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

Saftey measures...

[Ninwa]

The places that have wireless networks should also issue handouts concerning possible security problems to cover their butts. How long until you hear someone getting sued because someone borked their computer over a wireless network?

Crowding

[officepotato]

Won't this cause parking problems as people stay at rest stops as long as their battery lasts, rather than long enough to do their business?

Re:Crowding

[gl4ss]

why would they waste their time there, just for fun?

I think you think that there's more nerds out there than there is.

However truck drivers & others who are forced to spent some time on these stops would really benefit from this.

Re:Crowding

[Jahf]

Set a 1 or 2 hour time limit on the DHCP lease and only lease to a MAC once per day. Sure, you will get the occasional geek who knows how to change their MAC, but it prevents the majority of the problem.

I'm more curious to know when the first hackers are going to realize how easily they can be anonymous. And I'm sure someone will say "they'll probably have cameras" but with a pringles can you don't need to be near that camera.

is it all free in these places?

[Anonymous Coward]

because if i'm gonna have to pay why not just hit a net lounge at the pit stops/nearest town

Complete with...

[TheReal_BarkMan]

vending machine delivered temporary accounts.

WiFi WiFi WiFi *yawn*

[aussie_a]

I have to admit, I'm becoming annoyed with WiFi. Not because I think there is anything wrong with it, but for the simple reason that if there is ANYTHING involving networks, out comes WiFi.

Why is WiFi so great? And why is everyone working to provide free access to it? Free acces (as in beer) is great. But I just have one question. Why?

Sure it's convenient and everything, but governments, businesses and individuals are all doing this. Providing free WiFi. Why? What payoff does everyone get?

Re:WiFi WiFi WiFi *yawn*

[jennifer_l]

well it's all about the business model; free Wifi is a good buzzword which means better press, in real money you get more customers staying longer (you stay at the rest stop twice as long .'. spend twice as much) and most importantly have an edge over the competition especially for business customers. free as in beer still makes people money, and costs virtually nothing to run.

Re:WiFi WiFi WiFi *yawn*

[cuzality]

Wi-fi is the next 'bathroom' -- every customer-service-oriented business will have to have it, even though you get nothing out of it, and in fact it costs you money, but if you don't have it you're not a 'complete' business.

Re:WiFi WiFi WiFi *yawn*

[Anonymous Coward]

In this case, I heard the point was to encourage motorist to take more time at rest stop to actually *rest*. Apparently too many of us Texans like driving for extended periods without taking enough breaks. So I guess its safety thing...

Re:WiFi WiFi WiFi *yawn*

[jc42]

Here in the Boston/Cambridge area, the first cafes that got wifi access points reported that the extra business paid the monthly cost in 2 or 3 days. As more places got wifi, this time may have gone up, but not by that much.

Most food places are full for only a few hours three times a day. They are nearly empty other times. An access point doesn't increase your business during the mealtimes, but it does increase business the rest of the day.

For a similar situation, back when I was in grad school, many of the bars and restaurants near campus supplied some classroom material like black/white boards, projectors, etc. I had a number of classes that used part of the first session to decide where to meet for the rest of the term. The class would then meet at the eaterie, most of the students would order coffee and maybe pastry, and the owner's investment in classroom equipment was justified.

It's an old story. An acronym like WIFI doesn't change it much.

Pre-emptive Personal Telcos

[philntc]

How long before telcos ship integrated devices that include DSL modem and wifi, all interoperable with VoIP networks?

They could still make money on the DSL subscriptions and do and end-run around the grassroots personal telcos.

Yesterday

[Brie and gherkins]

I didn't connect to the internet wirelessly or wirely, and I had a good productive day.

Re:can always get your /.

[CreatureComfort]

The big practical use for this is to truckers. They are required by law to "rest" (read that as do anything other than drive a truck) for a certain number of hours each day, and this requirement has recently increased the number of hours. What the state is hoping to accomplish is that by giving truckers more amenities along the road they will be more willing to follow the regs and less likely to "push it".

Set up a damn ROAD CONSTRUCTION WEBSITE!

[wowbagger]

This would be GREAT, if they were to set up a damn ROAD CONSTRUCTION WEBSITE.

I'd love to be able to check and say "oh, I-35 is under construction from hither to yonder. Hm, what is my alternate route?" instead of the old "a mile past the last exit you see the ROAD CONSTRUCTION NEXT 50 MILES" sign.

Terrible waste of money

[Moblaster]

I can understand how wonderful it would be to have these hotspots available for "free."

However, taxpayer dollars are coerced from citizens for any government project. This one is a short-sighted waste of those dollars.

If there is a compelling demand for this kind of service, then Texas should have stopped at a trial of 4 spots (if even that) and let private industry take over.

The "1.5% of fatalities are caused by fatigue" argument is a red herring meant to justify this wasteful expenditure. I am sure the hundreds of thousands (million? two million?) of dollars spent on this "sexy" bureaucratic project could have been far better spent in other forms of more relevant traffic safety measures -- like carving those "wake-up" notches into road sides, or more money into re-inforcing messages not to drive drunk, or more money for training to reduce recidivism in previous DUI convicts.

OR HOW ABOUT THIS? How about putting some stalls on the bathroom doors in the rest stops at El Paso? No joke... they had open stalls last time I was there a year ago. Aren't there are more basic steps along the road of highway culture than going from the outhouse straight to Wi-Fi?

As it stands, this is a luxury expenditure that will let a small number of travelers with laptops get mail while otherwise subsidizing porn-surfing. Come on... if it's late at night and someone is tired, precisely how does an hour spent surfing web sites and expending ones mental resources in that kind of concentration improve one's alertness? It's an unsubstantiated bureaucracy-boosting statement that pushes the taxpayer just a few steps further down the road of permanent government debt, and ultimately, a form of bondage to pay back old expenses that should never have been incurred in the first place.

Next time I drive through Texas, I'll drive friendly, I won't mess with Texas, and I'll surf the web for free. Three nice thoughts. But only two of them are good ideas. It would be nice for the Slashdot crowd of harder-than-average thinkers to look past our love of technology to identify bigger-picture issues before slapping on the seal of approval for this kind of government excess.

Maybe I'm being too cynical but...

[Libertarian_Geek]

I can't see a pay internet kiosk use at a rest stop being too profitable. AKA going the way of the payphone. Users who can't wait to get to their destination to check their e-mails will likely have their own laptops and would prefer to use the free wifi access. Leaving a small market for pay kiosk use (outside of initial novelty). I see the state funding these APs after the private company goes under. My feeling is that if the public likes it, and it's not profitable, the government will fund it sooner or later. If I'm wrong, then I've seen a late night advertisement for pay internet kiosks that will make you a fortune.

WiFi overkill for cow collars

[sakyamuni]

Why would one need such a high-bandwidth link as WiFi for the cow herding application? Is this a case of buzzword intoxication? WiFi, WiFi, everywhere, and nary a mind to think [sorry].

The cows aren't browsing the Web, for crying out loud. Tracking their location and various health monitors, sending the "zap" command, can be handled by something in the 300 baud capability range, using considerably less power than a wireless ethernet card -- you won't need to strap that large solar panel to the cow's back either.

Theifs, criminals, and otherwise baddies...

[KevetS]

If you need that quick cash all you need to do is hang around the rest areas in Texas and wait for someone to pull in and break out their laptop. A simple mugging should be all it takes to be on your way to at least $500 at the pawn shop!