Linuxcare Founders Go Wireless

LinuxCare founders Dave Sifry, Art Tyde and Dave LaDuke have started their second company: Sputnik. Basically, they have an ISO you can download that will turn a laptop with an 802.11b card into a wireless gateway. They also wrote a user-authentication scheme that reroutes all traffic to the gateway until the user logs in via a web form. This should sound familiar to people who stay in broadband capable hotels a lot. Using this authentication technique, the software allows you to choose who can and cannot use your gateway, and in you'll be able to charge strangers for access (with Sputnik handling the billing). This will likely get some isps a wee bit upset. NewsForge has an article detailing what they are doing. Update: Turns out the authentication wasn't written by Sputnik, my bad. They use NoCatAuth Disclaimer: I've known these guys for a long time and am pals with them, so I waited until someone else (in this case Grant at NewsForge and the NYT) put something up independently about them before linking to them.

Comments

Re:It sounds wonderful, except...

[SJ]

I am guessing your joking here, because just about anything can be used to organize murderous attacks. Including, but not limited too...

Paper planes, pencils, pens, telephones, email, morse code, cars, hand signals, the list goes on.

BTW, your more likely to be hit by a car than killed by a terrorist. (No disrespect to those that have been).

Apple Access Points

[rbruels]

You know -- Apple was the first major computer company to spread the use of 802.11b to the consumer market. Some people will argue that point, because people love to flame Apple, but the fact is that AirPort-ready laptops have been produced for years now, starting a good year or more ahead of mainstream 802.11b-ready Intel/AMD-based laptops.

I know Sputnik is a startup, just taking its first steps, so I understand you still have work to do. But I will tell you, this is right down the alley of most of us Mac users. We've always been the rebellious types, that's why we do what we do. I hope we see this gateway for PowerPC machines soon.

As a side note, I do appreciate that you point out Macintosh clients can connect as easily as any other. It's true. And probably easier (one click in the AirPort menu!) But I hope you soon offer us the ability to spread the project, too. :)

Keep up the good work.

Ryan