Sad to say, it was only a one-for-three night.
Memo to the proprietor(s) of The Sweet Guy at 7439 Broadway: Have you tried using your connection yourself lately, as we've preached on this blog since day one? Well, you ought to-and once you get it back up, you need to keep doing it on a regular basis.
Anyone who happens by once they get it working again is welcome to drop us a line and let us know. Don't bother with The Coffee Girls, however; they've gone to a closed network. Too bad.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Oh, that's right-you can order iced tea in these places TOO, can't you?
One More Cup
7408 Wornall Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: onemorecup
BIg unshaded east-facing windows and only one pair of power outlets (towards the front to your right as you come in; you'll have to sit at the front corner table to use it) make this one appear to be best for midday or later with a charged battery if you're using a laptop. By the way, the iced tea isn't bad.
UPDATE: Apparently there are some additional power outlets available here that I missed (sorry about that!). See comment below.
7408 Wornall Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: onemorecup
BIg unshaded east-facing windows and only one pair of power outlets (towards the front to your right as you come in; you'll have to sit at the front corner table to use it) make this one appear to be best for midday or later with a charged battery if you're using a laptop. By the way, the iced tea isn't bad.
UPDATE: Apparently there are some additional power outlets available here that I missed (sorry about that!). See comment below.
Because coffee at this time of day just didn't appeal to me...
...I thought that instead of heading out to Waldo and checking out the new location of The Coffee Girls and its competing shops in the neighborhood, I'd venture over to Bonner Springs as I'd earlier promised to do once their new library opened, which it did this past Sunday. It's located at 201 North Nettleton and as was promised during my earlier visit to the temporary location it moved here from, it's lit up. Not only that, but the table I'm sitting at has a lamp clearly designed for use in an unwired building, what with a power outlet built into its base. There's even what I suspect is a functional Ethernet jack (which if it really is functional must be fed via powerline networking since I don't see any Cat 5 running anywhere from under the table).
That and the fact that any filtering present shouldn't give you any problems with overblocks are the good news. The less-than-good news is that both Usenet and, at least, secure POP and SMTP e-mail connections (over ports 995 and 465, respectively) are a no-go. Since my ISP, like many others these days, no longer allows e-mail to go over the standard unsecured ports, I can't check them-but, of course, you shouldn't be pulling e-mail through them anymore over an open wireless link anyway. One hopes that given enough complaints, this will get fixed in due time.
Oh, that's right-the access points are 802.11g broadcasting a SSID of BONLIB.
Well, I'll have to roll it up here in a little bit since they close at 5 on Fridays. Waldo awaits. Maybe I'll try and hit it tonight, maybe I won't. Time and the next post will tell.
That and the fact that any filtering present shouldn't give you any problems with overblocks are the good news. The less-than-good news is that both Usenet and, at least, secure POP and SMTP e-mail connections (over ports 995 and 465, respectively) are a no-go. Since my ISP, like many others these days, no longer allows e-mail to go over the standard unsecured ports, I can't check them-but, of course, you shouldn't be pulling e-mail through them anymore over an open wireless link anyway. One hopes that given enough complaints, this will get fixed in due time.
Oh, that's right-the access points are 802.11g broadcasting a SSID of BONLIB.
Well, I'll have to roll it up here in a little bit since they close at 5 on Fridays. Waldo awaits. Maybe I'll try and hit it tonight, maybe I won't. Time and the next post will tell.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Why is it that you can still ask such a smart question-
-and receive such a silly answer?
Saw this gem on the KCMO Public Library's website. I think the phrase "Wi-Fi" didn't register with someone. If I'm wrong there, I'd certainly like to hear just how accessing even something that is actually as dangerous as this "IT person" thinks Internet Relay Chat is on my own computer which is (or at least had better be) on a separate subnet from any client owned by the library can possibly pose a threat to those clients.
Reminds me of an old riddle from the earliest days of personal computing, offered here with apologies to those of you who, like me, are old enough to remember it.
"Q. What's the difference between a used-car salesman and a computer salesman?
A. The used-car salesman knows he's lying to you."
I suspect, however, that in the present case, someone in the library administration knows that as well. Denying a service to the public which pays for it on a pretext doesn't strike me as good public policy, but hey, what do I know? I'm just a lousy taxpayer, that's all.
