recent screenshot
Sunday, March 05, 2006
At Excel for the Book Fair.
It is very bookish. No internet cafe at all but BT are in the central area between the two exhibits. Openzone is free for ten minutes so this may be short.
Guardian Review yesterday included a blast against Google from Bloomsbury publishing. Civilisation is about to end if too much literature is free. Authors will cease to write, apparently. Google is here witha reassuring talk each day and a large stand easy to find. They explain they will put a link through to a publisher site and/or local bookshop.
The 'e-content pavilion' is right at the bak, hard to find, and very few people are looking at it. Content mostly science and reference, aimed at library subs. Almost no e-book promotion other than Google. What do publishers expect to happen?
It is very bookish. No internet cafe at all but BT are in the central area between the two exhibits. Openzone is free for ten minutes so this may be short.
Guardian Review yesterday included a blast against Google from Bloomsbury publishing. Civilisation is about to end if too much literature is free. Authors will cease to write, apparently. Google is here witha reassuring talk each day and a large stand easy to find. They explain they will put a link through to a publisher site and/or local bookshop.
The 'e-content pavilion' is right at the bak, hard to find, and very few people are looking at it. Content mostly science and reference, aimed at library subs. Almost no e-book promotion other than Google. What do publishers expect to happen?
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
I have found a recent article by Barry Collins in the Sunday Times, feb 19th. Back page of the Sports section for some reason.
Time to halt the Wifi rip-off
"The sky high prices at most of Britain's wireless internet hotspots is nothing short of scandalous."
Barry wonders if a hotel should charge extra for central heatings or air conditioning or set up different areas for those prepared to pay. He reports that a coffee shop in Brighton is paying £100 a month to Loose Connection for free wifi on offer to all customers.
Maybe five cups of coffee a day extra to cover this cost. Surely this is the future.
Time to halt the Wifi rip-off
"The sky high prices at most of Britain's wireless internet hotspots is nothing short of scandalous."
Barry wonders if a hotel should charge extra for central heatings or air conditioning or set up different areas for those prepared to pay. He reports that a coffee shop in Brighton is paying £100 a month to Loose Connection for free wifi on offer to all customers.
Maybe five cups of coffee a day extra to cover this cost. Surely this is the future.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Jason Frost said...
I can understand cafés and pubs not making a network completely open to anyone in the area, but you'd think there would be more that would include access with purchases.
see comment on previous post
This is a very good suggestion. I think eventually wi-fi will be free. Many cafes offer a free newspaper, obviously you can't read it through the window.
The Southgate Hotel used to be free for wifi. An experiment showed that the signal was weak outside although there was a stronger securely protected signal from the Barcelona.
At the moment the nearest free wifi hotel is in Dawlish.
Meanwhile Philadelphia is about to seek bids for a free service covering the city, with charges for faster rates. This blog will continue to note what is going on in other places as well as 'wi-fi Exeter'.
I can understand cafés and pubs not making a network completely open to anyone in the area, but you'd think there would be more that would include access with purchases.
see comment on previous post
This is a very good suggestion. I think eventually wi-fi will be free. Many cafes offer a free newspaper, obviously you can't read it through the window.
The Southgate Hotel used to be free for wifi. An experiment showed that the signal was weak outside although there was a stronger securely protected signal from the Barcelona.
At the moment the nearest free wifi hotel is in Dawlish.
Meanwhile Philadelphia is about to seek bids for a free service covering the city, with charges for faster rates. This blog will continue to note what is going on in other places as well as 'wi-fi Exeter'.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Checking out the reality of wifi Exeter ahead of the Animated Exeter events coming up.
The Southgate Hotel still has access in their bar but it is no longer free to non-residents. Pot of coffee for two, £7.50 so you might think there was some margin there.
Wifi £3 for half an hour, so pretty much the BT rate.
Meanwhile the Media Centre at the back of the Phoenix are offering web access for members and are also looking at wifi. It may bot reach the bar but could reach the tables outside. Still very cold in Exeter but this could be worth checking out, say in April.
By April also there might be a case for a trip to the Langstone Cliffs Hotel in Dawlish Warren where the wifi is still free.
Several cafes seen recently offer free newspapers. Sometimes out of date and not always the ones I would choose. but the free newspapers model is well established. I still think free wi-fi is the future.
