London Installing Largest Free Wifi Network

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London Installing Largest Free Wifi Network

Posted by Unknown on Monday January 9, 2012 @05:16PM from the o2-hates-bees dept.

aesoteric writes "London's Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea districts will be delivered the largest free wi-fi zone in Europe. The plan is to provide the service in time for the 2012 London Olympics, which start in late July, to allow visitors and residents to get more out of their stay."

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Happy 2012 from the Golden Girls! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:18 · Score: -1

Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true, you're a pal and a cosmonaut.
And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you ever knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend.
1. Re:Happy 2012 from the Golden Girls! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:41 · Score: -1
  
  Why do you keep posting this?
2. Re:Happy 2012 from the Golden Girls! by stoborrobots · 2012-01-10 01:15 · Score: -1, Offtopic
  
  I know I'm just getting trolled, but...
  It's "you're a pal and a confidant"
  
  --
  "Go to CNN [for a] spell-checked, fact-checked summary" -- CmdrTaco
3. Re:Happy 2012 from the Golden Girls! by tehcyder · 2012-01-10 22:17 · Score: 1
  
  Why did that guy used to keep posting about a naked, petrified Natalie Portman and hot grits? Why do people still post lame "In Soviet Russia" jokes? Why does everyone yell "correlation!=causation" every time the word's mentioned?
  
  No reason at all other than to make slashdot a special place with its own spots of insanity.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Read the fine print by LoudMusic · 2012-01-09 17:19 · Score: 5, Interesting

Read the fine print when you agree to their terms of service.

--
No sig for you. YOU GET NO SIG!
1. Re:Read the fine print by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 15:46 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, you may or may not be authorizing the NSA to listen in, either way, I suspect they will be.
2. Re:Read the fine print by tehcyder · 2012-01-10 22:26 · Score: 1
  
  Read the fine print when you agree to their terms of service.
  Yes, no doubt it says that if you are fucking stupid enough to use unsecured wi-fi to plot terrorist or civil disobedience measures intended to disrupt the Olympics, the police will be down on you like a ton of bricks as they will be monitoring what is going on.
  
  Like the use of CCTV cameras on public streets, I find it hard to think of this as a serious civil liberties question.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
FREE INTERNET FOR THE PEOPLE!! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:19 · Score: -1

and free THE INTERNET for the PEOPLE!
1. Re:FREE INTERNET FOR THE PEOPLE!! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:26 · Score: -1
  
  and free THE INTERNET of PEOPLE!
  FTFY (in other words: time to create something parallel with the Internet as we know it today?).
2. Re:FREE INTERNET FOR THE PEOPLE!! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 19:48 · Score: 0
  
  a new tcp stack (modernized to 'share') and public airwaves?
All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:26 · Score: 3, Insightful

I'm guessing it won't be anonymous.
1. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by stanlyb · 2012-01-09 17:30 · Score: 1
  
  Anonymous? With all these surveillance cams everywhere??? You joking?
2. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by c0lo · 2012-01-09 17:31 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I'm guessing it won't be anonymous.
  I can't imagine how the identification would work.
  TFA
  
  In Westminster alone, it could be providing internet access to half a million tourists each day, 250,000 residents and 500,000 workers.
  Half a million of tourists - would they plan to ask for a "tourist id" for granting access?
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
3. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by AHuxley · 2012-01-09 17:39 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  They get your MAC, browsing habits, voice print and face - for free.
  
  --
  Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
4. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by bbqsrc · 2012-01-09 17:41 · Score: 0
  
  It's called a MAC address.
  
  --
  Disagree != mod troll.
5. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by c0lo · 2012-01-09 17:58 · Score: 1
  
  Noooo! Seriously? I can no longer change my MAC address or spoof one? Since when?
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
6. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 18:08 · Score: 0
  
  The question to ask is: how does the Olympics and/or city of London benefit from visitors and residents getting more out of their stay?
  In the short term, a treasure trove of data about what people are talking about, linked to an approximate address, tied to Olympic attendees.
  In the longer term, ...?
7. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by ohnocitizen · 2012-01-09 18:12 · Score: 1
  
  Its brilliant budgeting of public tax dollars and a PR move all in one! The CCTV cameras are the hotspots.
8. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by TubeSteak · 2012-01-09 18:22 · Score: 1
  
  I can't imagine how the identification would work.
  MAC address, computer/browser fingerprinting or they can just sniff your e-mail/facebook/other login.
  Setting up a network of hostile access points would be the easiest thing in the world for a third party.
  
  --
  [Fuck Beta]
  o0t!
9. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by nzac · 2012-01-09 18:29 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Your mac address is as easy to set as you IP on Linux and unlike IP address on wifi you can pick whatever you like (though most are obviously fake).
  Take your pick:
  http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Changing_Your_MAC_Address/Linux
  Its also pretty easy on any other *NIX
  Just windows does not come with a built in to do it.
10. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Jah-Wren+Ryel · 2012-01-09 18:31 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Depends on your hardware. Recent intel "centrino" wifi chips can not change their MACs- I found this out personally because the driver under linux lets you try to change the MAC, but if you try to use it with one of these new chips it just fails to work over the air.
  
  --
  When information is power, privacy is freedom.
11. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by muon-catalyzed · 2012-01-09 18:36 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I can no longer change my MAC address or spoof one? Since when?
  
  A change of your MAC or IP is a criminal offence, remember, as every newborn you have an IPv6 in your birth certificate and screening profile attached to it from day one.
  
  --Judge Dredd
12. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by c0lo · 2012-01-09 18:38 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Have some USB dongles by the metric tonne - if you are about to do something that I wouldn't advice you to, use one for some mins and then pass it around.
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
13. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by bbqsrc · 2012-01-09 18:58 · Score: 1
  
  The common tourist doesn't know how to change it. The common iPhone user doesn't know how to change it. I'd even say the common Android user doesn't know how to change it. All because it _can_ be changed doesn't mean it _will_ be changed.
  
  --
  Disagree != mod troll.
14. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 19:50 · Score: 0
  
  They don't care about a handful of paranoid nerds anyway. Most people either do not know how or cannot be assed to do it. That's more than enough for the purpose.
15. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by nzac · 2012-01-09 19:54 · Score: 1
  
  If you don't know it can be changed, chances are you have no need to change it.
  The people who don't know, don't care and probably have nothing to hide and give them selves away in many other ways.
  Unless you are paranoid the government its out everyone that is.
16. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by c0lo · 2012-01-09 20:30 · Score: 1
  
  Until "We are legion, we do not forget, etc" creeps into the picture?
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
17. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by c0lo · 2012-01-09 20:34 · Score: 2
  
  MAC address, computer/browser fingerprinting or they can just sniff your e-mail/facebook/other login.
  Setting up a network of hostile access points would be the easiest thing in the world for a third party.
  Tor network? Organized over some hundreds of points using the same free WiFi?
  
