. m.), at least until you give your eyes a while to adapt. Also, this place is much cozier (read smaller) than the other one, and there is one-count 'em, one!-pair of power outlets, near the floor to the left of the southernmost window. That's why I suggest having read up on how to win friends and influence people before paying a visit, because one of those pair will be in use by whoever beat you here, and you'll have to turn on the charm to get them to agree to share, since that'll mean running your cord in front of them.
Or you could do like the lady to my right obviously did and charge your battery first, but how much fun would that be?
Country Club Plaza, 4771 Jefferson, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: Latteland
Well, I'm gratified that here, as opposed to their sister location to the east, they've taken to heart my advice to change the default SSID on their router. That and the shaded windows facing Jefferson to the west are the good news. The could-be-better news is that those shades don't do an awful lot when there's direct sunlight coming through them, as there is right now (just before 5 p. m.), at least until you give your eyes a while to adapt. Also, this place is much cozier (read smaller) than the other one, and there is one-count 'em, one!-pair of power outlets, near the floor to the left of the southernmost window. That's why I suggest having read up on how to win friends and influence people before paying a visit, because one of those pair will be in use by whoever beat you here, and you'll have to turn on the charm to get them to agree to share, since that'll mean running your cord in front of them.
Or you could do like the lady to my right obviously did and charge your battery first, but how much fun would that be?
Thursday, June 26, 2008
You're kidding-right, Mac?
Not about your not being able to connect to the NKC Library's printer-I believe that-but that other thing. I mean, actually taking a printer along with you? Who'd do that in this day and age? Really, when you think about it, printers are so twentieth-century. So what if you can't commit something before your very eyes to paper right at that very moment? Just save it to your hard drive or bookmark the webpage it's on, then if you still feel the need to help boost the stock price of the inkjet/laser toner manufacturers once you get home, have at it.
Dollars to doughnuts says that's what virtually all Wi-Fi users are doing now. And I'll lay odds that outside of a few curious geeks like you and me, not enough people will miss being able to use that library printer to justify their fixing the connection if it is broken, or maintaining it for very long if it isn't.
Still, your suggestion does have a rather romantic appeal to it. Sort of takes me back a decade or so to the days of my first laptop, and the outrageously expensive mobile printer I bought myself as a birthday present to complement it. I left home with it a grand total of twice in all that time. But, of course, it's not actually making use of a capability like mobile printing that's important. It's knowing that you can, even if today's desktop printers aren't much bigger or heavier than yesteryear's portables, and...gee, you know, I'll bet that this little desktop inkjet I use nowadays, if I folded the tray up, just might fit into that old tote bag of mine.
Dollars to doughnuts says that's what virtually all Wi-Fi users are doing now. And I'll lay odds that outside of a few curious geeks like you and me, not enough people will miss being able to use that library printer to justify their fixing the connection if it is broken, or maintaining it for very long if it isn't.
Still, your suggestion does have a rather romantic appeal to it. Sort of takes me back a decade or so to the days of my first laptop, and the outrageously expensive mobile printer I bought myself as a birthday present to complement it. I left home with it a grand total of twice in all that time. But, of course, it's not actually making use of a capability like mobile printing that's important. It's knowing that you can, even if today's desktop printers aren't much bigger or heavier than yesteryear's portables, and...gee, you know, I'll bet that this little desktop inkjet I use nowadays, if I folded the tray up, just might fit into that old tote bag of mine.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
We stand corrected...
...or more correctly ath64 does, at least in part, with regard to whether a computer can find and automatically install printers on a network. Windows boxes since at least Windows 2000 can be configured to do this provided that both they and the printers are members of a domain or Active Directory, although since printers were put on this earth to sit and eat money-and remember that the more users a printer has, the more money it eats-it's not universally considered a best practice. It isn't done in my workplace, and I wouldn't think it is where ath64 works, either.
