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Texas State Parks Offer Wi-Fi
digrieze writes "Here's a story raising a holiday ruckus. Texas has started providing free Wi-Fi service at state parks, causing friction with the 'get away from it all' crew. Looks like a nice place to vacation to me."
causing friction with the "get away from it all" crew
You don't go to a state park and stay within wifi range (I assume their RV/tent sites in the main campground) if you want to "get away from it all". If you want to get away from it all you go backpacking in remote areas of the park or the State. Amenities like showers, flush toilets, electric hookups, and swimming pools doesn't exactly put you in the "roughing it" category.
So far, the vast majority of users are conducting business, and have both the tools and the ability to pay the average daily service fee of $10 to $20, says Phillip Redman, a research vice president at Gartner. But there are also a growing number of free Wi-Fi hot spots, which make the cost of connectivity irrelevant. And with proliferating access and declining price, the user's physical location has become less important than ever before.
I see a lot of RVs in campgrounds with DirecTV. Why not Direcwav while you're at it? It's $100 setup and $50/month and all you need is a direct view of the southern sky (in TX I doubt that would be a problem - and no, I'm not even a customer of theirs). If you're a serious "snow bird" RV fan it would sound like the best way to go. Hell, you could undercut TX State Parks and offer wifi for $5 or less. I can't see the $15/day pricetag honestly... The article mentions that they realize that putting wifi into the wilderness would be difficult due to terrain/etc and would require numerous antennae throughout the park but they mention that TX state parks have great RV/tent campsites that will have coverage... So why the high cost?
I bring my hiptop with me when we go "camping" but I generally only check my email twice a day from it and make phone calls only when necessary. It is nice to have along but I'm more for enjoying my freedom when I'm "camping".
I just can't see businessmen making it a regular practice of saving money on their overnight stays by using a state park campground and firing up their $15/day wifi when they can probably pay $15/night more (with parking fees, camping fees, and wifi fee) at a hotel and get it free.
YMMV.
The service will be free in the five Texas parks for three months; then TengoInternet, the wireless provider, will charge about $15 a day.
Err... doesn't exactly sound all that "free" to me.
"Hence, in order to have good coverage, you need to put antennas all over the park."
Just to prevent the future fires that the spelling police will start.
Antennas is correct when talking electronics.
Antennae is correct when talking biology.
- Source
AlexTheBeast
--
Tech-Recipes - Leave Your Computer Knowledge for Future Generations
I hate to be a spelling Nazi, but I believe you misspelled "taxpayer-funded".
There's a Mercedes gap too. I want one and can't afford one, but it's not government's job to do anything about it.
Why does this cause friction? Can't they simply NOT use the WiFi service?
Portland, North Dakota Puppies
...and there is an unprotected AP within about 5 miles, you can get free wifi in many state parks.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
If you really do 'get away from it all' then the WIFI service will only be as good as the battery on you mobile device. Sounds like a great idea, but it seems very limited with current technology.
Sheesh. If you want to get away from it all, why not try leaving your computers at home?
Apache guy, Open Source enthusiast, runner
The article doesn't mention it, but the parks are: Choke Canyon State Park (Calliham) near Three Rivers, Blanco State Park near Blanco, Balmorhea State Park near Toyahvale, Goose Island State Park near Rockport, and Ray Roberts Lake State Park (Isle du Bois) near Pilot Point. Reference: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/news/news/041220b.phtm l
what I want to know is when are they going to add AC outlets to all of the trees?
I work for the texas state park and let me tell you how not happy people really are about this new service. What the article did not report was that we recieved a petition from 500 "naturalists" saying how strongly they object to this.
Naturally, we did what any good goverment body would do when handed a petition, we threw it away.
Bottem line is that technology is good and that this is going to make our lives and everyone else who uses the park but is not crazy, lives easier.
Progress is a good thing!!
Be better in bed. Wikiafterdark!
As a Texas resident and an avid camper, I think this is great! There has been many time I have been camping and wondered what else there is to see and do in the local area. Sure one would argue that you could go to the lodge and collect a bunch of tourist pamphlets, or you could sit in your tent or at the picnic table and check the local weather and current fishing and river conditions or even post first on /.
[n8.r0n] http://petesweb.spymac.net/
But what about those who just want to get back to nature - and shudder at the thought of a woods where Thoreau could go online?