  --
  Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
18. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 21:32 · Score: -1
  
  How weird is that porn you watch that you're so worried someone else knows you're watching?
19. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Pieroxy · 2012-01-09 21:35 · Score: 1
  
  Https should be sufficient. Or just install a proxy at home and tunnel all your requests to it via ssh. I mean, ther's a shitload of options here.
  
  --
  Write boring code, not shiny code!
20. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by AHuxley · 2012-01-09 21:53 · Score: 1
  
  https was until people saw what a carrieriq like layer can do ;)
  
  --
  Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
21. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by TheTurtlesMoves · 2012-01-09 21:56 · Score: 1
  
  Hay what a great idea... lets tattoo it on the person as a QR code at birth! All problems solved *one and for all*.
  
  --
  The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!
22. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 22:26 · Score: 0
  
  You're adorable
23. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by IronHalik · 2012-01-09 23:37 · Score: 1
  
  $5/mo VPS, cloned MAC, SSH tunnel.
  Not for everyday Joe, but I personally feel much better on every public network.
24. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 01:21 · Score: 0
  
  My MAC address is 00-B0-D0-86-BB-F7, now who am I?
25. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by DrXym · 2012-01-10 01:31 · Score: 2
  
  I expect any public wifi network will be locked down so the only things you can do on it are browse the web and a few other well defined actions. Last thing they would want is people leeching bandwidth to download movies, voip, or anything else of that nature. So I bet VPN is one of the first things they disable. Unless you can tunnel a VPN over http you probably won't get far. Even then I expect they put bandwidth caps on http traffic to stop or at least disrupt people trying to do that.
26. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by ae1294 · 2012-01-10 01:39 · Score: 1
  
  That's why the FED created Caterday. One by one they will take over every day with cute pictures of our animal overlords.
27. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by DrXym · 2012-01-10 01:43 · Score: 1
  
  I can't imagine how the identification would work.
  
  There is no reliable way for the proposed amount of traffic and user profile (tourists). I expect the wifi will prompt users to agree to terms of service on first use and then track the MAC to measure the duration of their session. The terms of service screen could also issue a cookie to recognize returning users.
  The truly paranoid could counter these if they had to but I wonder why they would. If someone is that paranoid then maybe they shouldn't be using a free government funded wifi service in the first place. If the police wanted to spy on someone, how dumb do you have to be to use their service? Not only do they glean some amount of forensic data but they also probably know your exact location and could train cameras down on you and watch you do it.
  It's not like it is hard to obtain internet in the UK from any number of cafes, pubs etc, which would afford far greater anonymity and less oversight than some blanket wifi which is likely to be locked down pretty tight and logged. Failing that, 3G keys and pay as you go tariffs are easy enough to obtain.
28. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by stanlyb · 2012-01-10 02:13 · Score: 1
  
  Under linux, making a tunnel through port 80 is just one command: socat ............
29. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by AmiMoJo · 2012-01-10 02:40 · Score: 1
  
  Do you really think anything except DNS, HTTP and maybe POP3/IMAP will be allowed? They will block everything they possibly can, especially BitTorrent and Tor.
  Privacy from spying by other users will be an interesting problem. I best most people have never heard of Firesheep and will happily log on to Facebook without a moment's pause. A few years back I ran a free wifi hotspot and we logged all URLs (employer's request), and could easily have gathered hundreds of account details.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
30. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 02:56 · Score: 0
  
  other than that belonging to Dell, I can tell you that is a popular made up example MAC and commonly filtered for
  try again?
31. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 02:56 · Score: -1
  
  heh.
  you said dongle.
  heh heh.
32. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by DrXym · 2012-01-10 03:01 · Score: 1
  
  It's not just a question of connecting to a port but fooling whatever transparent proxy sitting in between you and the server to think this is just ordinary http traffic of some kind. Therefore it needs to include the standard http request header / data and the server needs to respond similarly. There are apps like httptunnel which will tunnel over http but you still need a server sitting on the other side which is responsive to such requests and redirects them to the proper service, in this case VPN.
  There are a lot of pay / free VPN services out there so perhaps some of them do offer such a facility. But it'd be easy enough for the network to monitor traffic and decide to shut down a host if it turned out someone was amiss.
33. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 03:08 · Score: 0
  
  You open the device properties and change it via device manager. Same as every other device.
34. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by CohibaVancouver · 2012-01-10 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  It's called a MAC address
  Which is useless. I know nerd paranoia is cool and all, but law enforcement really can't do anything with a MAC address (I work for a company that does extensive digital forensics as related to criminal work). There's no giant "MAC Address Database" that links them to users, and even if there was the data wouldn't be useful as they can be spoofed. Typically this work is done via physical access to the hardware, or via a trojan that you somehow get onto the device.
35. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 07:49 · Score: 0
  
  IPv6 mobility FTW
36. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by jabelli · 2012-01-10 11:22 · Score: 1
  
  Just windows does not come with a built in to do it.
  Yes it does, it's called regedit.exe. That's no less built-in (and no more obscure) than "add[ing] a variable like [MACADDR=12:34:56:78:90:ab] to the ifcfg-eth0 or similar file."
  Anyway, most NIC drivers have an entry right on the "Advanced" tab of the NIC properties in Device Manager for entering a MAC override, either "Network Address" or "Locally Administered Address," which sets the appropriate registry entry.
37. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 12:01 · Score: 0
  
  https was until people saw what can happen when your machine is already compromised ;)
  Fixt.
38. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by tehcyder · 2012-01-10 22:35 · Score: 1
  
  The common tourist doesn't know how to change it. The common iPhone user doesn't know how to change it. I'd even say the common Android user doesn't know how to change it. All because it _can_ be changed doesn't mean it _will_ be changed.
  More to the point, it doesn't need to be changed.by most people. If you come to the UK and download child porn or instructions on how to make a suicide bomb kit over a public wifi service, I hope you get caught before your stupidity affects anyone else.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
39. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by tehcyder · 2012-01-10 22:38 · Score: 1
  
  Yes it does, it's called regedit.exe.
  Yes, but that involves manually manipulating a text file, which is hard to do for most users, and if something goes wrong you could bollocks up your computer. Oh, wait...
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
40. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by Deliveranc3 · 2012-01-11 06:54 · Score: 1
  
  I agree, keeping some networks anonymous is important. It's vital really. We could all wear the same mask and get together to talk somewhere but that's pretty silly.
  