Saw this gem on the KCMO Public Library's website. I think the phrase "Wi-Fi" didn't register with someone. If I'm wrong there, I'd certainly like to hear just how accessing even something that is actually as dangerous as this "IT person" thinks Internet Relay Chat is on my own computer which is (or at least had better be) on a separate subnet from any client owned by the library can possibly pose a threat to those clients.
Reminds me of an old riddle from the earliest days of personal computing, offered here with apologies to those of you who, like me, are old enough to remember it.
"Q. What's the difference between a used-car salesman and a computer salesman?
A. The used-car salesman knows he's lying to you."
I suspect, however, that in the present case, someone in the library administration knows that as well. Denying a service to the public which pays for it on a pretext doesn't strike me as good public policy, but hey, what do I know? I'm just a lousy taxpayer, that's all.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Didn't even know they liked coffee that much out there.
Just happened to catch this little item on one of the Kansas City Star's blogs mentioning that The Coffee Girls on Southwest Boulevard, which was reviewed here a couple of years back, has closed and is in the process of moving to Waldo-where apparently it won't be alone. I guess either Mac or I will have to gear up soon and head that way to check things out. Well, maybe if it stays relatively cool for a bit. Temperatures hovering around the triple-digit mark don't exactly leave me craving a caffeine fix-iced or otherwise.
And not as if any more confirmation was needed, but I'm currently in the Blue Springs South branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library, and their Wi-Fi is just as free and open now as were the others we've found the past few months. It would still be nice, however, if MCPL would see fit to trumpet the news. Their website still makes no mention of it. Why?
And not as if any more confirmation was needed, but I'm currently in the Blue Springs South branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library, and their Wi-Fi is just as free and open now as were the others we've found the past few months. It would still be nice, however, if MCPL would see fit to trumpet the news. Their website still makes no mention of it. Why?
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Banker's hours, wordplay and...pigs?
Well, I tried. Really, I wanted to add some new reviews of recently opened local sites, along with at least one I'd been trying to hit for most of the past year. Sadly, however, it won't happen, which in the case of the long-term target is particularly distressing.
Memo to the operator(s) of the coffeehouse in northeastern KCK: Did it ever occur to you that some of your potential best customers might be those who'd stop in after work? You know-people who'd like to sit for a bit and unwind on their way home, and have the additional advantage of coming into your establishment with money in their pockets owing to their being employed? Obviously this hasn't occurred to you, or you wouldn't be closing at 4 p. m. It's not like anyone's competing with you for this extra business, by the way, what with the KCK Public Library closing its network to non-cardholders and no other free and open commercial locations I'm aware of between you and the speedway. What gives?
Then there's the case of a couple of recently established cafes across the state line-one downtown, the other in the Union Station/Crossroads area. Both at least claim to offer "free Wi-Fi" but just how either accomplishes that feat with WPA-encrypted access points boggles the mind. If you're giving it away, there's no reason to lock the AP down; if you aren't, you need to be honest up front about that. "Free" access that requires a purchase in advance really isn't, the semantic gymnastics engaged in by its purveyors notwithstanding.
Finally, to end things on a lighter note, have a chuckle on this little play on words, courtesy of cartoonist Stephan Pastis and of Glenn Fleishman over at Wi-Fi Networking News, who also thought it was good for a laugh.
Memo to the operator(s) of the coffeehouse in northeastern KCK: Did it ever occur to you that some of your potential best customers might be those who'd stop in after work? You know-people who'd like to sit for a bit and unwind on their way home, and have the additional advantage of coming into your establishment with money in their pockets owing to their being employed? Obviously this hasn't occurred to you, or you wouldn't be closing at 4 p. m. It's not like anyone's competing with you for this extra business, by the way, what with the KCK Public Library closing its network to non-cardholders and no other free and open commercial locations I'm aware of between you and the speedway. What gives?
