Panera Breads offer free wifi to their customers. Most likely all stores are
not on-board yet. I seem to recall that Borders Bookstores also offer wifi
access. I don't know if their service is free.
I heartily agree about theft of wifi services. Just because an access point
is unsecured does NOT give anyone free-rein to use it!
HTH
Vic
--
__________________________________________________ ______
Victor Fraenckel - The Windman
victorf ATSIGN windreader DOTcom
KC2GUI
Home of the WindReader Electronic Theodolite
Read the WIND
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long
and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."
- Winston [Leonard Spencer] Churchill (1874 - 1965)
"Dost thou not know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed?"
-Count Oxenstierna (ca 1620) to the young King Gustavus Adolphus
"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough
men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
-George Orwell
"Glendon" wrote in message
...
| First and foremost, RTFM....no offence intended, but it does wonders for
| understanding!
|
| Now, some hints. The software that controls your Wifi chip (probably Intel
| PROset?) will constantly monitor for Access Points while your wifi radio
is
| turned on, and list any that are available. To link up with any listed AP
| you need to construct an acceptable profile within PROset which
essentially
| sets the protocols/security to be used when talking to the AP. There is a
| menu in PROset for doing this. You will also need to know about the
| requirements of the AP, unless it is wide open to the world. Once you have
| connection to the AP, you have a connection to the net.. You will need to
| set your preferences in your browser and mail client to accept connection
| over a LAN. How you do all this depends on the software you are using.
|
| To find out the protocols for hooking up at a Starbucks AP, go to their
| website and find out what applies in your locality. The site will also
tell
| you about payment options. Here in Australia, Starbucks provides wifi via
| the main telco, Telstra. Here you need to activate a wifi account with
| Telstra , or for casual use you can supply your CC details, I think.
|
| Starbucks is a good way of getting things up and running, but they are
| expensive. There are many cafes etc which provide free wifi service. Its a
| matter of finding them....by word of mouth, a sign in the window, or
driving
| around with your laptop looking for AP's ! NetStumbler is good, free
| software for detecting and analysing AP's.
|
| Remember to turn your radio off when not using wifi....its a significant
| drain on the battery otherwise.
|
| alt.internet.wireless has some useful discussion.
|
|
| "Rodney Myrvaagnes" wrote in message
| ...
| We plan to be coastal cruising in the northeastern USA and Eastern
| Canada for 5 or 6 months this year. Last year we were unable to
| connect at the Chamber of Commerce in Northeast Harbor where they used
| to keep a modem line. The reason was they now have a continuous DSL
| connection with an ethernet hub so individual calls don't cost them.
|
| Our 1995 Libretto, a little Toshiba antique that still works fine,
| doesn't have an ethernet port. Other marinas we have been in have
| WiFi.
|
| Upshot, I bought a new notebook computer that has Wifi, ethernet, usb,
| modem. I have my dial-up working, just what I had before. The machine
| advertises "No-configuration networking" on the box, which I take to
| mean it will network with anything receptive around, either by cable
| or wifi.
|
| I can carry an ethernet cable, which I expect to work at NEH, where I
| saw the hub box. But I, being an ancient mariner, have no idea how to
| use wifi. Can I expect to go into a Starbucks and have my browser
| work? How would I know it is connected if it is?
|
| If I am in a Wifi hotspot that wants to be paid, will something tell
| me so, or will it just not work?
|
| Maybe I am asking the wrong questions. I appreciate knowledgeable
| replies to what I should have asked as well.
|
| TIA
|
|
|
|
| Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC
| J36 Gjo/a
|
|
| "Nuke the gay whales for Jesus" -- anon T-shirt
|
|
|