  Ironically I'm more concerned about the open corporations and governments who monitor my overt internet activity than I am about any of the people or groups monitoring what I would consider covert activity.
  
  So the stuff aimed at the general public scares me the most. Makes me want to "go dark" the most. Sad really.
41. Re:All the better to watch you with, my dear by shnull · 2012-01-24 03:12 · Score: 0
  
  lol, you are now allowed to connect and be spied on from where no one has gone before huh ... orwell's bones must have turned to dust by now from all the tossing and turning in his grave
  
  --
  beware he who denies you access to information for in his mind, he already deems himself to be your master (SMAC-ish)
Are you sure... by Haxagon · 2012-01-09 17:28 · Score: 0

...that it's not just for theur CCTV cameras? I'm pretty sure that China has a similar WiFi setup.
1. Re:Are you sure... by Kinky+Bass+Junk · 2012-01-09 17:51 · Score: 1
  
  Would almost certainly be for tracking individuals. Sounds similar to a DARPA project.
  
  --
  Anonymous Coward
2. Re:Are you sure... by sgt+scrub · 2012-01-10 03:49 · Score: 1
  
  hmmmm If the CCTV cameras are on wireless it shouldn't be too difficult to watch the feeds yourself.
  
  --
  Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
VOIP instead of roaming by spasm · 2012-01-09 17:33 · Score: 2

I hope they keep it up afterwards. It'd be nice to be able to use google voice / skype / other VOIP solutions on my smartphone instead of paying obscene international roaming charges or screwing around jailbreaking and getting local sim cards.
1. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by itsme1234 · 2012-01-09 18:46 · Score: 2
  
  I was about to say that UK is one of the countries where 3G access (assuming no Olympics/megaoverload as you did) is really dirt cheap (at least compared to, well, everything else you can buy in London) but now I see, you are "one of those". Guess what, the providers are selling locked phones BECAUSE PEOPLE BUY THEM. There is another obvious alternative: JUST BUY A FREAKING UNLOCKED PHONE.
  UK also doesn't ask the SIMs to be tied to IDs or sold only to residents or any other nonsense; and many of them don't expire for a long time (and to extend them you just need to send one SMS which you can do from abroad). And you can recharge them from anywhere (via paypal for example) CHEAPER than "in person" (you pay less than 10 pounds to get 10 pounds of credit for example).
  Everything is perfect already, except that you let yourself locked by a provider, possibly halfway across the world. Who can also decide to disable your voip apps as well at any time by the way.
2. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 23:18 · Score: 0
  
  O2 is one of the better UK providers in that respect. My iPhone was locked originally, but I went with O2 because at the time (mid-2010) they said they would unlock it properly at the end of the contract period. No jailbreaks, no risk of bricking after software updates, etc.
  Now it turns out that they will unlock it even before the end of the contract (though I'm still on the hook for the monthly fee till the end, of course). Just have to ask them.
3. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by Djehuty3 · 2012-01-10 01:06 · Score: 1
  
  Just buy a £20 shitphone from Tesco - it'll usually come with £10 credit too.
4. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by duguk · 2012-01-10 01:17 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  O2 is one of the better UK providers in that respect. My iPhone was locked originally, but I went with O2 because at the time (mid-2010) they said they would unlock it properly at the end of the contract period. No jailbreaks, no risk of bricking after software updates, etc.
  Now it turns out that they will unlock it even before the end of the contract (though I'm still on the hook for the monthly fee till the end, of course). Just have to ask them.
  O2 are great for their signal, but their pricing does take the piss.
  
  When you've finished your contract; maybe try Giffgaff. There's no phone support (it all online), so they're a lot cheaper (£10/mo for unlimited data and text, and 250 mins) - and they still use the O2 network. The support you get from the community is astounding, and they do pay people back quite a lot for helping out.
  
  They've even got a wiki to help you unlock your phone. Definitely worth a look.
5. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 01:33 · Score: 0, Insightful
  
  Are you sure that your endorsement is not a result of being able to slip your referral code into the order URL? Clear your cookies and click here to order without giving kickbacks to spammers. Mod spammer parent down.
6. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by duguk · 2012-01-10 01:36 · Score: 1
  
  Are you sure that your endorsement is not a result of being able to slip your referral code into the order URL? Clear your cookies and click here to order without giving kickbacks to spammers. Mod spammer parent down.
  Hey! That's not spamming to use an affiliate code. Sure; clear your cookies if you want - but you won't get anything extra or lose anything for it; so why are you so offended?
  
  I was just providing a link to a company I've been impressed with. Whatever happened to paying it forward?
7. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by Lincolnshire+Poacher · 2012-01-10 02:03 · Score: 2
  
  > and they still use the O2 network
  That's because... they are O2. Both companies operate from 260 Bath Road, Slough.
  GiffGaff is a clever branding of O2's service that appeals to the price-conscious market and which uses the exceptional idea of in-sourcing support to the customers themselves. Very clever and apparently very successful, without cannibalising O2's preferred higher-paying customer base.
8. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 02:35 · Score: 0
  
  but you won't get anything extra or lose anything for it; so why are you so offended?
  Yes, I do get something for it. Reducing the kickbacks to forum spammers is the only way to reduce the amount of forum spam. Take your affiliate ads elsewhere, preferably where the sun don't shine.
9. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 06:06 · Score: 0
  
  Guess what, the providers are selling locked phones BECAUSE PEOPLE BUY THEM. There is another obvious alternative: JUST BUY A FREAKING UNLOCKED PHONE.
  I buy locked phones, BECAUSE IT SAVES ME MONEY. I'm not a fucking charity. So STOP YELLING at me. If there wasn't an artificial monopoly, locked phones wouldn't exist. That's NOT MY FUCKING FAULT. So go screw yourself. I'm not wasting my money because you don't like it.
10. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by spasm · 2012-01-10 06:12 · Score: 1
  
  My work bought it. And stop shouting at me. :)
11. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by spasm · 2012-01-10 06:14 · Score: 1
  
  True. But it's nice to be able to have one gadget not two (still need the calendar, contacts etc from the original phone - I'm usually in London for conferences or other work) and even nicer to be able to give people a number to reach you on before you're there.
12. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by tehcyder · 2012-01-11 00:23 · Score: 0
  
  Hey! That's not spamming to use an affiliate code.
  No, fuck off and just provide the main company website link. I neither know nor care how "affiliate codes" work, but they must be doing something to your advantage. Ergo, you are a spammer.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
13. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by duguk · 2012-01-11 00:46 · Score: 1
  
  Hey! That's not spamming to use an affiliate code.
  No, fuck off and just provide the main company website link. I neither know nor care how "affiliate codes" work, but they must be doing something to your advantage. Ergo, you are a spammer.
  Actually, every user on Giffgaff gets a custom affiliate link. It's nothing special or secret. They make it very public. If someone signs up through that link; they pay the affiliate a five pounds. Its so you can give it to your mates and make some easy money for passing on that it's a decent company.
  
