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Baltimore Inner Harbor To Go Wireless
An anonymous reader writes "The City of Baltimore has made free wireless internet available in the Inner Harbor in hopes of bringing in more tourists and business conventions. According to this article on Sunspot Internet service will be available free of charge to portable computers from the Baltimore Science Center to the World Trade Center along the touristy waterfront. Need to check your e-mail when sailing the Chesapeake Bay? Just dock at the Rusty Scupper and whip out your laptop."
Warsailing here I come... I'll bring a new meaning to piracy on the open seas.
I always enjoy my time at the inner harbor when in Baltimore. Now I can get work done while I lounging as well. I like it.
Now the homeless in Baltimore can be geeks too!
Is this going to be a recuring theme? Free internet outside of Starbucks?
Rants done the right way www.koudijscanada.com
I can't say it's helped draw in business yet, but it's here.
--J(K) DOS is like Unix in exactly the same way that a pinto is like an aircraft carrier.
Just dock at the Rusty Scupper and whip out your laptop
Why bother? Just make sure you pick up a can of pringles before you set sail.
Where's my lobbyist? Right here.
How long before some idiot who assumes a level of security and has his/her credit card numbers sniffed, sues the City of Baltimore? And since there's no disclaimer given to people before they get access, there might actually be a case given most juries understanding of technology.
Buy your Nokia N-Gage Today!
I wonder how long it's going to take for someone to suck up all the bandwidth by using this for warez uploading or spam? It's a nice idea otherwise.
Chika Chik-ah... do-e ow ow.
I mean, can you really take a Wi-Fi equipped laptop and download mp3's to your heart's content without being tracked down to your IP? Or launch a DDoS attack anonymously?
Again, I guess you hafta take the good with the bad. I can imagine it won't be long before these wireless providers start paying attention to security on these networks.
William
When you're not looking, this sig is in Latin.
I've got free wireless broadband in my town, too. I had to get an antenna to get it to my building, but it works great, and it helps my business a lot by saving $100+/month on a (slower) DSL connection.
I love this idea. I hope we see more of it in more public places, like parks and libraries nationwide.
uR iGn0ranc3, Their Power
Every year Otakon holds one of the biggest east coast anime conventions at the Baltimore Convention Center, right on the Inner Harbor. If the WiFi reaches that far, I might be able to wank my inner geek by not only attending a japanese animation convention while wearing a schoolgirl costume with mechanical power-up accessories, but actually posting live cosplay photos back to my website at the same time.
Life is good. Or sad. Or good!
Just wait till you have to register for the service, and a bill is passed that all your records are accessible for the governement, or better yet Baltimore sells info about your surfing habbits to a 3rd party. But i still think it is cool though.
Otakon always holds its conventions in Baltimore Inner Harbor, just off the waterfront. This would be nifty for running portable netcams and updating weblogs/fan pages with details about fanmade works and cosplay.
I mean, if you're going to geek, geek out fully, right?
"Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
Just dock at the Rusty Scupper and whip out your laptop.
I almost didn't make it to the end of that sentence. I'm glad the last word was "laptop".
Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!
Didn't it collapse a couple of years ago? I mean, it'll be nice having wireless internet from Baltimore all the way up to New York, but couldn't they at least have said "Lower Manhattan" or "Ground Zero" or something?
Downtown St. Louis already did this.
Insert offensive troll-style sig here. Please mod or respond appropriately.
Down here, the big thing is the Beach, aka Ocean City, asseteque, etc. Tourism in baltimore? Well, lets see..theres an airport..and its a big town/small city.
Who here would go to a big town/small city just for free wireless when theres a beach a couple hours away??
"The most looniest, zaniest, spontaneous, sporadic Impulsive thinker, compulsive drinker, addict"
Just in case you're thinking of going out to try this, Baltimore's Inner Harbor is notoriously expensive and you will be paying for access, just not to an ISP.
At most garages, it costs more than $10 to park, the restaurants in that area serve tasty but expensive food, moderately overpriced shopping stores surround consumers, and random Orioles fans, despondent over the team's performance, may accost you at any time in that area.
You would be better served going to Fells Point and playing video poker at any one of the dozens of bars.
I didn't know there was a Rusty Scupper there.
Anyway, go to Phillip's instead. Or if you can afford it go to that art deco place in Little Italy (if it is still there - it's bee 10 years since I ate there).
It'll be interesting to see how closely the wireless access is monitored. A government-provided portal to the Internet. Scary thought. It's got to be monitored to some degree, right? Otherwise it's simply a great open portal for spammers.
I live in Chicago, and let me tell you, what they (all big cities, not just Chicago) need is wireless connectivity through rush hour. It would be damn skippy to be able to read a few stories on Slashdot while sitting 45 minutes on the Ike without moving three inches.