The Southgate Hotel still has access in their bar but it is no longer free to non-residents. Pot of coffee for two, £7.50 so you might think there was some margin there.
Wifi £3 for half an hour, so pretty much the BT rate.
Meanwhile the Media Centre at the back of the Phoenix are offering web access for members and are also looking at wifi. It may bot reach the bar but could reach the tables outside. Still very cold in Exeter but this could be worth checking out, say in April.
By April also there might be a case for a trip to the Langstone Cliffs Hotel in Dawlish Warren where the wifi is still free.
Several cafes seen recently offer free newspapers. Sometimes out of date and not always the ones I would choose. but the free newspapers model is well established. I still think free wi-fi is the future.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Bristol has an advent calendar with a selection of web treasures.
http://www.electricdecember.org/05/calendar
Get ready for Saturday when you can open the Bristol Wireless contribution.
http://www.electricdecember.org/05/calendar
Get ready for Saturday when you can open the Bristol Wireless contribution.
Comment on Ruairi's post about free wifi in a cafe.
As far as I know the Southgate Hotel still offers free wifi. The coffee is not cheap though very good value obviously.
Many places that offer food also offer free newspapers. I don't see why web access won't go the same way eventually.
Not that starting up an internet cafe would not be a very sensible idea. More speed, better kit, excellent advice. There is still a place for all this.
I can't work out how to enable comments, but I have found out how to add extra bloggers. So please let me know if you would like to join the study of wi-fi Exeter.
will.pollard@gmail.com
As far as I know the Southgate Hotel still offers free wifi. The coffee is not cheap though very good value obviously.
Many places that offer food also offer free newspapers. I don't see why web access won't go the same way eventually.
Not that starting up an internet cafe would not be a very sensible idea. More speed, better kit, excellent advice. There is still a place for all this.
I can't work out how to enable comments, but I have found out how to add extra bloggers. So please let me know if you would like to join the study of wi-fi Exeter.
will.pollard@gmail.com
Not only a new contributor but also a map
http://www.frappr.com/wifiexeter
I am still finding out how this works. I just started it with one spot.
Already someone has added the Cavern dialup. So it must be possible to add all the other wifi spots.
Would the people who understand this stuff please demonstrate?
http://www.frappr.com/wifiexeter
I am still finding out how this works. I just started it with one spot.
Already someone has added the Cavern dialup. So it must be possible to add all the other wifi spots.
Would the people who understand this stuff please demonstrate?
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
A new blogger for wifiExeter!
It's been a little while since the last post was made to wifiExeter, and I'm going to be helping Will out with the blog and making it a great resource for Wi-Fi access in Exeter.
So, what's the deal?
I've always been interested in wireless communications, from walkie-talkies, CB's to radio broadcast and of course 802.11x. Only recently I've acquired a PSP (PlayStation Portable), which upon further investigation appears to be a great tool for quickly finding access points.
Are open access points for everyones use?
One sticking point however is the questionable case for using an open unencrypted access point.
Often, unencrypted access points are made publically accessible - it is ascertaining the intention of the configuration which is risky. It could be configured as such out of genorosity, or incompetance with network security.
By all means, I work in computer retail and I understand that a lot of people cut corners with wireless networking security. Personally, I'd only use an unencrypted open access point in any situation to read news because of security issues - any traffic could potentially be sniffed and/or manipulated by another person on the network.
An evil minded access point owner could use the ignorance of a network user to collect personal information and login details. It is with some effort possible also to inject replacement content into network connections - ethically this could be advertising, unethically it could be a trojan or spyware.
Nonetheless, it is fascinating to observe the distribution of such a new technology - and Exeter indeed has many access points, with a variety of security.
Talking Security
It's been a little while since the last post was made to wifiExeter, and I'm going to be helping Will out with the blog and making it a great resource for Wi-Fi access in Exeter.
So, what's the deal?
I've always been interested in wireless communications, from walkie-talkies, CB's to radio broadcast and of course 802.11x. Only recently I've acquired a PSP (PlayStation Portable), which upon further investigation appears to be a great tool for quickly finding access points.
Are open access points for everyones use?
One sticking point however is the questionable case for using an open unencrypted access point.
Often, unencrypted access points are made publically accessible - it is ascertaining the intention of the configuration which is risky. It could be configured as such out of genorosity, or incompetance with network security.