  It makes no difference to the person signing up. Without it - instead of the affiliate getting the cash, Giffgaff get it instead. It serves no purpose not to use that link. With referrer tracking, Giffgaff still know where it came from, so there's no privacy risk, and it would be hard to draw an association between the affiliate and the new customer.
  
  Knowing this, do you still really expect anyone to link to GiffGaff's site instead of using the affiliate link - that all their customers get given?
14. Re:VOIP instead of roaming by Deliveranc3 · 2012-01-11 07:37 · Score: 1
  
  voip apps as well at any time by the way.
  Do you really think this? VOIP is a lot more like email than traditional phone service. So far none of the major email companies have gone belly up.
  
  That's the problem, it's so cheap and easy it seems like magical beans. The fact that it's accessible from anywhere (like email, not like mail, home phone, or roaming phones).
  
  I spoke to a city Councillor about getting them to put in the wiring for public internet access while they put it in for "Major Brand" phone provider. I'm in "Major City" but I got in to see him about it and pointed out it would cost
  Odd thing is we still don't have "Major Brand" phone service in the subway :)
T-Minus by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:36 · Score: 2, Interesting

This is going to blow up (in the funny sort of way) when someone downloads CP on this network or harasses some kid on FB. It'd be even crazier if they left it entirely unsecured and someone showed up with firesheep.
Hillarity aside, this could actually drive home the point that an IP address != an identity.
Pay for it yourselves by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:39 · Score: 0

People can fly from all over the world for two bloody weeks of "games," but G-d forbid they buy a sim or pay for connectivity. All the while, the rest of England get fuck all.
1. Re:Pay for it yourselves by xaxa · 2012-01-09 22:44 · Score: 1
  
  People can fly from all over the world for two bloody weeks of "games," but G-d forbid they buy a sim or pay for connectivity. All the while, the rest of England get fuck all.
  15% of England lives in London.
  Any anyway, "The deal, which will run at no cost to the councils or the taxpayer" and "O2 Wifi launched in January 2011 with the ambition to roll out free, fast and open wifi, via strategic partnerships, across the UK."
2. Re:Pay for it yourselves by The+Askylist · 2012-01-09 23:22 · Score: 1
  
  15% of England certainly doesn't live in the leafy and expensive boroughs of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea.
  Nor are the Olympics being held there.
  Good luck getting your free WiFi from Stratford, or anywhere east of Shoreditch.
3. Re:Pay for it yourselves by mlk · 2012-01-10 01:26 · Score: 1
  
  According to TFA it is ad-supported, not tax-payer supported.
  
  --
  Wow, I should not post when knackered.
minus 1, tro7l) by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:43 · Score: -1

its corpse turned intentions and Many of us are Ochannel #GNAA on of events today, development. BSD open platform, took precedence our ability to THE PROJECT AS A
What is this obsession with false security? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 17:46 · Score: 2, Insightful

Seriously, a MAC address?
Hahahah.
Like a Mac Address cannot be spoofed, cannot be varied, cannot be transferred through exchangeable USB WiFi sticks, or even through a hot spot that bridges to the MuWiFi.
Lots of cash to spend by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 18:00 · Score: 0

I guess they had to do something with all that bloody congestion charge money.
Predictions of the future! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 18:01 · Score: 5, Funny

T minus one week: Everyone scrambles to get the network up and running.
T minus one hour: Large news event, hosted by the BBC, to throw the ceremonial comedically large switch.
T minus zero: Network is live. Cheers occur.
T plus one second: Twitchy, caffeine-addled basement dweller discovers this network will not enable him to download his 58PB of pirated anime porn every month like he thought* he would be able to.
T plus one-point-five seconds: Blog post goes up.
T plus two seconds: Echo chamber agrees, internet declares service to be utterly without merit, useless, and a direct affront to freedom because of this.
T plus five seconds: Someone discovers someone else somewhere might be looking at them while they use the wireless network, immediate accusations of government spying start, numerous ill-informed references to Nineteen Eighty-Four permeate discussion.
T plus five-point-five seconds: Blog post goes up.
T plus six seconds: Echo chamber agrees, internet declares service to be utterly without merit, useless, and a direct affront to freedom because of this.
T plus ten seconds: Cloistered, sheltered nerd sits in complete befuddlement, absolutely baffled as to why on earth anyone would have any objections to him hosting his array of torrents on this network, sucking down every last slice of bandwidth available.
T plus ten-point-five seconds: Blog post goes up.
T plus eleven seconds: Echo chamber agrees, internet declares service to be utterly without merit, useless, and a direct affront to freedom because of this.
*: By which I mean "deluded himself into believing".
1. Re:Predictions of the future! by AHuxley · 2012-01-09 21:58 · Score: 1
  
  might be looking at them while they use the wireless network
  In the UK thats a given with voice http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1041011/MI5-launch-spy-sky-UK-manhunt-British-Taliban-fought-Afghanistan.html
  "searching for voice matches" "... monitor mobile-phone calls. More recently they have been fitted with equipment capable of picking up signals from wi-fi computer networks."
  
  --
  Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
2. Re:Predictions of the future! by andrewbaldwin · 2012-01-09 22:47 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Shame you posted AC - and shame I haven't any mod points because this is a pretty good post and a fair reflection on the attitudes of many.
  You've missed a few nuances:
  The Daily Mail somehow contriving to blame "the fiasco" [ie any deviation from perfect performance] on the BBC, the EU, Muslims...
  Rupert Murdoch's mates "hacking" the service (ie just exploiting human fallibility and poor security practices but glamorising it beyond belief)
  The Slashdot meme of surveillance cameras everywhere - and how they'd use the bandwidth
  The sanctimonious posing by Boris Johnson and cronies about how they're "investing for London" and the "Olympic legacy" -- followed by the quiet dismantling and removing of the service later.
  I'm sure there are other suggestions - but your post was particularly good.
3. Re:Predictions of the future! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 01:42 · Score: 0
  
