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An iPod-based Guide To SF Wireless Hotspots
Ryan MacCarthy writes "On the day Apple announces the 4G iPod, BayAreaFreeFi.com announces the wiPod , an iPod-based field guide for free wi-fi hotspots in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Now when you are on the road you can look up a free hotspot quickly and easily right from your iPod. No, the iPod isn't wi-fi enabled. wiPod uses the Notes functionality of the iPod OS to store the database in an easy to use format.
Enjoy!"
It would make more sense just to read the text file on your laptop or whatever device you will be using to access these networks.
It's funny, because if anyone can afford to pay for wifi; it's iPod owners.
Can the iPod connect to Wifi spots? NO! So you'll have a device that can display this information in order to make use of it, why drag the iPod into it? This whole iPod craze is getting to the point of the people who install Linux on their toaster.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.
Wow! A text file! Why am I just hearing about this now?!?!
I love my iPod, but if I'm wearing it, it's because I'm (a) working out, or (b) on a long, grueling airplane trip. However, I always carry my phone/palm device, so a palm-based version of this would be convenient if I don't want to pull my laptop out of the bag...
The CB App. What's your 20?
I think the iPod-madness is getting a bit dated now. Just not long ago we have iPod going almost wireless, with the help of a PocketPC, and now this?
While it is nice to think of something innovative uses on iPod, we must also look at the practicality of such efforts.
Is there a website to record things like that? If not I'm going to start one.
It's more convenient to whip out your iPod and check for a wireless spot before you even open up your laptop. I think the same thing can be said about people who walk around with a PDA and a laptop, but for some, the iPod's PDA-like feature is good enough that they don't care for a full-blown PDA (stylus and all).
In even a relatively large area, are there even enough hot spots to fill up a couple sheets of paper? And with paper, you have the added high-tech benefit of graphics. Imagine, being able to represent the location of hot spots as dots on a map!
Ok, so they released a new product... wait the product is a text file.
Maybe next they'll announce gpsPod... which is a text file containing GPS coordinates of your address. Save the file to your iPod, when you lose it, the person who finds it can return it. And this is a FREE service!!!!
Works in every city in the world, doesn't need an iPod, can me printed on a very small piece of paper for easy access:
1- Buy an old laptop
2- Buy a cheap GPS
3- Install Linux
4- Install kismet
5- Install GPSDrive
6- Drive around
I figure the old laptop and cheap GPS are less expensive than an iPod.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
4G iPod == 4th Generation iPod, released today.
But there is a 4Gb iPod, known as the iPod Mini.
I dunno who it is
but it prolly is fhqwhgads.
I find it so frustrating how a device can not just have a SINGLE purpose these days. Most notably I am upset at how many 'cameras' manufacturers are shoving down my throat: My Cell Phone has to be a camera, my video camera has to be a still camera too, as does my Sony Clie PDA.
Which brings me to my worry: The PDAing of the iPod. Just because something can do a task doesn't mean it is well suited for it or should do that thing. Witness that the iPod also has a calendar and contact list. Mind you, you cannot add or edit these things, but they are available for reading and syncing to your Mac's corresponding applications.
BUT WHY?
I guess the thought is that because your iPod is portable it should be able to carry around the data that might be nice to have when away from a device that should contain said data.
But doesn't it make sense to have a music player with a simple interface and a single purpose? No confusion in the marketplace. No R&D time spent adding features outside of the scope of the device. Why should my PDA have a camera and play MP3s and play full motion video? How is this part of a Personal Digital Assistant? It's like these "SUV" luxury 4x4 stationwagons. What the heck is this car-plane-boat anyway?
All this rant just to say that I think the SanFran WiFi hot spot list belongs on the laptop that could use it, or at most a WiFi PDA, but not the NON-WiFi, NON-PDA iPod. It is just dilution of the purpose of this great music player.
Now if Apple would pretty-please make a PDA again...
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
You do realize that wireless cards are only about 40 bucks, right? Not exactly lavish.
I'll be more impressed when they figure out how to make this play MP3s.
Can something be that elitist when almost a million of them are sold every 3 months?
My sig is blank, I typed this by hand.
Well, I got the 40G iPod, a couple G4 powerbooks and an iBook and I live in SF.
But this still doesn't interest me in the slightest, because I already know a few very cool SF internet cafes where gals go to chat up guys and vise versa... ohh and the wifi is $5.00 a day, but I'd rather have the nice scenery and ability to have some very personal offline porn than downloading it for free off one of these guys listed hotspots.
KeS
this isn't news. this isn't even interesting. oooh, someone grouped textfiles for us to read! shit, they've been doing that for decades. c'mon man, maybe if they had some kinda text2speech app that ran on the ipod, then it would be news.
perl -e '$_="\007/4`\cp%2,".chr(127);s/./"\"\\c$&\""/gees
While not iPod friendly, I found this website when looking for hotspots in the Kansas City area: www.jiwire.com.
They claim to have nearly 47000 hotspots in 65 countries, 15000 in the US. I hope this helps some.
You have to use your iPod to lookup a hotspot - and then get your wi-fi enabled Pocket PC or laptop or Palm to actually connect - and then find the hotspot is not even available on that location anymore.
Just use a cheap Kensington hotspot finder instead. Thne you're sure there's something there.
I'm sorry, I didn't know Slashdot was exclusively a "linux" site. I thought it was a tech-related site. You might want to mod your profile to just include Linux-related posts or maybe just to ignore Apple posts if they get on your nerves enough to make ya want to rant about the editors.
just a suggestion
Judging from the replies so far to this article
it seems it piqued the ire of a facet of slashdot
that always posts some sort of "why would anyone
want to do/use/make/create something like that?!"
[well- why not?]
I wish there was a mod -5 Curmedgeon feature.
I have my own curmedgeon chunk too which said
"ooo! an ipod zealot text file. they'll feel so special. If i could only come up with something
for cat worshipers that ran on the ipod i'd be rich!"
I just moved to the san francisco from the midwest
and I've been noting a bunch of sociatal quirks that make this idea not so bad (at least for san francisco):
Public transport is big here but I have yet to see someone whip out a laptop on the public transport. playing with cel phone games, gameboy, walkman/ipod is ok, but palm pilot is quite rare. Go figure.
Riders seem to feel pretty secure and comfortable most of the time on the transport here(compared
to new york and chicago) and you can't swing a cat
around here without hitting someone wearing an ipod (also the theoretical cat would hit at least 3 dentist offices 2 optical places and 1 walgreens per revolution).
being able to look up free wi-fi on a device
i'm already carrying and using would be nice.
introducing ipod wi-fi starbucks junkies to a new
place with free wi-fi and a better atmosphere can
only be a good thing.
what the hell. i'll go repair my ipod sometime and load up the list and see how it goes.
i'll propbably print the list too.
and build a free wi-fi enabled roller coaster in
my apartment
because it would be fun.
Firefox &
another use for your iPod while riding around looking for wireless hotspots?
listening to music!