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not remembered to check my email."
--Thoreau (almost)
* Olaserov is in the process of thinking up a signature.
I don't understand why the "get away from it all" types would be so upset about this, it greatly enhanses the experience of a park. Think of how much more intereactive it makes the whole experience. You see a deer, you take a picture, upload it to your friends so they can check it out. You see some other form of wildlife...or plant and you pull up wikipedia to try and figure otu what it is.
I say bravo to texas!
Be better in bed. Wikiafterdark!
This will very possibly be the US office of our company for much of the summer. :)
"Bottem line is that technology is good and that this is going to make our lives and everyone else who uses the park but is not crazy, lives easier.
Progress is a good thing!!"
Nuclear Bombs and Germ Warfare. Chemical weapons, and Urban sprawl.
From the article:
And with proliferating access and declining price, the user's physical location has become less important than ever before.
I beg to differ on this point. Since we can change our location -- Wi-Fi allows us to unchain ourselves from our desks -- location can now be used to provide a richer computing experience, as in applications like Placelab, and Plazes.
Chalk another site up on the list to wardrive.
Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
Stop rewarding these whores for violating YOUR private information! They piss and moan about spam, and then turn around and sell out their friends and family to advertising firms. Shame on you all!
There's a Mercedes gap too. I want one and can't afford one, but it's not government's job to do anything about it.
I'm off tommorrow morning with laptop and camera into the "great outdoors" and would love nothing more than to be connected while out there.
The simple fact is, if you want to leave your "gear" behind, heck, do it ! - nobody is forcing you to hook onto the net in the middle-of-nowhere and so long as those that do being connected are polite and discreet, what's the problem ?
A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
They'll be calling George up as soon as they hear this. After all, they probably were already "planning" to implement this themselves.
Camper: "What was that ruckus?"
Ranger: "What ruckus?"
Camper: "I was just in my office^W tent and I heard a ruckus!"
Ranger: "Could you describe the ruckus, sir?"
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
Boss'll be like "Hey wtf, you had internet, you could have helped us out!"
From the article:
"The service will be free in the five Texas parks for three months; then TengoInternet, the wireless provider, will charge about $15 a day."
Online picnic basket ordering.
From the comfort of his cave, Yogi will never be hungry again!
liqbase
Ever vacation in a Texas park in July or August when it's so hot your car leaves tread marks in the aspault and the night breeze is that of 1,000,000 cricket breaths? Now Austin and SA have some nice areas so don't get me wrong...there are *some* nice places to visit, but wifi won't make TX parks my first vacation destination.
"Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
If I go to a park, state or otherwise, it's because I want to look at trees, water. etc., and not at other dweebs banging on their laptops.
Geez, people, unplug once in a while.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
How am I supposed to google for information on how to set up the tent, use a fishing rod, etc.?
The thing is that Texas has gobs of money. There was a time when it used the money to fund all sorts of free and cheap cultural opportunities. The quality may not be up to standards set by the pompous elite, but then these opportunities were not for the elite, they were for the average joe.
But now we feel more divided, and less willing to give up resources to benifit everyone. The state parks significant amounts of money for entrace and camping. This WiFi service is a wonderful way for the family to experience the stars, the birds, the other animals, the lakes, the trees, in a contemporary relevent fashion. A kid is not neccesarily going to trudge through a book when he or she can search the web.
So, i hope that this does not just become another way to fill the Texas treasury and enrich more corrupt bussinessmen. We can afford to put WiFi in the parks and be an example to the nation. I mean oil is at $40 for gods sake.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
I really enjoy going camping AND NOT being within range of everyone. I like to take that time when I"m "Unplugged" to relax and not have to worry about my servers going down or something like that. Well, I'm still worried but I don't have a viable way of checking...with wifi I would be checking every few minutes.
Luckily it's in Texas and I usually don't camp there so I'll just have to not think about it.
But on a positive note, at least kids will have something to do when their parents drag them away from "all the distractions at home."
I don't see what all the brouhaha is about. Provided they make the antennae subtle, or even better, only install them in the more "touristy" areas (as opposed to the "primitive camping" areas), I can't imagine how this could take away from the camping experience.