By all means, I work in computer retail and I understand that a lot of people cut corners with wireless networking security. Personally, I'd only use an unencrypted open access point in any situation to read news because of security issues - any traffic could potentially be sniffed and/or manipulated by another person on the network.
An evil minded access point owner could use the ignorance of a network user to collect personal information and login details. It is with some effort possible also to inject replacement content into network connections - ethically this could be advertising, unethically it could be a trojan or spyware.
Nonetheless, it is fascinating to observe the distribution of such a new technology - and Exeter indeed has many access points, with a variety of security.
Talking Security
- WEP or WPA-PSK Encrypted Networks
Legally, hacking or attempting to access a WPA or WEP secured network without permission is hacking and almost certainly has legal and moral implications.
The tools are out there, WEP is trivial to hack - but WPA seems to be the more secure solution. - Open Access Point: Fee Taking
BTOpenzone, MyCloud and itbox pub entertainment machines all offer a way of accessing the internet for a paid fee generally involving a short term subscription or top-up method.
Quite often the user enables wireless networking, connects to the access point and all attempts to access the internet forward to a default page until payment is taken.
They are the sure-fire way of legally accessing the internet (however one issue is possible - someone could easily clone an access point and use it to harvest credit card details). - Open Access Point: Direct Connection To Internet (Non Encrypted)
The most interesting wireless networks of all are open directly to the public and gateway directly to the internet. By even connecting to them you could potentially be stepping into a legal grey area if doing so without permission.
Theoretically, assuming such laws did not apply you could possibly ascertain whether the access point is set up hastily or with giving intent. It would make sense to apply this test to your own networks.
The main indicators (with an unencrypted network) are:- Upon connection, are other computers available on the network visible in "My Network Places" or equivalent?
- Is the computer / device that provided the IP Address browsable via the web browser, and also - does this device appear to use a default username and password?
If either of those two are applicable, the network is a free for all - whether it be intentional or not - but if it isn't your network, you're probably breaking the law. - Upon connection, are other computers available on the network visible in "My Network Places" or equivalent?
Is anyone giving away a free lunch intentionally?
The most interesting point is - does anyone intentionally run a publically accessible wireless gateway intentionally? By all means it would be a great idea for a café to offer free internet access to customers via wireless networking - it'd be a great way to appear modern and entice customers in, but of course you could always have them hanging around too long with their cold cappucino, or even worse having people not even on the premises taking advantage of the gratis access.
Alternatively, you could have an open minded individual who is simply generous with thier resources. I'd certainly consider opening up an access point for free use as long as I could firewall away the evils of the internet effectively. The main point of note is - if you see an open access point that does gateway onto the internet, it's almost always an incompetant installers fault, and unless it's incredibly obvious (advertised in your face) that it's a free for all, tread extremely carefully.
Back to Exeter's Wireless Users
The prevalance of networks was quite astounding upon first inspection. I had sat on the A bus from Alphington into the City Centre, and found a large amount of access points dotted all along the route with various quality and encryption. As the bus was moving and I was uncertain of the legality of using the networks beyond querying their presence, I had opted for just browsing for network names.
My findings were:
The most interesting point is - does anyone intentionally run a publically accessible wireless gateway intentionally? By all means it would be a great idea for a café to offer free internet access to customers via wireless networking - it'd be a great way to appear modern and entice customers in, but of course you could always have them hanging around too long with their cold cappucino, or even worse having people not even on the premises taking advantage of the gratis access.
Alternatively, you could have an open minded individual who is simply generous with thier resources. I'd certainly consider opening up an access point for free use as long as I could firewall away the evils of the internet effectively. The main point of note is - if you see an open access point that does gateway onto the internet, it's almost always an incompetant installers fault, and unless it's incredibly obvious (advertised in your face) that it's a free for all, tread extremely carefully.
Back to Exeter's Wireless Users
The prevalance of networks was quite astounding upon first inspection. I had sat on the A bus from Alphington into the City Centre, and found a large amount of access points dotted all along the route with various quality and encryption. As the bus was moving and I was uncertain of the legality of using the networks beyond querying their presence, I had opted for just browsing for network names.
My findings were:
- There were a handful of Wanadoo customers with excellently configured (WPA-PSK) routers.
- myCloud pay-as-you-go connections had very strong signals indeed.
- Many access points were set up with just WEP encryption, which of course is illegal to attempt to connect to, but easily hackable.