/.
Of course, I'm neglecting to think about all the accidents that might be caused...oh well, I guess we can sacrifice safety to read
IGB: More fun than eating oatmeal!
So this means that I can be floating on a boat, enjoying the sun, the smell of the harbour and reading /. What more could a geek want apart from a girlfriend, faster laptop, respect from hispeers
:)
Great
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
I think maybe the crackheads and quite regular shootings I see every time I drive through that asshole of a city might need a little more attention than wireless at the Inner Harbor. I live 10 minutes from Baltimore, by the way.
I have been deploying WiFi hotspots in the greater New York area for the last 12 years and I'm glad to see that the acceptance of wireless technology is so strong. After the WEP decryption fiasco it has forced the manufacturers to make 802.11g (and the upcming 802.11k) protocols inherently more secure.
Our main client is a national bank that uses the WiFi technology to transmit transaction details securily from ATMs to the central datacentre. It has reduced TCO (total cost of ownership) by approx. 65%.
Which is nice.
Isabel blew much of into the bay.
Seriously, though, B-mo needs to do more than just provide free wireless. Cleaning up the panhandlers, crackheads, pot peddlers and other assorted dirtbags would go along way to revitalizing the district's nightlife.
It's a cool place to go, it's a shame the city's so dirty and crime ridden. Working in the public safety field, and living in the area, I've spoken with lots of b-mo cops, and morale there is so low. They're just so overwhelmed with typical inner city crime that they've become completely apathetic.
Last year when that crack dealer burned down some ladies home (because she supposedly called the cops on him), and killed her and her 5 children, it should have sent a wake-up call, but the b-mo police just hit the snooze button.
Oh well, wireless is pretty cool, but it's not an area that you'd want to sit in the open with your two thousand dollar laptop.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Yeah, but to blow the MV Hillary out of the water. Service people must like their free music while patrolling the coast :).
"It's hard enough to compete against other companies. If the city starts providing for free what we make people pay for, it could really hurt us," Dowling said.
This is exactly the kind of attitude that hurts technology and customers. It results in monopolistic companies trying everything possible to stick to the existing model, and try and kill of competition (albeit superior in technology and better for the customer).
Microsoft's been trying to hurt Linux as much as possible, because it's a free alternative to their OS, which could potentially kill them.And ofcourse, our beloved RIAA's been trying to kill away a newer, technologically better solution, rather than trying to innovate and provide alternatives that people would pay for.
The right attitude should be to enhance their product so that customers would be willing to pay them for it, over the other cheaper (or free) alternative. Sheesh.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
This will be a great benefit for people visiting Baltimore for conventions. The convention center (as I recall) is just a short walk from the inner harbor, so while taking a break from seminars and trade floor groupies, you can plug in without having to tromp back to your hotel...
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
The N-Gauge kinda sucks.
Maybe if it was $150, and had about 10 times as many games.
But this thing is a middle-ager toy, has the erogonomics of turd.
How you can push it is beyond the understanding of human beings.
They were all just trying out the new wireless service using a quick message. They simply forgot to post it as
WiFiFP or FP.11b
Not by tourist standards. It certainly costs the same as any other major city in the US. Perhaps you live in Dundalk and grow your own food?
I dunno. The inner harbor is fun, although you've kind of exhausted the fun after you see the science museum and see and Orioles/Ravens game.
But the Inner Harbor is very good; there are a lot of local seafood shops that will server you crabcakes along with a natty bo.
I read that there are tons of hot spots popping up everyday around the country but here in St. Petersburg, FL. Why?
Where are the (legal) free hot spots?!
When I go someplace, I want to do things I can't do from home. And when I'm there I rather enjoy the weather/sights/activities rather than checking out the Internet.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
"I live 10 minutes from Baltimore, by the way."
/. readers: This means he lives near the Cockeysville Dump.
Note to
Bal'mer has its faults, but its a fun old-style city.
Jacksonville did this over ayear ago at the St. Johns River harbor. This is nothing new, friends.
haha! this is a quote from a company that sells a $29.95/month hot spot service, and is upset with the city's new offering:
;-p
"It's hard enough to compete against other companies. If the
city starts providing for free what we make people pay for, it
could really hurt us," Dowling said.
DUH!
i do think that metered wifi access will fail as a business model. virtually every business where the cost of tracking and billing access is MORE than the cost of providing said access becomes just another gratuity. (like a public water fountain)
http://kered.org
I can see it now... The Big Dig cam.
Montgomery County will wind up paying for another Baltimoronic boondoggle.
I'd hope that they don't just simply roll out completely open and un-monitered wifi.
