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Google Plans to Offer Free WiFi in San Francisco
jacksonwest writes "What's been rumored for some time has now been confirmed -- Google has made a bid in response to Mayor Gavin Newsom's request for information. The details of the bid include citywide access, for free, at 300kbps. The plans dovetail into their location-based advertising and services strategy, and come on the heels of their recent VPN service rollout."
Come on... share it! People in DC need free WiFi, too!
Big telecoms have a lot of political influence. Watch this to be denounced as unfair competition, Communist, unamerican, etc. Followed by FCC rules or laws prohibiting it.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
WiMax isn't a replacement for WiFi.
And what does "location-based advertising and services" mean in reality? Free wifi is good, of course, but TNSTAAFL. Can I rely on my traffic not being inspected/recorded by anyone with this offer?
quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
I get free wifi too. My neighbor doesn't secure his connection... its a bit low on signal strength though. Hopefully Google provide me with a better solution soon!
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Location based Ad? Do they monitor the connections to their network. What about privacy?
The same thing is said every time Google releases a new service and I have yet to see a serious abuse from them.
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Dupe at least not on the same page.2 4&tid=217&tid=95
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/20/12432
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TINSTAAFL - There is no such thing as a free lunch. The fundamental principal of economics.
Of course, you could have just looked at the title of your comment (Re:There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
"For Great Justice."
Could this be what NASA and Google are going to start working on?
Now that is an idea. Get NASA to launch a fleet of google satellites capable of blanketing the world in free connectivity!
"For Great Justice."
Google is, first and foremost, an advertising company. They are going to offer "service and location based" advertising with the free Wi-Fi.
This is just another service built on top of their advertising network.
Almost everything Google does is built on top of their advertising network.
What's in it for Google? A few million people being forced to see the Google Ads.
That's not a bad thing, in my opinion. A few ads for 300kbs wireless Internet connectivity in the United States? Sign me up.
Keep in mind that this is not like NetZero:
NetZero was trying to build an ISP out of Ad revenue. Google is trying to enhance their advertising network by offering an ISP.
The ISP side of Google can simply be a loss leader in order to obtain a wider understanding of their audience. Hey, it adds a ton value to AdWords, which means they can charge a premium for that service over Yahoo! or MSN, and still remain a dominant force in that market.
If they roll this out nation-wide, this is going to make Google a ton of money.
Every wifi access point has its unique code. When you browse, you get a commercial for the shop lying just around the corner. They don't need to inspect your traffic, they know (+/-) where you are. Smart, damn smart...
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
Frankly, I'm not buying it. I think the whole S.F. = Free Wi-Fi deal isn't going to happen. Newsom talks big, and he looks good in front of a camera, but when it comes to running the city, I'm not in the least bit impressed. This isn't gonna happen.
I live in San Francisco, less than three blocks from Union Square, and I'd just be happy if local government could keep garbage and human feces off the damn streets. Free Wi-Fi from the same mayor who pulled the whole 'Care Not Cash' scam on us, the one that was supposed to bring in all the vagrants off the streets yet hasn't done a damn thing that I can see? Yeah, right... Even at 4:45 a.m. I get hit-up for change on the streets here. Yeah, Newsom's gonna give us free Wi-Fi. Please. Give me a break.
San Francisco can't even route the stupid buses around the city with any sense of sanity; how are they going to route packets any better? Sure, Google knows what they're doing, but they're down in Mountain View, where local government is small and generally sane and they don't have the geographical problems San Francisco has. I think we're going to see a lot of press releases and a few public talks, and then Google will spend millions trying to squeeze packets between the numerous hills and tall buildings the city sports all over the place. They'll get a few hot-spots going, realize that it will take lots more money than they want to spend to totally unwire the city, then they'll quietly shove the project into some closet somewhere, never again to see the light of day.
Sure, it sounds like a good plan; blanket the city with free Internet access for residents and tourists alike. But San Francisco has so many more pressing issues to deal with that this just feels like another one of Gavin's 'feel-good' moves. I'm not holding my breath, and I'm not giving up my cable modem either.
The Mariner tells a story of a ship adrift for so long they ran out of drinking water, after the 'hero' of the story shoots an albatross (bad luck)
Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
So. That's that.
I hope Google would be better, but does anyone know if they plan to restrict access to port 80 only, like some other "free" (strange definition) wi-fi. That would mean the only internet applications that work would be web browsers. You wouldn't be able to send/check email, unless, you were using a webmail service, such as... GMail! Similarly, IM, p2p and everything else that isn't on :80, although many apps can get through firewalls, they lose speed.
This is going to go off their network in a few hours, but its been up for days.
http://wifi.google.com/download.html
http://wifi.google.com/faq.html
It's adware.
;)
Not theat the press ever gets anything right
- Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
How about this for a (relatively) non-intruisve location-based ad idea. Install electronic billboards near wifi access points and based on *aggregate* data, serve up relevant ads. Make sure they're not _too_ targeted or people start getting seriously freaked out by the minority-report style holo-ads ;)
just a thought...
Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will! - Antonio Gramsci.
Plus, if they do it well enough, Google may eventually be able to go to cities and ask them how much they'd like to contribute from their municipal budget to Google's infrastructure expenses for the privilege of having the city Googlified. For cities too stingy to get with it, shame and embarrassment would beckon. I'm sure very reasonable rates could be agreed, far lower than their counterparts might have to pay in er ahem Palermo, Sicily, for example.
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For once, the redundant moderation actually makes sense....
"For Great Justice."
Philadelphia has had a municiple WiFi plan in place for a while. Test areas are up and running. They are hoping to go live sometime in 2006. A little optimistic I think, but it's actually happening. Pretty exciting for me being in the downtown area.
http://www.phila.gov/wireless/
I highly doubt that users will get as much of a real Internet connection with these new free wifi services as they do with home DSL or cable service. Modern broadband service in the USA provides you with an Internet routable IP address that you can run server applications on any port of. The power of broadband has allowed p2p to prosper among average users, and has let any slashdotter in their parent's basement host their own SSH, FTP, HTTP, IRC, and etc, servers.
Unfortunately...most users wouldn't care if they couldn't do this anymore. If they can get free wifi that goes through NAT to get to the Internet, they'll use it, and the market for real Internet connections will disappear. Ubiquitous free wifi would be great for a centralized content provider like google, but would effectively destroy the market for cheap symmetric* Internet connections. The "power user" market will be too small to keep DSL companies in business. Small businesses and individuals will have to outsource their hosting to giant colo facilities even if they have the hardware and know how to run their own servers. This could potentially be a real threat to democracy on the Internet.
Most users want the net to be more like television: a multimedia service that turns individuals into passive media consumers and that only allows corporations to be content producers. The new Internet will provide consumers with more services then TV does. However, without any cheap and easy decentralized distribution method, the set of service providers will be restricted to those who can afford high bandwidth connections. This could be a great loss of potential information and services for consumers, and moreover would be a restriction of freedom for those who wish to be content providers.
Wireless networking could lead to the further decentralization of the Internet. Cooperative or personal wifi projects are helping us move in that direction. A centralized service like google wifi would mean going backwards.
*Data will still be able to travel in both directions of course, but other Internet users would not be able to initiate connections with the free wifi hosts, thus forcing the wifi users to only run clients, not servers.
------ Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say fuck the government.
From FAQ:
Google Secure Access (Beta): Frequently Asked Questions
What is Google Secure Access?
Google Secure Access is a downloadable client application that allows users to establish a more secure WiFi connection.
Why would I want to download and install Google Secure Access?
Google Secure Access allows you to establish a more secure connection while using Google WiFi. By using Google Secure Access, your internet traffic will be encrypted, preventing others from viewing the information you transmit.
Does Google Secure Access connect to a VPN server?
Yes, Google Secure Access connects to Google's VPN ("Virtual Private Network") server provided for this service.
Why did Google develop Google Secure Access?
One of our engineers recognized that secure WiFi was virtually non-existent at most locations. As a result, he used his 20% project time to begin an initiative to offer users more secure WiFi access. Google Secure Access is the result of this endeavor.
What sort of information does Google have access to?
If you choose to use Google Secure Access, your internet traffic will be encrypted and sent through Google's servers to the Internet. The data that is received will then be encrypted and sent back through our servers to your computer. Your privacy is important to us, we strongly encourage you to read our Privacy Policy to be fully informed about how your privacy is protected.
Is there a fee for using Google Secure Access?
No, Google Secure Access is free.
Where can I go to download Google Secure Access?
The program can currently be downloaded at certain Google WiFi locations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
When I install Google Secure Access, why does it ask if I also want to install the Google Toolbar?
We've included the option to install the Google Toolbar because it improves your browsing experience.
Can I uninstall Google Secure Access?
Yes. You can uninstall Google Secure Access by simply running the Uninstall program. This can be found by clicking on Start Menu, Programs, Google Secure Access, and then choosing Uninstall.
How do I make my connection even more secure?
You can make your connection even more secure by using a software firewall. Windows XP users with Service Pack 2 can find it by clicking on Start, Control Panel, and then choosing Windows Firewall.
Will my corporate VPN still work?
Yes. You can connect to your corporate VPN while running Google Secure Access.
I have configured Google Secure Access to connect automatically, but it's not working. What's going on?
Certain wireless LAN management utilities and older wireless LAN adapter drivers prevent Google Secure Access from detecting that you're connected to the Google WiFi network. In this case it will not connect automatically, and you should connect manually to ensure the privacy and security of your network traffic.
Will Google Secure Access work at other locations?
While Google Secure Access should work, we have not tested it at other locations.
Why is Google Secure Access a beta product?
Google Secure Access is a new product that is only available at certain locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are constantly working to improve this product.
Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember.
Apple builds the iPod/cellphone. Google provides the new nationwide infrastructure and becomes a new phone company. A truely compelling cell phone with real useful features (real email, real web, iPod, calendaring). Way cool.
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