If you don't take your laptop, it doesn't affect your "be one with nature" goal...also, at least WiFi usage is a quiet activity (assuming it isn't used to blast streaming music). I imagine I'd be more irritated with loud, obnoxious, drunk campers than quiet, laptop-using ones.
Just once I'd like someone to call me 'Sir' without adding 'You're making a scene.'
Many campgrounds have official hosts who basically have to babysit the campground. I think this will be a big bonus for some of them. And just think how nice it would be to be able to google some first aid while the ambulance is trying to figure out how to get up to where you are.
http://glacierdragon.smugmug.com - Check out my photos. No need to buy, even though I do need the money!
Speaking as someone not opposed to this, but definitely not enthusiastic, I would say people are probably against this because they perceive that people who will use this service will probably be the same kinds of inconsiderate folks who play loud obnoxious music in family tent-camping areas, race ATVs up and down hiking paths, and bring other intrusive and obnoxious technology-related habits to the campgrounds.
;>
It's not about controlling what other people do; it's about personal space. A lot of people who are real fans of being "always connected" are extremely insensitive about personal space, and regularly infringe on other people. They don't seem to need much personal space, and can't comprehend those who need more space.
Yeah, I can choose not to use the service, but I'd feel more comfortable about it if there were designated "no wi-fi" areas. Also, i leave my notebook and cell phone at home when I go camping. I prefer that my coworkers have the perception that I am completely inaccessible.
And yes, I get a -lot- of weird looks from my geek friends when I tell them I left my notebook at home for 2 weeks.
There was a press release about this in May of 2004.
I'm looking forward to using this; $15/day is a bit steep, but this sounds like a pleasant vacation perk. Texas state parks tend to be excellent, too -- the ones I've stayed at have always been well-maintained, pretty, friendly, reasonably priced.
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
All you need to do if your really want to get away is NOT TO BRING YOUR LAPTOP OR WIRELESS NETWORK DEVICE. That is what I did. We are constantly flooded with different types of wireless signal but to stop receiveing these is not to have the device available to connect so you can concentrate on being on vacation.... er getting away it from all.
A person may pass by a city local park just to be in the tree-shades for a few minutes. But when someone makes an effort to visit the state park, the last thing they want to is work, therefore providing WiFi coverage is counterintuitive and would motivate the wrong behavior. Cell phone coverage, on the other hand, may be necessary in the event of emergencies.
I think you're probably right, and deserve +Informative modding.
However, the article is not entirely clear about funding: I take this to mean that the service will be free to all park visitors for the next three months: presumably Tengo is giving away service in order to build name recognition.
I further presume that after three months, Tengo will charge all users $15 a day, presumably via credit card.
But the article is vague about the details -- for example, one might presume that each user gets a three month free trial, followed by pay-to-use. Furthermore, there's no statement whatever about the use or non-use of tax monies -- I take this to mean that taxes aren't involved, but this could easily be faulty assumption, who knows what deals Tengo made with park service?
-kgj
-kgj
"get away from it all" do they not understand?
sheesh.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
now we can share images of squirrels with giant testicles as soon as they are captured
FYI, Iowa (and some spots in Nebraska, Missouri, and other places) have free wifi access in various locations along major highways.
Check them out here. Requires free registration...
This sig donated to Pater. Long live
If you don't like wifi in the park, don't use it. Simple answer.
;-)
That said, I think if the folks who manage the parks want to put antennas in the campground areas, fine. Or where there's public amenities. That makes perfect sense - it's a potential revenue stream, it's cheap to provide, and a lot of "campers" (which here in the U.S. often mean RV owners who want all the comforts of home wherever they travel) may take advantage of it. Even after reading the article, I really doubt they are referring to putting antennas everywhere in the parks - just in the areas that are developed. I don't think folks who go off into the wilderness with their sleeping bags and a pup tent are the target for wifi in the park.
And I don't see why it's an issue. Most campgrounds that would have this sort of service are designed for the vehicular set. The "back-to-the-woods" folks already stay far away from them. I could see how wifi in the deep woods would detract from the park experience, but that's not what this appears to be.
Then again, my idea of camping is staying in a hotel that doesn't offer room service. As much as I like the outdoors, I see it as a rather poor choice for sleeping. And RV's aren't much better in my eyes. So maybe my perspective is a tad skewed
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
*According to Faux, 5.1 million people watched the episode in question. So, 0.00045% (that is 45 hundred-thousanths of one percent) of the audience complained and that resulted in a massive fine.