- Some access points were open, often with very default looking names like NETGEAR.
- Some networks refused to send a name and these also had a variety of encryption methods.
- The City Centre is a hotpot of hotspots.
On my first trip up it was pretty exhilirating seeing all the networks - but shocking to see the mess of network security. It's great to see technology reach maturity quickly, but the responsibility is a major issue. All this from a PSP with an apparant wireless reach of 50m omnidirectional!
Hope you've enjoyed my first post!
Ruairi
Hope you've enjoyed my first post!
Ruairi
Thursday, November 17, 2005
This is not wifi really but I have found the New Inn in Wray. Five screens with fairly fast access. I tried the Bridge Tearooms where the screen seems not to be used much. But they sent me here.
There is a poster about wifi somewhere in Wray. Further investigation required. Maybe a benchmarking trip next summer.
There is a poster about wifi somewhere in Wray. Further investigation required. Maybe a benchmarking trip next summer.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Today is the start of the Open Mute visit.
There seems a good chance something will follow on from this by way of an open source base in or near Exeter. The Phoenix seems to be aware of what is possible.
More later
I already have a website for the worksjhop phase
http://test.omweb.org
There seems a good chance something will follow on from this by way of an open source base in or near Exeter. The Phoenix seems to be aware of what is possible.
More later
I already have a website for the worksjhop phase
http://test.omweb.org
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
There is an event coming up at the Phoenix around open source software.
MUTE seems to be an arts magazine with a software interest.
Maybe this will connect with the Psand adventures at the Tate Modern and maybe with scene.org.
--------------
OPENMUTE TOUR ANNOUNCEUSERLAND : FREE LIBRE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE WORKING FOR YOU!OpenMute is an online collaborative software tool initiative, and thelatest in a cadre of projects by Mute Magazine. OpenMute provides 'freeas in beer' web space, tools and services to the non-profit and creativesectors.The OpenMute tour is a varied set of two-day workshops with an aim tofamiliarise audiences, practitioners and interested parties with thecurrent concepts and practices of Free Open Source Software (or FOSS) aswell as practical hands-on help building a website or creating acommunity project using the OpenMute toolset.The workshops are geared towards teaching 'you' how to use the OpenMuteFLOSS software for your cultural or community needs, and these workshopsare geared towards a novice to intermediate user of these systemsPrice : £20 / £10 concessionsDate : 4th and 5th NovemberDuration : Two DaysTimes : Workshops run 10-5pm, artist's talk first day of workshop 6pmVenue : Exeter Phoenix, Bradninch Place, Gandy Street Exeter, Devon EX4 3LSBooking : 01392 667080 fax: 01392 667599
MUTE seems to be an arts magazine with a software interest.
Maybe this will connect with the Psand adventures at the Tate Modern and maybe with scene.org.
--------------
OPENMUTE TOUR ANNOUNCEUSERLAND : FREE LIBRE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE WORKING FOR YOU!OpenMute is an online collaborative software tool initiative, and thelatest in a cadre of projects by Mute Magazine. OpenMute provides 'freeas in beer' web space, tools and services to the non-profit and creativesectors.The OpenMute tour is a varied set of two-day workshops with an aim tofamiliarise audiences, practitioners and interested parties with thecurrent concepts and practices of Free Open Source Software (or FOSS) aswell as practical hands-on help building a website or creating acommunity project using the OpenMute toolset.The workshops are geared towards teaching 'you' how to use the OpenMuteFLOSS software for your cultural or community needs, and these workshopsare geared towards a novice to intermediate user of these systemsPrice : £20 / £10 concessionsDate : 4th and 5th NovemberDuration : Two DaysTimes : Workshops run 10-5pm, artist's talk first day of workshop 6pmVenue : Exeter Phoenix, Bradninch Place, Gandy Street Exeter, Devon EX4 3LSBooking : 01392 667080 fax: 01392 667599
Thursday, October 13, 2005
This may get a better link with Technorati
Technorati Profile
Time to find out more about syndication etc.
More later, time to stop for food.
Technorati Profile
Time to find out more about syndication etc.
More later, time to stop for food.
Monday, June 20, 2005
I have been invited to a forum for Citizen Reporters organised by OhmyNews in Seoul.
This blog may be updated over the next few days but more likely will be a short report at Guardian talk
http://mediatalk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?50@ohmynews@.7747ecc2
My hope is that the Guardian reports this event and makes some connections.
