For those who haven't noticed, wifi cards are becoming known among the public as "that card that gives you free internet". Because that's what they are, and us techies are being the last ones to admit it.
I've taken pains to explain to four people already why these "free internet cards" actually don't work everywhere. At the end of a long explanation, I had to admit it's a "sometimes free internet" card. Laws, regulations, and neighborly good manners simply don't exist in this equation. Nobody knows about them, or wants to. What Verizon/Tmobile are doing, quite simply, is advocating a 20-100mW, no-antenna device for the public, and a strong-antenna-1000mW device for themselves, in a better geographical placement. Simply installing a stronger signal for themselves, which pre-empts over the "free internet" signal most of the time, for the users that don't understand what an antenna can do in combination with something like netstumbler. Given this state of a struggle among corporations and neighbors to dominate the free, unregulated airwaves, the best thing nycwireless can do is educate the public about antennas, about all the possibilities their 'free internet' cards offer, encourage the public to use the cards and to setup, demand and organize more and better access everywhere. Oh, and maybe even of the, ahem, small unresolved legal technicality. People are, of course, extremely happy with the way things are working, and as usual, the authorities, under the influence of profitable corporations, are not happy. And they would love to get rid of what some of them have started calling now "parasite networks". So the choice belongs to each of us, if you want to represent the public opinion, and their enthusism for "free internet", or the established authorities. Napster did, indeed, get killed by the authorities. Some people decided to go ahead and do their best to help the public continue breaking the unpopular laws as they were, and the result is a million baby napsters. Called outlaws by the authorities, they're applauded by the public. I, for one, admit I'm using any connection I can get, and could care less about the legal technicalities. They're about as interesting to you and me as the DMCA, and copyrights in general, in my book. The corporations need them, nobody else. To illustrate the point, I'll tell you the story of what happened. On the corner there is a little 24-hour candy store-beer-and-cigarettes deli. The owner are some arabs who are feeling quite discriminated these days, very friendly, who I made friends wich, and started hanging out there a lot, to get to know them and their countries better. This is the upper west side, in a part where there are a lot of snotty rich people, immigrants, jews, drunks, drug addicts, and homeless people, although the police won't allow any of those to make themselves visible on the street. And there are fifteen story buildings everywhere, full of wealthy people with fancy technical gear. I went there and turned on my laptop, plugged in the modem, and surfed the net, learning to use google with arabic characters. One day, the neighbor gets wifi, and doesnt lock it down. I'm happy, and I use it. Within a few days, two rich jewish neighbors bought snazzy new laptops with wifi built in. They called me to set it up. There was wifi in the neighboring apartment, and they scored free internet service at home there. They took the laptop to the deli, like me. They turn it on, and the internet is still free. They take it to another apartment, and sometimes the internet there works, sometimes it doesn't. In a few more days, I'm getting called to "fix the internet" that isnt' working, and asked by the owners of the deli to get them "free internet cards" and laptops, too. I have to explain that wifi isn't "free internet", that it's actually just a technical mistake or loophole the authorities have let out of the bottle and now can't put back in. Everyone laughs to find out they are breaking the law. And now they want antennas. The mexicans, haitians, ethiopians, dominicans, egyptians, all say they want laptops and wifi cards. And here I'm on nycwireless, the nyc community wireless organization, and everyone is telling me that I'm supposed to be telling the public they can't do it, because it's not strictly legal. In fact, we're all laughing and very happy about it. I'm becoming a regular neighborhood oddball walking around with a laptop in hand, thinking of some way to organize all this myriad of wifi spots. And I'm selling more cards, and talking to the neighbors about setting up a *legal* free internet public network, with their own money, selling wifi cards, and getting lots of free coffee at the corner deli. And I'm researching meshAP, or some way to get a mesh into all these "hotspots" the neighbors are building. And technically, I think I've found the solution, but I don't know how to do it. It's porting the linux AODV routing protocol to windows/macs, or installing Linux on everyone's machines with it. So flame me and say it's all illegal. Sue me. Or just admit it, you're using the open channels, too. The FBI isn't going to come after you for it. You aren't "hacking" anything. So you can make it work better than the average drunk. Big deal. It's illegal to drink a beer on the street. Without a paper bag over it, of course. And running Kazaa. And recording tapes or cd's or dvd's with your favorite content. And crossing the street with the light red when there are no cars. And dancing in a bar with no dancing permit. Or smoking in a coffee shop if you're the owner and the only one there. Use the "free intenet". It's installed, it's free, and it works. Mostly. . ----- Original Message ----- From: Kevin M. Agard To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, May 26, 2003 11:52 PM Subject: Re: [nycwireless] Goal Accomplished [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Shouldn't the goal of this list not to be setting up duplicative > APs, as in most cities 802.11 is plentiful as water, but rather to > seek an FCC ruling that accessing an open access point is not > theft. But it is theft. All of the possible state and federal computer crime statutes it might fall under aside, at the very least it would be "theft of service" which is illegal in all states. So I think it unlikely you are going to ever get such a ruling from the FCC. Of course, you are free to try. > > Otherwise we're just sticking our heads in the sand and pretending > that a guy sitting in Starbucks or walking down the street with > Tungsten C is going to choose "t-mobile" over "linksys" Again, your assumption is faulty. I travel quite a bit and use the Starbucks Hotspots extensively, and yes, even when there are other APs available. Why wouldn't I? In fact, just about this time last night I hit DC and wanted to make a hotel reservation. The chain I use provides discount rate for "internet reservations" so I wanted to connect to their web site. As you might imagine, there are a plethora of open AP's in downtown Washington and I could have used any one of them but I choose to drive over to 14th & H, where I know there to be a Starbucks and use that one. Why? Because it was there, I have an account, and it was legal. Oh, wait, I asked why wouldn't I. I know why I do it. It's simple really, now that I gave a second or two of thought. I an NOT A THIEF! I'm sorry Jonathan, IMHO your arguments are no different than those who express the opinion that pirating commercial software is "OK" because you can. Well it is not and neither is stealing bandwidth, which is exactly what we are talking about here. KMA -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/ -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