Yeah, right.
If you want to get away from it all, don't bring your Wi-Fi enabled laptop. This is not a complicated problem.
Add remote-control hunting and you have one interesting park to visit (or not). Texas, the state that innovates. I could be sitting in this park, and remotely hunt in another part of Texas.
Linux at home
I'm working with my friend who just moved from a broadband rich area to an area with no broadband and no likelihood of it anytime soon. He's a reasonable distance from a CO, so a DS-1 or DS-3 is very possible and he's looking to bring WiFi or WiMax access from his area and to the north of him. We're at the business plan stage right now, but it's looking good for us to finance it ourselves or to get the government to give us a loan or a grant to make it happen even better and quicker than we could do it otherwise.
The main reason why you don't see rural broadband service in most of the areas around Texas and elsewhere is that of pure greed . The Telcos could do it, but the margins on that sort of service isn't "good" for them- they'd make a profit, just nothing like the insane amounts they're used to making off of us here in town.
Fine. I'll do it my damn self, one region at a time.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Too many earth-firster/tree huggers think that because what THEY feel is right, should be the choice for the entire planet. Democratic?
I also don't see anything FREE in this offering. It looks to me like a service for paying customers. The state allowed a contractor access, and I'm sure the state will earn fees and/or a cut of the proceeds as a result. If the earth-firsters don't like it, I'm sure the state will threaten to cut the state park budget, eliminating rangers' jobs, which will allow more abuse of the park system. In other words, there is a flipside to NOT allowing wi-fi, and we don't know what is...
but how will all of the increased radio effect the wildlife?
do any animals (not joking) use frequencies in that range? will there be a significant increase in radiation, doing harm in a 'natural' setting?
The IRS is the one organization that you don't want to fuck with. Remember, these are the guys who took down Al Capone.
(and we travel to campground for about 90% of our three-season travel here in the NE)
;-)
is that in the well-equipped private CGs you have a post or a tree that feeds you water, main power, phone and cable TV. Granted the phone is hardly used anymore with cell service being what it is, but they need to accommodate the campers, and with many of them being pop-ups and smaller vans, the line is blurred between a tent and vehicle site.
The state CGs are somewhere in the middle, and the feds are a patch of land, a painted number on a stone or post and a fire ring. They often do not have even showers (Acadia for instance has none - there are several well known shower services on your way back to camp).
There are times when I want to be at Seawall, lock the car for the week, and go without the bare minimum. Ride, splash, walk, eat, sleep. Then there's times when we'll bring everything including the laptop, digital camera, iPod, hole up in a private CG with free hot showers, power at the site and now I can't wait to use the new peltier fridge and not have to toss a coin about the safety of the food after five days.
Network access is just like the other things - but now they can deploy them without running yet another wire that can break to each site. And the states and feds who had few or no wire services to sites can add this without digging trenches to each site.
And here here on the generator issue - this is far down on the scale of annoying things in a campground - its way below generators and way WAY below 2AM returns on Harleys. In many campgrounds the most annoying things tend to be alcohol-fueled, and I don't mean sterno stoves.
A lot of campers believe they can simply replace their house with thin nylon walls and carry on like they were still inside an opaque, soundproof dwelling. How wrong they are. I'd swap laptops for boom boxes any day.
People camp for many reasons. To 'get a way from it all' (you never really do) to be in a more beautiful place (Passaconaway looks a bit better than RT 93 Exit 8) to live more simply but with some smarts. Each camper dials in the amount of those things they need. Good. We already bring a little / lot of our world with us when we camp - the technology in the stoves and GPS and NOAA and EPIRBs and watches we need isn't deemed terrible - they help. If my laptop doesn't disturb anyone else, and it helps me stay in touch and know about weather and going-on, great. There's a big difference between listening to the 90-min frequency NOAA voicecasts and seeing 15-min old color doppler radar. You'd be a fool to go to sea without weatherfax and several kinds of radio capabilities - ditto land nowadays.
Just don't pee on the wired tree.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Then don't bring your @#$%*& computer with you. If you don't have a computer, then wi-fi won't affect you at all. If you do, then you have already negated your intent to escape from the city life by bringing it with.