Then there's the case of a couple of recently established cafes across the state line-one downtown, the other in the Union Station/Crossroads area. Both at least claim to offer "free Wi-Fi" but just how either accomplishes that feat with WPA-encrypted access points boggles the mind. If you're giving it away, there's no reason to lock the AP down; if you aren't, you need to be honest up front about that. "Free" access that requires a purchase in advance really isn't, the semantic gymnastics engaged in by its purveyors notwithstanding.
Finally, to end things on a lighter note, have a chuckle on this little play on words, courtesy of cartoonist Stephan Pastis and of Glenn Fleishman over at Wi-Fi Networking News, who also thought it was good for a laugh.
Friday, May 29, 2009
There's a reason they call them "drive-bys," you know...
Panera Bread
#15, Legends Shopping Center, KCK
802.11g
SSID: PANERA
Not bad as Panera locations go, what with conveniently located power outlets along the bottom of some of the booth seating. The one thing I'd quibble with-and I hope it's just something users will run into here and not systemwide, given that I don't stop at Panera as much as I once did-is the clickthrough page. Oh, I don't mind the page itself; it's good to be reminded not to take up a table for four with my gear, etc. It's that in order to click through the page, I have to enable JavaScript and reload it.
Savvy Internetters know that allowing websites to run scripts should be done with discretion, especially in today's environment with its emphasis on Web-based browser exploits delivering malware via compromised servers. JavaScript or its Internet Explorer equivalents should be turned off except when visiting a known, trusted site which requires them, then turned back off once that site is left. Yeah, it's a hassle, but in a decade and a half of surfing with browsers ranging from ye olde text-only Lynx (come on, oldtimers, how many of you remember that one?) to the latest version of Firefox, I've never fallen victim to a web-delivered exploit. It's the user's choice whether to be safe or sorry, but Panera really ought to be helping the odds here. It's possible for you to provide a clickthrough without client-side scripting, and you should.
Oh, and while I'm here, I was hoping I'd be able to deliver kudos to Books-A-Million for taking me up on my suggestion of a few years back that they offer free WI-Fi..but unfortunately, the network behind the open access point my finder saw carrying their corporate name is only free for members of their loyalty club, and play-for-pay for everyone else.
Great-I put my privacy at even more risk and allow my mailbox to be stuffed with even more dead-tree detritus in return for maybe a few cents off on the few books I buy each year, and however much-or little-"free" surfing I can shoehorn into my visit.
No, thanks. Ma Bell will pick up the tab for me at Barnes and Noble, and they're not as far out of my way as you are.
#15, Legends Shopping Center, KCK
802.11g
SSID: PANERA
Not bad as Panera locations go, what with conveniently located power outlets along the bottom of some of the booth seating. The one thing I'd quibble with-and I hope it's just something users will run into here and not systemwide, given that I don't stop at Panera as much as I once did-is the clickthrough page. Oh, I don't mind the page itself; it's good to be reminded not to take up a table for four with my gear, etc. It's that in order to click through the page, I have to enable JavaScript and reload it.
Savvy Internetters know that allowing websites to run scripts should be done with discretion, especially in today's environment with its emphasis on Web-based browser exploits delivering malware via compromised servers. JavaScript or its Internet Explorer equivalents should be turned off except when visiting a known, trusted site which requires them, then turned back off once that site is left. Yeah, it's a hassle, but in a decade and a half of surfing with browsers ranging from ye olde text-only Lynx (come on, oldtimers, how many of you remember that one?) to the latest version of Firefox, I've never fallen victim to a web-delivered exploit. It's the user's choice whether to be safe or sorry, but Panera really ought to be helping the odds here. It's possible for you to provide a clickthrough without client-side scripting, and you should.
Oh, and while I'm here, I was hoping I'd be able to deliver kudos to Books-A-Million for taking me up on my suggestion of a few years back that they offer free WI-Fi..but unfortunately, the network behind the open access point my finder saw carrying their corporate name is only free for members of their loyalty club, and play-for-pay for everyone else.
Great-I put my privacy at even more risk and allow my mailbox to be stuffed with even more dead-tree detritus in return for maybe a few cents off on the few books I buy each year, and however much-or little-"free" surfing I can shoehorn into my visit.
No, thanks. Ma Bell will pick up the tab for me at Barnes and Noble, and they're not as far out of my way as you are.
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