you might recall John Geraci's Neighbornode project which begun as a
project in my Wireless Public Space class... a recent blurb in
Popular Science has apparently given it a new life, with lots of new
signups
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how2/article/0,20967,1090205,00.html
Free Neighborhood Wi-Fi
Ethan Todras-Whitehill
When Tony Guagliardo moved to Manhattan’s East Fourth Street, he
didn’t know anyone in the neighborhood. Then one day, while trying to
get wireless Internet in his apartment, he noticed an open Wi-Fi
network named Neighbornode. He chose it, launched his browser, and a
message board popped up welcoming him to the Fourth Street Avenue B
Node. The network had been set up by a local resident who wanted to
share his Internet connection. Soon, Tony’s neighbors were using it
to discuss local restaurants, a community art project and even the
block’s homeless guy, Eddie.
The Fourth Street hotspot is part of a communal wireless project
called Neighbornode, started by then New York University grad student
John Geraci as a way to add a community-building aspect to the common
practice of using a neighbor’s Wi-Fi network to get online. Anyone
with a broadband connection can start a Neighbornode. When someone
uses the node to access the Web, he is first directed to a home page
with a message board, classified section and photo page to help
locals recognize one another. (You can use a second router to
maintain a private and secure Wi-Fi network for your home.) New York
City currently has 18 such hotspots, and eight other nodes have
appeared in such remote areas as Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Launch a node in your ’hood with the steps below.
Make your own Neighbornode
Some ISPs consider sharing your Internet connection to be a violation
of your terms of service, so give yours a call before setting up a
community hotspot. Also, typical Wi-Fi range is about 150 feet, so if
you have a big block, consider using an external antenna, such as
those available from Radiolabs (from $100; radiolabs.com) to boost
your signal up to 300 feet. Or check out wireless.gumph.org to build
your own.
[1] Purchase a Linksys WRT54G or WRT54GS Wireless Broadband Router
(around $60 in most stores), and set it up according to the Linksys
instructions.
[2] E-mail doityourself @neighbornode.net to request the special
Neighbornode firmware.
[3] Access your router setup by typing “192.168.1.1” into the address
line of your browser (leave the username blank and type “admin” for
the password).
[4] Navigate to the Administration tab and click “Upgrade Firmware.”
Browse to the location where you saved the Neighbornode firmware, and
click “Upgrade.”
[5] Connect to the network and configure the Neighbornode as
prompted. Now let your neighbors know it’s there!
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