  ONLY Americans would be able to...
  1. at the same time act as if wanting to watch a lot of porn was a bad thing, and *do it all the time*.
  2. manage to get from "'pirating' is a propaganda term used to brainwash you into thinking file sharing would hurt anybody" (fact) to *actually being brainwashed to think like this*.
  3. know that London is stuffed with surveillance cameras and *still think the governmentâ(TM)s WiFi network won't be monitored.
  4. be one of the only countries in the world with insane traffic and bandwidth caps, and at the same time *not be able to imagine such caps being used to limit one person hogging said network.
  What the fuck is *wrong* with you??
4. Re:Predictions of the future! by Gordonjcp · 2012-01-10 04:44 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, that's the Daily Mail though. Are there any reports from a reality-based source?
5. Re:Predictions of the future! by AHuxley · 2012-01-10 10:53 · Score: 1
  
  http://www.jewishnewsdaily.com/jewish-world-news/euro-terror-alert-spotlights-voiceprint-technology/
  http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/GCHQ-increase-UK-surveillance-spy-drone/story-11857893-detail/story.html names the daily mail, but adds new details.
  i.e. RAF Northolt.
  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8857517/Met-Police-spends-millions-of-pounds-on-secret-aircraft.html
  and more details on COMINT at
  http://www.secret-bases.co.uk/cia-rendition.htm
  
  --
  Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
6. Re:Predictions of the future! by Gordonjcp · 2012-01-10 21:08 · Score: 2
  
  So, a local newspaper that sources from the Daily Mail, a conspiracy site, another right-wing extremeist rag which appears to be using the same source as the Daily Mail too? I must admit I can't comment on the veracity of the jewishnewsdaily.com link.
Wifi Free? by jamesh · 2012-01-09 18:07 · Score: 2

I read that as "Wifi Free" at first and thought the "wifi causes cancer" nutjobs had won...
1. Re:Wifi Free? by Pieroxy · 2012-01-09 21:39 · Score: 1
  
  I read that as "Wifi Free" at first and thought the "wifi causes cancer" nutjobs had won...
  But, but ... Wifi causes cancer! Or does it not ? ;-)
  
  --
  Write boring code, not shiny code!
2. Re:Wifi Free? by jamesh · 2012-01-09 21:52 · Score: 2
  
  I read that as "Wifi Free" at first and thought the "wifi causes cancer" nutjobs had won...
  But, but ... Wifi causes cancer! Or does it not ? ;-)
  Probably at about the same rate as breathing in and out causes cancer.
3. Re:Wifi Free? by Pieroxy · 2012-01-09 22:48 · Score: 1
  
  I read that as "Wifi Free" at first and thought the "wifi causes cancer" nutjobs had won...
  But, but ... Wifi causes cancer! Or does it not ? ;-)
  Probably at about the same rate as breathing in and out causes cancer.
  Of course, but since you don't stop breathing while using Wifi, I'd argue it raises your risk of getting cancer !
  
  --
  Write boring code, not shiny code!
All new meaning to... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 18:11 · Score: 0

Radio Free Europe
say what? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 18:16 · Score: -1

Wtf? Free wifi in a European country?! Does not compute. I was almost certain that "Free", "Insert any service here", and "" could NEVER coexist in the same sentence.... Go to London, pay eleventy pounds for parking, pay to use restroom, pay to breathe air, pay to blink eyes, pay to use sidewalk, but Wifi is now freeeee! Oh wait, only because of the Olympics.
1. Re:say what? by Pieroxy · 2012-01-09 21:41 · Score: 1
  
  Good point actually. Is something wrong in a country where you can't take a leak for free but you can access the internet for free?
  Methinks yes. But that's me.
  
  --
  Write boring code, not shiny code!
2. Re:say what? by xaxa · 2012-01-09 22:38 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Wtf? Free wifi in a European country?! Does not compute. I was almost certain that "Free", "Insert any service here", and "" could NEVER coexist in the same sentence.... Go to London, pay eleventy pounds for parking, pay to use restroom, pay to breathe air, pay to blink eyes, pay to use sidewalk, but Wifi is now freeeee! Oh wait, only because of the Olympics.
  The parking (and congestion) charges are to discourage car use. Many Londoners, including me, don't even own a car.
  But there's plenty of free things to do in London -- more than any other city I've ever visited. Some great museums: the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) at South Kensington are free. So is the British Museum, in Holborn. The Museum of London (in the City) is free, as is the Imperial War Museum (Lambeth). That's just the biggest ones, there are at least 20 more not-insignificant free museums.
  There are markets, old buildings (cathedrals etc), big art galleries, parks, palaces, the river, theatre, many small gigs are free... and that's just the normal, year-round stuff. There should be free one-off events, though it's obviously worth planning if you want to see something in particular.
  Try these websites:
  http://www.visitlondon.com/tag/free-attractions
  http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1424/free-london
  http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/free-london
  http://londonist.com/tags/lotclist
3. Re:say what? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 23:37 · Score: 0
  
  Better than a country where if you are a man and take a leak in public you can be tried as a sex offender.
4. Re:say what? by CountBrass · 2012-01-10 03:38 · Score: 2
  
  St Paul's Cathedral, the largest and best known and arguably most important religious building in London is definitely not free to visitors.
  It costs Â£15 to get in! I was so shocked that I just turned around and walked away.
  
  --
  Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
5. Re:say what? by DNS-and-BIND · 2012-01-10 05:17 · Score: 0
  
  That's great that you, you know, live in London. As in, you can afford the outrageous cost of living there, and take what must be an exquisite pleasure to lecture the rest of us on transportation. I love how you recommend thieves' dens of stolen merchandise (you called them 'museums' I believe, an interesting bowdlerism if there ever was one) with a straight face.
  Surely, being a well-heeled Londoner, you must be acquainted with the idea that if something is free, then it must be worthless. Otherwise, the Great Unwashed will be all over it.
  
  --
  Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
6. Re:say what? by xaxa · 2012-01-10 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  St Paul's Cathedral, the largest and best known and arguably most important religious building in London is definitely not free to visitors.
  It costs £15 to get in! I was so shocked that I just turned around and walked away.
  Many of the free museums are funded by the state (or part-funded), either at national level or from more local taxes. Others are simple charities, or are run by universities (etc) for public education.
  St Paul's Cathedral claims they don't get any state funding. I think that's OK, while the building is still used as a church, but I agree it's annoying for visitors.
  I have paid to see major cathedrals in other European cities, although there are many that are free.
7. Re:say what? by xaxa · 2012-01-10 09:21 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and reply courteously.
  
  That's great that you, you know, live in London. As in, you can afford the outrageous cost of living there,
  Other than housing, most essential costs aren't much different to the rest of the country (food, fuel, transport, etc). Socialising is more expensive, but outside the centre it's not that much more.
  
  and take what must be an exquisite pleasure to lecture the rest of us on transportation.
  You'll get a better experience of London if you use the public transport, rather than try and drive everywhere. Driving in London is frustrating -- it's difficult to find parking, there's a *lot* of traffic, the streets are narrow and dense, there are many one-way restrictions. That's the way things are here.
  (Would it be lecturing to advise a European against taking Amtrak and buses round the USA, if they have a limited time for their trip?)
  