I'd imagine that at the very least they'd want to use some level of firewalling and packetshaping to make sure the network is useable by all and doesn't simply attrack wireless spam servers or 0 day warez servers.
Has anyone setup one of these types of networks? What has your experience been? Did it really "help business"?
It's just a clever ploy to reduce the bandwidth bills on the Badtz Maru.
Would ye be liking some sea fries with that crabby patty, matey? SPONGEBOB! I'm not paying you to lie around leeching the bandwidth.
It's provided and monitored by Big Brother, so it's bad!
It's free (beer), so it's good!
It's inherantly insecure, so it's bad!
It's inherantly insecure, so it's good!
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
Your point MIGHT be valid if we weren't talking about the Government competing with a private business. That's not supposed to happen. A business can only use funds that have been voluntarily given to them by customers/investors to stay in business while the Government can force you to hand over tax revenues to fund whatever they want.
If the company who donated the equipment to the city was running a free hotspot as an advertisement for themselves that'd be one thing, but by getting the city government involved in the project they've probably set themselves up for a lawsuit. The Government is supposed to help along private business, not compete with it. A Government is always unfair competition... Because in the end they can always make you being in business illegal.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them
Once these sort of wi-fi areas become more pervasive, it should be incredibly easy for the Adrian Lamos of the world to do their work - drop anchor, drop bomb, sail on.
In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane. -Oscar Wilde
And if this is administered as inefficiently and with as much incompetence as most other government beaurocracies, is this 'free' (actually paid for by Baltimore/Maryland taxpayers) service really going to be worth not having to pay for reliable service that thrives on remaining high-quality? I think not.
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
Being a long-time resident of Baltimore, I must point out that the crime in the Inner Harbor is not as bad as you think during the day. I'm not sure if I'd use it as a safe spot at night, but for standard touristy stuff, it's fine.
I like the idea of free wi-fi. Go to (Hooters|HRC|whatever) grab some food, find a nice spot to sit down outside, and surf the web while enjoying a decent lunch. Combine that with a few fun attractions (boat tours, science center, ESPN Zone), and it has the makings of a fun day out that doesn't require you to give up all contact with the outside world.
Why you're bringing the laptop on a fun day out is beyond me, though... sometimes, we should just unplug, I think. Maybe it's for PDAs with wi-fi (and lots of batteries)?
-Erwos
Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
come for the orioles, stay for the WiFi.
PS - Last time we checked, there were enough open business networks available, city sponsered ones aren't necessary.
"Baltimore- It's not just the stink that's wireless!"
With wireless, given sufficient response time, not only can the police block a particular interface from using network, but they can triangulate precise location.
If you are going to be trying to use a government network for illegal activities, lets hope you're ready to run real fast.
A payphone would be safer in terms of tracking...
This is very similar to what Microsoft did to Netscape. And it is generally agreed that Microsoft was in the wrong. What the government is doing in Baltimore has similar ramifications.
this will keep me from being at school because now i can sit in hooters all day with my laptop.... THANK YOU BALTIMORE!
>This is exactly the kind of attitude that hurts technology and customers. It results in monopolistic companies trying everything possible to stick to the existing model, and try and kill of competition (albeit superior in technology and better for the customer).
Baltimore should know better than to resort to Socialism. It is Un-American.
The population of Baltimore is discontent. Perhaps a CIA-orchistrated coup will show them the benefits of corporate governance. We all know that worked wonders for the sluggish Chilian economy.
Penguin! Oh the insolence!
... and even to be a pedant, but pedant is spelled without an n before the d
Anybody think of immediately after reading the story?
Sherrif: "'Scuse me while I whip this out"
Crowd screams as the sheriff reaches for his front pocket
Sig it.
I've thought about this for a while. By putting a transmitter out near the channel buoy and a notifier that users should try connecting at that point they can point people to navigational charts, highlight hazards that may not be on charts, show weather and tides, point them to the appropriate guest slip and handle payment for that slip. Ultimately, the idea is to create a portal specific to the needs of the maritime community.
The big issues then arise is that do you really want people running the boat and operating a laptop at the same time. This could be combatted somewhat by building text-to-speech tools on the web site so it says everything I mentoned.
Anyone else remember the story about Home Depot? I think it was like 2 years ago, where they made their cash registers wireless using 802.11b. It was setup so that the cash register used wireless to talk to the main server, which had a hard-line connection to the database. Apparently, this wasn't secured, and a bunch of news stories popped up about how one could park their car in the parking lot, and retrieve CC#s. Though the articles did point out that the problem was quickly rectified.
If this story was indeed true, I wonder how prevalent this sort of thing is...
will be surviving the three blocks between the parking garage and the inner harbor with your $2000 laptop.
