A double shot of WI-FI.Byline: Matt Cooper Matt Cooper may refer to:
Imagine a world where your computer follows you wherever you go. OK, maybe that's the wrong way to look at wireless access to the Internet. But imagine going online - anywhere, anytime - without plugging into a wall outlet. Wireless fidelity See Wi-Fi. or "Wi-Fi" is the buzz word buzz word Noun Informal a word, originally from a particular jargon, which becomes a popular vogue word buzz word n → palabra que está de moda among computer users who aren't tethered Attached to a data or power source by wire or fiber. Contrast with untethered. by their computer cord to the nearest socket. It's a fantasy-turned-reality in Eugene and cities worldwide. Individuals and businesses are installing wireless equipment that allows a user to roam about a home, office or even a coffee house, with nothing but a cordless laptop computer under the arm. With Wi-Fi "you can do your work from anywhere there's wireless services," said Jose Dominguez, a wireless fan and network engineer with the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. . People can check their e-mail or search Google provided they've got just three things: a laptop computer, a wireless access point or "base station," and a card inserted into the computer that connects the computer and the access point through radio waves Radio waves Electromagnetic energy of the frequency range corresponding to that used in radio communications, usually 10,000 cycles per second to 300 billion cycles per second. . Internet junkies are going wireless in their own homes with base stations as cheap as $50, some of them no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. After hooking up to an Internet service provider Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. such as Qwest, Comcast or Eugene Free Community Network, a family can go online from anywhere in the house, provided the house has been hardwired to connect with the provider's computers. The movement has gone commercial: More businesses are offering wireless access to lure customers, and the distinction is between those who offer it as a freebie free·bie also free·bee n. Slang An article or service given free: "such freebies as subway and bus maps" New York. , and those who want to charge for it. Starbucks, for example, offers wireless access for $30 per month. At the coffee house just west of the University of Oregon, a user who connects to the base station must register through T-Mobile HotSpot, which also provides Wi-Fi stations at Borders books and music stores, FedEx couriers and many airports. Wireless is more than the Internet, mind you. Users also can interact with other users - that is, a professor can present information that would appear on a student's screen, for example, or two kids could play a computer game. The quality of the access depends on the system. Users may find that it's quick to share information, but the Internet speed can be glacial. Starbucks, by contrast, promises "speeds of up to 50 times faster than with a dial-up Internet connection." Still, the coffee giant is far from cornering the market: In Seattle, Portland and other big cities, citizens are banding together and building free wireless access points or "hotspots." Portland's group, called the Personal Telco The Personal Telco Project (or PTP) is a wireless community network project in Portland, Oregon. It was founded by Adam Shand in November 2000 after he read a Slashdot article about the Consume The Net project in London. Project (www.personaltelco.net), touts 139 hotspots, including one in downtown's Pioneer Courthouse Square Pioneer Courthouse Square, affectionately known as Portland's living room,[1] is a public space occupying a full 40,000 ft² (3700 m²) city block in the center of downtown Portland, Oregon. that is used an average of 24 times daily, spokesman Nigel Ballard said. "We would like it so that wherever you open up your laptop in Portland, you can get unencumbered, free Internet access See how to access the Internet. ," he said. "The tagline that I've been using that upsets the hell out of Comcast and Qwest is, `Ultimately, the Internet wants to be free.' ' Public wireless access in Eugene-Springfield's business community is sprouting in piecemeal fashion at cafes and coffee houses. Cafe Paradiso, which charges nothing for the service if customers make a purchase, draws a dozen or more users per day, owner Greg Fleener said. The cafe thrives on university students and Fleener considers it critical to keep the access free. "For me, making it no barriers, it's competition," he said. "If I'm going to charge for it, they're going to go somewhere it's free." Agreed, customer Maximillian Von Schwanekamp said: "I'll never use wireless that I have to pay for." Von Schwanekamp, a 32-year-old Web site developer, represents the kind of patron that Fleener hopes to attract. Von Schwanekamp had never gone to the cafe until he learned that it has wireless access; now he's there three or four times a week. "Wireless lets me get out of the house," Von Schwanekamp said. "I wish more places in Eugene had it. I go to San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden and you can practically step out on the street and find a wireless network to connect to." Dominguez and others aren't aware of a community effort to establish a free network in Eugene, but that's exactly what Paulo Reyes has in mind. The owner of Indra's Internet Lounge is trying to launch a free wireless network with local businesses and residents. He's even got a Web site: www.eubiquitous.net. Businesses would pay an Internet service provider for a connection, banking on profits from increased customers and from ads on the Web page that is used to hook up, Reyes said. Neighborhoods could band together to reduce the cost of a high-speed Internet See broadband. connection that everyone would share. One problem with wireless access is safeguarding it. The tech-savvy have made sport of driving neighborhoods, cordless computers in their laps, scanning for access spots that can be tapped from outside a home or business. As the conduit for a community system in Eugene, Indra's would provide a secure network that fends off hackers and those who would abuse the access. It also would regulate use so one user couldn't hog the network while downloading large files. "I'm just excited about where this will go," he said. "There's something exciting about being connected to the Internet wherever you go." GOING WIRELESS Retail businesses with wireless Internet connections in central Eugene include: Indra's Internet Lounge, 199 W. Eighth Ave. Sip 'n' Surf Cybercafe The first Internet cafe in the U.S. Founded in 1995 in New York, the menu is a selection of fine coffees and desserts along with Internet, e-mail, printing, scanning and faxing services. Hats, shirts and jackets are also available for purchase. , 99 W. 10th Ave. Borders bookstore at Oakway Center off Coburg Road Cafe Paradiso, 115 W. Broadway Starbucks - Seventh Avenue and Washington Street The following streets in the United States are called Washington Street:
More information:To find a connection, visit the Web site www.wi-fihotspotlist.com CAPTION(S): Maximillian Von Schwanekamp, a 32-year-old Web site developer, says he uses the free wireless Internet connection at Cafe Paradiso at least three or four times a week. |
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