  I love how you recommend thieves' dens of stolen merchandise (you called them 'museums' I believe, an interesting bowdlerism if there ever was one) with a straight face.
  So don't visit the British Museum. The other museums have completely different collections. The Museum of London, for example, has artefacts from London, often from excavations, or donations.
  
  Surely, being a well-heeled Londoner, you must be acquainted with the idea that if something is free, then it must be worthless. Otherwise, the Great Unwashed will be all over it.
  You clearly don't know this city, and I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.
8. Re:say what? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 11:10 · Score: 0
  
  The GP did have a point about paying to use a restroom in London. I've seen this at railway stations in London and Paris, and was quite surprised.
9. Re:say what? by xaxa · 2012-01-10 11:35 · Score: 1
  
  The GP did have a point about paying to use a restroom in London. I've seen this at railway stations in London and Paris, and was quite surprised.
  Agreed. There are still some free public toilets, but a lot less than there used to be. Many have been replaced with a plastic "pod" thing, which charges 50p or something. (London isn't special here -- it's the same in much of England.)
  I'm not sure what the thought is behind this. It just means more people piss in the street.
10. Re:say what? by tehcyder · 2012-01-11 00:35 · Score: 1
  
  I've never paid to take a leak in London. Either go in a pub, or if you're desperate in a side alley. As mentioned in a post below, if you do the latter and get caught (which is unlikely unless you're so pissed you whip it out in front of a cop) at least you won't be branded a sex offender.
  
  I wouldn't go in one of those automatically opening jobbies if you paid me.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
11. Re:say what? by tehcyder · 2012-01-11 00:50 · Score: 1
  
  The parking (and congestion) charges are to discourage car use. Many Londoners, including me, don't even own a car.
  It is more or less impossible to drive to work or generally around London anyway (even if you live/work in the suburbs, certainly not if you need to get into the centre) . The cost is almost irrelevant, it's just that it's so slow you might as well walk.
  
  The only times a car is useful in London are for big supermarket-type shopping (if there's one reasonably close and you're prepared to waste most of a weekend morning) or visiting people outside the capital.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
12. Re:say what? by tehcyder · 2012-01-11 00:54 · Score: 1
  
  I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and reply courteously.
  Why bother? GP is either an idiot if you're being generous, or a troll if you're not.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
13. Re:say what? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 05:05 · Score: 0
  
  You're a prick, did you know that?
Best use by c0lo · 2012-01-09 18:20 · Score: 2

Assuming Raspberry Pi see production by then, have 100 Tor instances running for less than $3000(1 Rassbery=$25, 1 USB dongle=$1.5
Use it for whatever you like.

--
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
1. Re:Best use by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 00:55 · Score: 0
  
  Assuming this is one of those "visit the web page to enable your account" type services, would it be possible to run a completely independent network with nodes that haven't actually enabled their service?
  I imagine the APs won't route rout traffic to anywhere until you're enabled, but it would be cool to bridge the wifi to your own internet connection (possibly via Tor) without enabling any of the nodes ;-)
UGG BOOTS by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 18:29 · Score: -1

Have a pair of boots is every UGG girl's dream Quickly Goes Into Action http://www.seekboots.com/
I so sorry...lemme fix that for YOU by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 18:39 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Life goes on, and so do we,
Just how we do it is no mystery.
One by one (one by one), we fill the days,
We find a thousand different ways.
Sometimes the answer can be hard to find (hard to find),
That's something I will never be.
I'm always here, for anything you need (anything you need).
Rain or shine, I'll be the one,
to share it all as life goes on.
We share it all, as life goes on.
Boroughs by Malc · 2012-01-09 18:51 · Score: 4, Informative

London's Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea districts
They're "boroughs", not "districts". Jeeze.
1. Re:Boroughs by Suferick · 2012-01-09 19:46 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, if you want to be pedantic it's the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,which IIRC are not hosting much in the way of competition during the Games (triathlon and beach volleyball apart). What about free wifi for Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Greenwich, which are closer to the action?
2. Re:Boroughs by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 21:10 · Score: 0
  
  Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Greenwich - poor
  Westminster and Chelsea - rich
  Just following the money
3. Re:Boroughs by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 21:19 · Score: 0
  
  Exactly what I thought. If you had to pick three areas of London that didn't need free anything, they would be Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea.
4. Re:Boroughs by m50d · 2012-01-09 21:29 · Score: 1
  
  Nah, the city of Westminster covers most of what we think of as "London".
  
  --
  I am trolling
5. Re:Boroughs by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 01:30 · Score: 0
  
  I think you'll find that the two terms are not mutually exclusive... in much the same way as you can refer to a banana as fruit... you could refer to one of the boroughs of London as a district. The term borough originally meaning fortified town or city and the term district meaning a place where a lord exercises control. If you're going to be a pedant... the least you could do is check your facts (no wait... I remember... this is /. what'd be the fun in that)
  http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/borough
  http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/district
6. Re:Boroughs by Tuan121 · 2012-01-10 04:07 · Score: 1
  
  What is a jeeze?
7. Re:Boroughs by DNS-and-BIND · 2012-01-10 05:13 · Score: 0
  
  You might as well tell people to stop calling it a "DNS Server". It'll have about the same effect.
  
  --
  Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
8. Re:Boroughs by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 06:46 · Score: 0
  
  Said by somebody who doesn't know London.
  In fact Westminster gets called a borough in common usage, even though it is a city.
and ... by ddt · 2012-01-09 19:16 · Score: 0

"to allow visitors and residents to get more out of their stay ..."
... and to let the British government get the most out of sniffing their packets?
1. Re:and ... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 19:23 · Score: 0
  
  ... and to let the British government get the most out of sniffing their packets?
  If David Cameron and Nick Clegg want to sniff my packet, more fool them!
And the existing providers? by jginspace · 2012-01-09 19:16 · Score: 3, Insightful

People who've invested their own time, money and effort into providing (and charging for) Wifi must be just thrilled that the council have given a private operator rights to erect equipment in public spaces right next to their premises that effectively kicks their product out of the market. Is the need for public Wifi that pressing that the council are being diverted from their normal duties like, you know, sweeping the streets?
1. Re:And the existing providers? by Billly+Gates · 2012-01-09 19:29 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I was thinking the same thing.
  If any city in the US did this the carriers would be SCREAMING SOCIALISM!! ... and funding every politican and their brothers to ban and stop this assault on capitalism at all cost and probably then lobbying congress to add anti free WIFI in SOPA or something stupid.
  Maybe in Europe the governments there actually listen to their citizens and not corporate lobbiests and vote only on the behalf of corporations? I was just watching the Star Wars prequel tonight and the US and Canada are starting to look just like the final days of the old republic before it fell to the empire. Inept government totally rotten to the core gave way to many supporting the empire. ... anyway do not want to go offtopic with that rant but thought of it when reading this article pretty much expecting this to be outrageous and political suicide. That is pretty sad if you ask me.
  