The real way to attract more tourists to Baltimore is to stop the crackwhores from selling their children:
t rys-to-sell-son-for-bail0903.shtml
http://www.insidebaltimore.com/news/local/bc-mom-
Yay, Baltimore.
Could be worse though...could live in PG and pay more taxes and have a really really suck-ass government.
" You can grow food in Dundalk?"
Yeah... mushrooms.
What about spam? Someone could just sit out in international waters, run his own mail server, and start dumping out tons of spam onto the net. And unlike mp3's and movies, spam is very small.
True. The whole thing looks like a lawsuit just waiting to happen.
The other question that one has to wonder about is whether there will be any content filters on it?
I mean, if you think about it, in schools and libraries that have Internet access, typically, they're required to have filters to try to keep out "inappropriate" content from minors. Will this service be filtered? Or will it be unfiltered?
If you filter it, the adults will scream censorship.
If you don't filter it, then who's responsible when little Johnny starts browsing porn? Will the city go after itself for providing porn to a minor? And can parents sue the city for facilitating it?
while sailing Chesapeake Bay?
;>
Now you can!
First, the Baltimore Harbor...
Next, Annapolis?!?
Lots of boat-folk there who would love on-water wireless while docked in the harbor.
I've been to the Inner Harbor several times in the past few years... each year is nicer and nicer. More and more touristy... but a nice weekend away from home.
With Camden Yards so near, it's a good weekend if you love baseball, and your favorite team is in town.
I wouldn't consider it to be dangerious for the most part. Fromt the stadium to the harbor is well lit, and crowded before/after the game. The convention center has good security.... and the waterfront is well kept as well.
Unless your somewhere that you shouldn't be... not exactly dangerious.
I would feel more unsafe in Timesquare with the large crowds than at the waterfront. And I'm in NYC a fair amount, grew up in the suburbs of NY.
It's one thing to surf from the safety of your home / office behind a firewall. It's another to take a WiFi enabled laptop into the wild. How many people will leave shares open, etc...
A person could park themselves under a tree and anonymously unleash a pile of automated hacking tools on the unsupecting public.
Now we can check up on our favorite anime p0rn sites!
Now if only they gave out free klenix boxes.
That's what the restaurant is more popularly known by.
============
Together, we will drive the rats from the tundra.
Now if only they could assure people that they won't get wounded by random Baltimore gunfire while they surf the internet...
Except that international waters are 12 miles out, and the Baltimore inner harbor is many miles up the Chesapeake Bay from the ocean.
I wonder if they realize that they just wireless-enabled a 2600 Meeting ?
Should be plenty of fun this friday !
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
The best thing I remember about my last trip (besides the aquarium) was the American Visionary Art Museum. Lots of cool eye candy and a really good restaurant that served me some very rare tuna. It was a most excellent surprise.
Just buy a used laptop from wherever, 802.11b PC Card, write your worm code, deploy, and throw the laptop in the harbor (heck, they even supply the disposal mechanism).
Political correctness is the newest form of slavery.
Thats easy. Morally little Johnny's parents are responsable for little Johnny. Of course, in the modern us where they parents are unwilling to take responsability for thier children they will probably sue the city.
I'm a programmer, I don't have to spell correctly; I just have to spell consistently
The first time (about a month ago) I ever went to Baltimore's inner harbor, to meet a friend, I had a gun put to head and was carjacked. The car was subsequently used in a successful bank robbery the next day.
I suggest that if the City of Baltimore wants more tourists to come, they should do something about the crime instead of the 802.11
The Washington Post says Verizon just announced they are rolling out high-speed wireless internet for $80/mo in Washington DC and San Diego. Industry analysts are skeptical that Verizon can make any money. Hmmmm... <sarcasm>I wonder why.</sarcasm>
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Promptly be mugged and have it taken. Baltimore is a dump, ask anyone who has ever been there. Terribly nasty city, and the inner harbor, while nice, is surrounded by decay and urban rot.
So who's going to be the first to study the underwater propagation of 802.11 signals? Unfortunately, I don't imagine that a Pringles can would last for too long underwater... then there's the added problem of keeping the fish from moving in and calling it home. ...and if Verizon was managing the hotspots, would they put buoys out to see with "You're Hot" signs, like the phone booths in NYC?
I would really dig having wireless available along western Lake Michigan shoreline....constant radar updates would be excellent as conditions change rapidly and passages are up to 30 miles. Rather than pumping the porn in harbor wireless is more useful when boats are underway.
For those who watch HBO, now Avon Barksdale and his crew can see which cans the dockworkers are smuggling drugs in, realtime.
Share and Enjoy!
i was at hooter's today in the inner harbor and i couldn't get a connection of any kind. they're going to have to expand some for it to be of any use, i think