Bandwidth is widely available in Seoul, rather like Exeter will be one day soon.
This blog may be updated over the next few days but more likely will be a short report at Guardian talk
http://mediatalk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?50@ohmynews@.7747ecc2
My hope is that the Guardian reports this event and makes some connections.
Bandwidth is widely available in Seoul, rather like Exeter will be one day soon.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
The internet marqee has filled up with kids. I suppose that is only to be expected at an education event.
So I have fallen back on wifi and the laptop I brought with me.Seemed not to be working at first but this was just XPservice pack being extra fussy. Once I found where to tell it Psand #8 is ok, allwas well.
So I have fallen back on wifi and the laptop I brought with me.Seemed not to be working at first but this was just XPservice pack being extra fussy. Once I found where to tell it Psand #8 is ok, allwas well.
Here in Charmouth for HESFES - Home Education Seaside Festival
Psand and Bristol Wireless are offering an internet marquee. Now working ok. There are about 20 Toshiba Satellites from Bristol. Actually cabled but there is wifi as well.
The web access is through satellite. Definitely working at the moment.
Someone from Exeter should definitely visit Bristol for a bit of benchmarking. For one thing there is jazz being broadcast from the Chelsea pub. Most Fridays apparently. I have seen this on the Radio Vague site but I always seem to have missed it.
Surely the Globe could try something similar. There is an IT Box in the corner so there must be some bandwidth. Further investigations when I'm back in Exeter.
Psand and Bristol Wireless are offering an internet marquee. Now working ok. There are about 20 Toshiba Satellites from Bristol. Actually cabled but there is wifi as well.
The web access is through satellite. Definitely working at the moment.
Someone from Exeter should definitely visit Bristol for a bit of benchmarking. For one thing there is jazz being broadcast from the Chelsea pub. Most Fridays apparently. I have seen this on the Radio Vague site but I always seem to have missed it.
Surely the Globe could try something similar. There is an IT Box in the corner so there must be some bandwidth. Further investigations when I'm back in Exeter.
Friday, April 15, 2005
The website version is updated a bit but not the page on the tests in September
http://www.inxpress.co.uk/exwifi.html
Not a lot has changed. There may be wifi at the Phoenix one day soon. The IT boxes are not being used in the pubs.
the Peter Chalk Centre did have wifi during the Alt C conference but apparently the university has decided against this longterm. Halls of residence are budgeted for students to pay so much a month for bandwidth.
So the Southgate seems to be the best bet for wifi at the moment. Still only reaching a small part of the possible user base though.
http://www.inxpress.co.uk/exwifi.html
Not a lot has changed. There may be wifi at the Phoenix one day soon. The IT boxes are not being used in the pubs.
the Peter Chalk Centre did have wifi during the Alt C conference but apparently the university has decided against this longterm. Halls of residence are budgeted for students to pay so much a month for bandwidth.
So the Southgate seems to be the best bet for wifi at the moment. Still only reaching a small part of the possible user base though.
BT seem to be in retreat with Openzone, at least in 'wi-fi Exeter'.
The phone boxes in South Street and Paris Street are now decorated as 'Coolrooms'
This links to www.coolroom.com where there are endless promotions for Universal product.
The trailers do load quickly so that broadband is shown to work. The sound is dreadful though, better speakers are required.
Not sure how this will work. There is a theory that the internet works best with access to a wide variety of content. Will people interrupt their shopping to just listen to advertising?
The PC World site near Tesco has still not got BT Openworld installed. This is a few months now so I don't think it will happen.
Meanwhile the Southgate Hotel has still got a Freespot offer. Their coffee is not the cheapest available but the model of free wi-fi seems to be working.
The phone boxes in South Street and Paris Street are now decorated as 'Coolrooms'
This links to www.coolroom.com where there are endless promotions for Universal product.
The trailers do load quickly so that broadband is shown to work. The sound is dreadful though, better speakers are required.
Not sure how this will work. There is a theory that the internet works best with access to a wide variety of content. Will people interrupt their shopping to just listen to advertising?
The PC World site near Tesco has still not got BT Openworld installed. This is a few months now so I don't think it will happen.
Meanwhile the Southgate Hotel has still got a Freespot offer. Their coffee is not the cheapest available but the model of free wi-fi seems to be working.
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