  --
  http://saveie6.com/
2. Re:And the existing providers? by Billly+Gates · 2012-01-09 19:32 · Score: 1
  
  I was thinking the same thing and then realized it was the UK.
  If any city in the US did this the carriers would be SCREAMING SOCIALISM!! ... and funding every politican and their brothers to ban and stop this assault on freedom and capitalism at all cost while probably then lobbying congress to add anti free WIFI in SOPA or something stupid.
  Maybe in Europe the governments there actually listen to their citizens and not corporate lobbiests who vote only on the behalf of corporations? I was just watching the Star Wars prequel tonight and the US and Canada are starting to look just like the final days of the old republic before it fell to the empire. Inept government totally rotten to the core gave way to many supporting the empire. ... anyway do not want to go offtopic with that rant but thought of it when reading this article pretty much expecting this to be outrageous and political suicide. That is pretty sad if you ask me.
  
  --
  http://saveie6.com/
3. Re:And the existing providers? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 19:34 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, just as the government drives out companies who want to charge for healthcare here. It's a good thing to keep the predators away. Most of the formerly charging wifi hotspots in coffee shops and the like have since become free anyway.
  Wifi is a public good; exactly the sort of thing a council should be doing.
4. Re:And the existing providers? by mjwx · 2012-01-09 20:33 · Score: 1
  
  People who've invested their own time, money and effort into providing (and charging for) Wifi must be just thrilled that the council have given a private operator rights to erect equipment in public spaces right next to their premises that effectively kicks their product out of the market. Is the need for public Wifi that pressing that the council are being diverted from their normal duties like, you know, sweeping the streets?
  You mean you know someone who wasted money providing a paid for WiFi service that no-one wants.
  
  Should the local Council shut down the nearest Macca's because their free WiFi interferes with his flawed business model?
  
  Bollocks.
  
  I see Azure and Tomizone networks occasionally here in Oz, these ones are captive portals that ask for CC details, I have never used them, it's easier and faster to head down the street and find a Macca's, Subway or cafe with open wifi.
  
  --
  Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
5. Re:And the existing providers? by The+Askylist · 2012-01-09 23:31 · Score: 1
  
  If you think the UK is free from the scourge of lobbyists, think again.
  They mostly rename it "PR" here, but that PR industry is worth around £7 billion per annum, and has its tentacles deep within the body politic, no matter which party you choose.
  You can be sure that someone, somewhere is getting fat on this - if not now then via promises of jobs in the future.
6. Re:And the existing providers? by Shimbo · 2012-01-09 23:43 · Score: 1
  
  I was thinking the same thing and then realized it was the UK.
  If any city in the US did this the carriers would be SCREAMING SOCIALISM!! ... and funding every politican and their brothers to ban and stop this assault on freedom and capitalism at all cost
  Which is odd because they are solidly conservative areas. I don't really see how a private company providing an advertising funded 'free' service counts as socialism anyway.
7. Re:And the existing providers? by ibsteve2u · 2012-01-10 00:05 · Score: 1
  
  I hear you. Those tourists and athletes should be forced to purchase medical gases for breathing, too; by keeping the air clean and allowing just anyone to breathe it, the government poses a direct threat to existing industries as well as the free market.
  
  --
  Orwell: "In a Time of Universal Deceit, telling the Truth is a Revolutionary Act"
8. Re:And the existing providers? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 02:14 · Score: 0
  
  Public wifi in one of the richest areas of the city. I wonder how long it will be before people living in the less wealthy areas get free wifi.
9. Re:And the existing providers? by DaveGod · 2012-01-10 06:46 · Score: 1
  
  Any examples of charged-for wifi in that location?
  All I can think of is a BT thing where they put wifi units in their public phone boxes and people who subscribe to their home broadband can also access that wifi when they're out and about.
  Otherwise, cafés, hotels etc typically have free wifi. Whilst in the early days this was a way to attract custom, these days it's a basic customer expectation. You don't gain custom from having wifi, you just lose custom if they can't get a good data signal while they're there.
  It's typically not expensive to install nor operate here either, perhaps for a big hotel that needs real equipment but those guys will probably continue to need it, so that their customers can have a reliable connection. So not much scope for losses. Regardless, any potential loss on the wifi front for the likes of cafés and hotels would be hilariously small fry compared to the benefits from having the Olympics.
  Anybody who has a business model where wifi has importance should have known all about these plans well in advance as it was part of the Olympic bid. If someone really was offering a premium wifi service, surely they would have been in a great position to bid to provide this service? Actually this is what has happened if you read the O2 article. The mobile operators have plans to chuck wifi onto their existing masts across the country, all O2 are doing is making sure it's up in time for the Olympics and making it free (except to the authorities) during the Olympics. Even if the operators had been going to be charging for it they have massive advantage due to huge scale and already having most of the infrastructure in place, so your independent company trying to sell premium wifi was doomed anyway.
  Plus I expect residents will have reason to appreciate it, even if they never actually use the free wifi, because otherwise the 3G network would have been utterly decimated.
  It's quite clearly a no-brainer win all round, nobody is losing anything from it that they weren't about to lose anyway. I note the itNews article states there is zero cost to taxpayers therefore there should be no threat to their more basic duties like sweeping the streets.
10. Re:And the existing providers? by fatphil · 2012-01-10 12:11 · Score: 1
  
  It's not a necessity. It should only be providing non-necessities when the masses are happy with how it's providing the necessities. Like education and training. And enough shopping streets to set fire to and loot.
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Free WiFi by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 19:21 · Score: 0

Free to connect, but to use the internet, you'll need to pay.
comment by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 19:42 · Score: -1

The visit was useful. Content was really very informative. visit giftwithlove dot com(portal to send gifts and flowers to India.).
Big Brother's Honeypot by phx_zs · 2012-01-09 20:16 · Score: 0

"London Installing Largest Government-Run Honeypot"
Fixed that title for you
1. Re:Big Brother's Honeypot by 91degrees · 2012-01-09 20:34 · Score: 1
  
  They pretty much have carte blanche to read packets whether it's free or not. And the provider is even more likely to.
  
