WiFi Gone Wild

b4k4 writes "According to this news release, the Texas Department of Transportation is proposing to install hotspots at all 84 Safety Rest Stops and 12 Travel Information Centers statewide. This would be in addition to the four test locations already in place along US287." Reader polluted notes that Portland is working on free WiFi. An anonymous reader sent in word of this year's wifi-shootout, a contest to maximize the range for an 802.11b connection. And Roland Piquepaille writes in regarding cows wearing WiFi collars, which I'm afraid reminds me of a crummy sci-fi movie.

Comments

A whole 'herd' of new excuses?

[plover]

"Sorry, my access point grazed out of range."

"How would you like your firewall? Rare, medium, or well?"

Re:A whole 'herd' of new excuses?

[Anonymous Coward]

/me imagines the effect of the release of the CowBlaster worm.

Re:A whole 'herd' of new excuses?

[chabotc]

AC Wrote: /me imagines the effect of the release of the CowBlaster worm.

Hmmm good inspiration! Hell you wouldn't even need to write a worm or virus to wreck some serious havoc.. Just install a WiFi jammer in your van, drive by the grazing fields, and let the stampedes begin! Could give a whole new meaning to war-driving :-)

Great idea, but...

[pointbeing]

Why do cows need Internet access?

Re:Great idea, but...

[squiggleslash]

Oh very original. Yet again Slashdotters miss the point. Whenever they see someone doing something new, someone has to diss-it as unnecessary. "Why do I need a mobile phone when there's phone booths?" "Who really needs the source code to an operating system?" "Who needs broadband when dial-up works just fine?" and now "Why do cows need Internet access?"

In a few years, all cows will have access to the Internet. And thanks to their always-on wireless connections, they'll make up the vast majority of Internet users. 75% of Slashdot posts will be from cows, and thanks to the mass enfranchisement of other cattle, the Goatse.cx site will actually feature a picture of a goat.

What's more, you'll benefit. Right now, the Internet is dominated by spammers and trolls. But with an influx of cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, and other farmyard animals, the quality of discussion and the quality of content is likely to radically increase. All these animals know a hell of a lot more than most Slashdotters about many ordinary topics - chickens, for example, will be able to tell you about eggs, something very few Slashdotters are expert in. Ask Slashdot will finally stop having useless topics like "How do I set up my Linksys router?" or "What wallpaper should I have on my desktop?" and instead feature discussions about types of grass to eat, avoiding foxes, and telling whether your feed has dead similar animals mixed into it.

Likewise, YRO will be dominated by discussions about avoiding the slaughterhouse, getting into the wild, etc. None of this "Ooooh, some obscure copyright bill might violate my right to download MP3s", this time it'll be important life and death issues.

So don't knock it. Cows have just as much right to be on the Internet as you or I. How dare you suggest they don't "need" Internet access!

can always get your /.

[millahtime]

Now, nerds in texas can always get their /. fix when traveling. They just have to stop of at a rest area, get some vending machine food, a soda, stop off at mr. porclyn and /.

Although, hopefully not all at the same time.

Re:can always get your /.

[DrEldarion]

Chips, soda, the toilet, and slashdot.

Just like home!

Re:can always get your /.

[southpolesammy]

...stop off at mr. porclyn and /.

Well, that would explain some of the shitty moderation going on here lately...

Kindergarten

[Viceice]

"Now children, who weould like to tell me what are the inportant things cows provide us with?"

"Meat, Milk, and Internet!"

Re:Crowding

[Paulrothrock]

My Pontiac Vibe GT has a 115 volt outlet. Screw my battery, how long can I sit at idle with my A/C on?!?

Re:Saftey measures...

[Anonymous Coward]

How long until you hear someone getting sued because someone borked their computer over a wireless network?

Is that some sort of Swedish hacking term? Bork a Bork a Borka !

Re:WiFi WiFi WiFi *yawn*

[TheRealFixer]

Yeah, except when nature calls I'm not running around looking for a hotspot.

WIFI-enabled cows

[o'reor]

I can imagine this :

redneck_geek@myfarm $ ping betty.myfarm.com

PING betty (192.168.1.15): 56 data bytes
Moooo from 192.168.1.15: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=0.1 ms
Moooo from 192.168.1.15: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=0.1 ms

Whats your favourite cow exploit?

[blacksky]

I can't wait for the first time a hurd of wirelessly controlled cows get hacked. Imagine the fun you could have with a hurd of cows at your command.

I think I'd have them follow the same person around all day. When he stopped walking, the cows would stop. When he went in a building, the cows would wait outside.

Or just send them all to go and flash-mob the local butchers.

Re:Set up a damn ROAD CONSTRUCTION WEBSITE!

[Anonymous Coward]

I just checked the site. It's under construction.

Redneck Hackers

[silconous]

GR3A+ REdNECK hackEr5 W1+h L4ptOPS

"Smokey and the Spammer"

[argent]

I can just see the new action flick, "Smokey and the Spammer", with high speed chases from hot-spot to hot-spot as they detect viagra and cialis ads coming out of one rest area after another down I-10... culminating in a 30 car pile-up as the spammer tries to run the roadblock at the Louisiana border.

Ah, they'll probably just block port 25 outgoing. Spoilsports.

Re:Crowding

[Anonymous Coward]

You say that like a Pontiac Vibe actually makes your dick bigger or something. It's a girly car! Get some pride.