Gabe Sawhney wrote:
This might be of some interest...(apologies for cross-posting)
I'm writing an article for Spacing magazine (spacing.ca) about the real-life impact of WiFi availability; specifically, its (immediate, tangible) potential to transform the way people work. So many of us complain that our work requires us to be in front of a networked computer almost all day; WiFi seemed to promise some kind of liberation. I personally haven't yet been able to experience this benefit (but I'm still hopeful)... are there people out there who have?
I'd like to hear about: * people who use public (ie. parks) or pseudo-public (ie. cafes) spaces as their primary work environments * the positive or negative impact of the presence of these "wireless workers" have on these spaces * people's reactions to the idea of working outside of an office: a bad idea? if not, why aren't you doing it? is it only appropriate for a very particular kind of worker?
If you have any relevant thoughts/experiences/stories/references, I'd love to hear from you. While my interest in this subject extends beyond simply writing this article, my deadline requires that I get research & interviews done this week. Thanks!
Gabe Sawhney
While it does not show what people explicitly do with their Wi-Fi networks, it goes to show what people may do without knowing.
I *hope* this e-mail is going over my Wi-Fi connection :-) Sameer
--
Dr. Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
Asst. Professor of Information Systems
San Francisco State University
San Francisco CA 94132 USA
http://verma.sfsu.edu/
Accidental Wireless Networks (http://verma.sfsu.edu/users/wireless/amcis-2004.pdf)
Abstract
This research project attempts to prove that there are community wireless networks in existence that are formed accidentally
as a result of consumer macro-behavior. Specifically, certain combinations of brand and technology implementations can
result in extensive and overlapping wireless networks that allow users to roam seamlessly in residential neighborhoods.
We examined the distribution of wireless nodes across three such residential neighborhoods. Our hypothesis is that a
majority of these wireless access points (APs) run on a small number of commercial brand devices using default settings and
no encryption. Given a certain density, such nodes can overlap and provide, in effect, a seamless community wireless
network, purely by the accidental behavior of individuals. The macro-behavior of consumers gravitating toward inexpensive
and popular brand devices allows such networks to come about. Data analysis shows interesting patterns of node distribution
by Wi-Fi channel, commercial brand, and configuration, including encryption settings. It is not the intention of this paper to
establish any recommendations about the future direction of such accidental networks, or to speculate on the security issues
related to wireless networks.
Keywords Wi-Fi, Ubiquitous Computing, Consumer Macro-Behavior
-- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