  At least we don;t have to pay to be spied on.
2. Re:Big Brother's Honeypot by tehcyder · 2012-01-11 01:04 · Score: 1
  
  "London Installing Largest Government-Run Honeypot" Fixed that title for you
  Don't fucking use it them, you paranoid twat.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Wireless@SG by mjwx · 2012-01-09 20:32 · Score: 5, Interesting

In Westminster alone, it could be providing internet access to half a million tourists each day, 250,000 residents and 500,000 workers.
Half a million of tourists - would they plan to ask for a "tourist id" for granting access?
They should just ask Singapore how Singapore handles it.

Wireless@SG works in most places I've tried it (Changi Airport, Orchid road). I get the code from the info booth at the airport, valid for 4 hours and wander around Singapore for a bit before my next flight. Handy for long stopovers. A beer in SG is expensive enough, doubly so in an airport (S$13 last time I was there).

The simple way would be registration via an email address, get a code for Wireless@LON for 14 days. Beyond this, SMS codes. seeing as these are captive portals, you regester to have an access code SMS'ed to any UK phone (probably work for any EU phone).

--
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Maintenance by flyingfsck · 2012-01-09 20:33 · Score: 1

For how long will it keep working before a lack of maintenance makes it go dark?

--
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
Olympics by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 21:15 · Score: 2, Insightful

"in time for the London Olympics"... which takes place in the east of London, in Stratford, far from any of these boroughs.
1. Re:Olympics by trigpoint · 2012-01-09 23:12 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  "in time for the London Olympics"... which takes place in the east of London, in Stratford, far from any of these boroughs.
  Most of Londons hotels and resturants are in this area and this is where tourists will spend most of their time and money when not watching the events. Local businesses in East London will see very little tourist money.
2. Re:Olympics by Builder · 2012-01-09 23:20 · Score: 1
  
  Most insightful post here!
  The thing is that the people travelling to London for the Olympics won't want to stay in the hole that is stratford, so we're putting the WiFi where they actually will be.
3. Re:Olympics by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 01:13 · Score: 1
  
  It is where the rich will spend their time.
4. Re:Olympics by dakameleon · 2012-01-10 12:25 · Score: 1
  
  Wait, you thought Olympics earnt cities money?
  Hahahahahahahaha. haha. ha!
  (speaking as a resident of Sydney, host of the 2000 "Best Olympics Ever", after which Sydney seems to have entered a malaise of government inactivity & decline)
  
  --
  Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
5. Re:Olympics by tehcyder · 2012-01-11 01:05 · Score: 1
  
  "in time for the London Olympics"... which takes place in the east of London, in Stratford, far from any of these boroughs.
  Most tourists aren't going to be staying in Stratford, and visiting the many and varied cultural highspots of Stratford though, are they?
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Won't it just be too congested? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-09 23:06 · Score: 0

In WWDC and other crowded spots where wifi usage is high, I've found that nothing works due to the sheer number of devices interfering with each other. I expect the Olympics will be similarly congested, especially in places where people are likely to want to congregate and use the devices (viewing areas etc).
and by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 00:35 · Score: 0

who is paying for this?
1. Re:and by trigpoint · 2012-01-10 01:16 · Score: 1
  
  who is paying for this?
  According to the article O2, at no cost to the council or taxpayer.
Watch my taxes pissed up the wall! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 01:23 · Score: 0

Just like the Olympics, most of the UK tax payers will not doubt be paying for this! I don't like sport yet I still have no choice but to watch my taxes be pissed away on this Olympics bollocks. Clegg and Cameron will get all the their mates snouts in the Olympic trough, including this WiFI malarky. Come the glorious fortnight I'm taking my tent up the Cairngorms and cutting all ties so I don't see, read or have to listen to any this Olympics cack!
No such thing as free by DaMattster · 2012-01-10 01:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

The advertiser supported model was tried during the dot-com era and largely failed. Since there really is no such thing as free, I am guessing O2 is going to collect browsing habbits and information to resell to marketing companies in addition to advertisements. O2 might actually make more money by combining reselling user data and advertiser supported services.
Re:Boroughs: not exactly by hughbar · 2012-01-10 02:00 · Score: 1

As an East Ender, this is much more complex than that. Hackney has become very gentrified in parts and is full of new-media-tossers further south, also quite rich, but some parts are still dirt-poor. Tower Hamlets, my borough, contains Canary Wharf and many riverside yuppie-hutches to serve the banking 'community' AND national records for deprivation. Some bits of Kensington [north] and Westminster are poor. The only thing all this proves is that trickle-down economics certainly doesn't work.

I'm guessing, however, that all the hotspots will be in the 'nice' bits, so we proles don't pull them off the lamp posts and try and swallow them, our usual reaction to anything new.

--
On y va, qui mal y pense!
London's not in Europe by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-10 02:12 · Score: 0

Geez...
1. Re:London's not in Europe by trigpoint · 2012-01-10 03:04 · Score: 1
  
  I think you'll find it is in Europe, where do you think it is?
2. Re:London's not in Europe by fatphil · 2012-01-10 12:32 · Score: 1
  
  Kentucky. That's presumably where your parent poster was edumacated.
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Does it Matter? by Grizzley9 · 2012-01-10 02:33 · Score: 1

If it's like any wifi access point that's been provided at any other large event I've been to, it's so overly congested or limited that it's worthless to use. Easier to just use the 3G or whatever service is available through the phone network (if that is even usable).

The only saving grace I can see for it is if it's kept running after the crowds leave and gives some nice access to the residents of the area.
It's not free by smooth+wombat · 2012-01-10 02:51 · Score: 1

Unless you think the equipment to run the network, the cabling, the people to maintain it, electricity, etc cost nothing, it's not free.
In this case, it's the taxpayers of London (possibly the UK) who are footing the bill for this "free" service.

--
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
1. Re:It's not free by fatphil · 2012-01-10 12:15 · Score: 1
  
  Whilst you raise a point that I normally find myself raising (there's no such thing as the government paying for anything), there are taxes on sales, and presumably there'll be a whole bunch of foreigners buying a whole load of goods and services whilst they're there. So the wifi might end up paying for itself in the end. The olympics as a whole won't, obviosuly, but at least I think the cost of the wifi can be covered.
  
  --
  Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
FatPhil runs away when challenged? LMAO! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 01:20 · Score: 0

http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2603836&cid=38589290
FatPhil talks big but when challenged he runs, lol by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 01:22 · Score: 0

http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2603836&cid=38589290
Big talkin FatPhil ran like a coward here by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-11 01:23 · Score: 0

http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2603836&cid=38589290