That, however, isn't the situation with the purported availability of a Wi-Fi printer at the North Kansas City Public Library. Nonetheless, I'm not having any luck playing around on the Windows side of my MacBook Pro trying to connect to it. The printer, by the way, is an HP Laser Jet 4250n that shouldn't present any problem to either a Mac or Windows user once they're connected and have the driver installed. It's that first step that's the problem. I know I'm connected to the network properly because I can hit websites. But when I go in and have Windows search for any printers on the network...nada.
The nice folks behind the main desk are of the impression that the Wi-Fi printing capability hasn't been set up yet, but someone else they've asked insists it has been and is readlily being used. (He's also rather adamant that, as the announcement on the library's website implies, no configuration is necessary to use the printer, but we've been over that already.) At any rate, I haven't seen anyone but the desktop workstation users printing anything since I've been here. So, either the printer really isn't on the wireless network yet, or you can't use it running Vista Business virtually on a Mac.
And without further information-in particular, either the IP address or hostname of the printer-that's about as far as I'll get this evening. (Memo to the library: Either publish a handout with this info or put it on a small sign attached to the printer. Anyone running anything other than Windows might need it.)
Of course, this has all just been an intellectual exercise to satisfy everyone's curiosity as to this setup. Any laptop users who really needed to print anything before getting home would bring a printer with them. No, I'm serious. Pick up one of the many sub-$40 inkjets readily available at discount stores these days, along with a cheap tote bag to stuff it into, maybe a ream of the least expensive paper you can find, and-if you don't have one already-an AC power inverter to provide 120-volt house current in your car. One that puts out 100 watts should be plenty powerful enough to run both your laptop and the printer, although to plug both in you'll probably also want to add a multi-outlet power strip unless your inverter has more than one outlet. Now bag up the whole nine yards and toss it into your trunk. When the urge to print strikes, find a nice quiet place to park, unpack and connect everything, plug in and boot up, and go to town.
Not that I've actually done anything like the above, of course. But I could.
That, however, isn't the situation with the purported availability of a Wi-Fi printer at the North Kansas City Public Library. Nonetheless, I'm not having any luck playing around on the Windows side of my MacBook Pro trying to connect to it. The printer, by the way, is an HP Laser Jet 4250n that shouldn't present any problem to either a Mac or Windows user once they're connected and have the driver installed. It's that first step that's the problem. I know I'm connected to the network properly because I can hit websites. But when I go in and have Windows search for any printers on the network...nada.
The nice folks behind the main desk are of the impression that the Wi-Fi printing capability hasn't been set up yet, but someone else they've asked insists it has been and is readlily being used. (He's also rather adamant that, as the announcement on the library's website implies, no configuration is necessary to use the printer, but we've been over that already.) At any rate, I haven't seen anyone but the desktop workstation users printing anything since I've been here. So, either the printer really isn't on the wireless network yet, or you can't use it running Vista Business virtually on a Mac.
And without further information-in particular, either the IP address or hostname of the printer-that's about as far as I'll get this evening. (Memo to the library: Either publish a handout with this info or put it on a small sign attached to the printer. Anyone running anything other than Windows might need it.)
Of course, this has all just been an intellectual exercise to satisfy everyone's curiosity as to this setup. Any laptop users who really needed to print anything before getting home would bring a printer with them. No, I'm serious. Pick up one of the many sub-$40 inkjets readily available at discount stores these days, along with a cheap tote bag to stuff it into, maybe a ream of the least expensive paper you can find, and-if you don't have one already-an AC power inverter to provide 120-volt house current in your car. One that puts out 100 watts should be plenty powerful enough to run both your laptop and the printer, although to plug both in you'll probably also want to add a multi-outlet power strip unless your inverter has more than one outlet. Now bag up the whole nine yards and toss it into your trunk. When the urge to print strikes, find a nice quiet place to park, unpack and connect everything, plug in and boot up, and go to town.
Not that I've actually done anything like the above, of course. But I could.
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