Personally, I go to the state parks because there is good fishing there. (other than just after sunrise and just before sunset fish don't bite) I need something to do. Normally that means talk to friends I'm camping with, but "a game of doom"[1] sounds like a good way to pass the time to me.
I'm not out there to get aware from it all. If I was I wouldn't be in a state park crowded next to other campers, I'd be someplace where you have to carry everything in a few miles. I've done both, and I like both styles of camping. There is no state park I've ever been in that allows you to get far enough from technology that it is worth considering it a break from technology. I happen to like technology, I'm not always trying to get away from it.
[1]I don't like doom actually, but you get the idea.
because if there is one thing we know, it is how courtious people can be.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I've never been in a state park remote enough that you could consider it a place to get away from civilization.
Sure you sleep in a tent, but your neighbor's tent is not more than 20 feet away. You might cook over an open fire, but only because you didn't bother to light the cookstove that everyone has on the picnic table. It is just a short walk to flush toilets and showers. You are not allowed to camp anyplace else.
Sure there are trails through the woods. Your going to meet a lot of other people using them, many of them will have "walkman" radios, walkie-talkies, and other devices. Many will have the dog with.
There are places where you can get away from it all, but they are hard to get to. You have to hike for several hours to get there.
honestly I think it ruins the point as far as state parks are concerned (connecting with nature and blah blah), but being from Houston I think it would ROCK for Houston's CITY parks. There have been many a nice days (fall/spring have perfect weather usually) where I wish I could go do my work at one of the city parks -- gorgeous setting if you ask me and great for wi-fi since it's not very forresty.
Now then, Dmitri, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the Bomb...
I don't know about Texas, but every state park I've been to offers outlets right at your campsite - for a fee of course. (about half the campsites only) This isn't backwoods camping, this is state park camping. RVs are everwhere.
I figured out why the naturalists hates this thing. The park rangers went with pringle cans as their antennas. Imagine hundreds of pringle cans everywhere on trees, rocks, animals! :)
"that this is going to make our lives and everyone else who uses the park but is not crazy, lives easier."
haha, easier? you will become tech support for hundreds of campers. you're life will not be easier.
Do not feed the bears.
Do not DDOS the ranger.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
If he went there, at least the average intelligence for Texas would rise.
That probably goes for the state he is leaving as well...
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
This would be great for checking the weather while camping. How many times have you thought to yourself before going out on a trek "I wonder what the weather will be like these next few hours?" Only to find a sudden storm appear. Something they can usually advise about hours in advance, but not days.
I don't bring a TV camping, but if I had WIFI I could check it on my PDA.
Of course, my Cell phone has weather alerts and internet access. So this might not be a good enough reason.
Most likely this will appeal to the kids that have to go with mom and pop camping, but quickly get bored. Or the folks that enjoy public s.e.x. in the parks. Or the folks that like to publish those voyeur videos on the internet/webcams/nntp/p2p.
now i can bring my laptop and surf for gay porn on the internet while im waiting in the woods behind the interstate rest stop. why, i'll be ready to blow my load as soon as the first black trucker saunters up and puts his dick down my throat. it's good to know that there are other likeminded people out there as well.
An ant has antennae on its head.
My Aunt has some antennas on her house's roof.
whats to stop that sort of thing from happening? Some body trapes aroung at sunset trying to make deliveries to a camp site. that would certian;y hav a negative impact on the esperience for those who don't participate.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
because people do things that effect those others.
I would never dump thousands of gallons of toxic waste into a river, and I want laws to prevent others from doing the same.
this goes for most thing that effect people who do not wish to participate in the activity.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Huntington State Park in Utah's scenic redrock country has free WiFi: http://ewcd.org/huntington_park/
"Looks like a nice place to vacation to me."
You obviously haven't been to Texas. Personally, I'm all for giving Santa Anna a second shot.
I dream in binary.
"free" is not exactly what I would call a service that will cost $15 per day. The free part is just a teaser for the first three months that the service is offered in the parks, probably a way to attract customers. I have lived in Texas most of my life and am consistently disappointed with the stewardship of our parks by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Undoubtedly a friend of Governor Perry persuaded him to open up the parks to this quick buck opportunity. Too bad it wasn't done right as a public service offered by the state as part of the the admission price. Of course, I do wonder about all those aerials in some of the larger parks.