Nospin-L - April in July 2006
m...@fluidlight.com
Computers - without the spin
Welcome to April in July! I've been faithfully sending out the NOSPIN-L
newsletter every month since March, but I just discovered that nobody
has been receiving it! The culprit? The corporate mail server. It's
been politely filtering out messages to certain servers, significantly,
Google Groups. So, let's give this another go! Without further ado,
here's April's newsletter - a few months late, but just as topical!
Well, lucky me! I just got back from spending Spring Break in Palm
Springs. No, I didn't spend the week partying and playing tennis and
golf - but I wasn't stuck behind a computer the whole time, either.
One thing that I did find out, though, was that even on a day-long
trip, with hours of time spent in the airport, there is plenty of
opportunity for some online fun!
Most airports around the world have some sort of wireless Internet
access. The price ranges from free to cheap and the access ranges from
easy to frustrating. The best way to find out what's available in your
airport is to just turn your computer on and have it search for an
access point. If you're using Windows or a Mac, you'll be able to see
a list of access points that are available. You're interested in the
unsecured access points - tell your computer to log into one of those.
If you're using Linux, well, you probably don't need instructions...and
since I don't use Linux on a notebook, I can't help!
Typically, after you've connected to the airport's access point, you can
open a web browser and you'll be greeted with a page with some terms and
conditions and, if the service isn't free, a way to pay for the service.
If you have to pay (which is more likely than not), you'll find that
most services offer different time periods of service, usually starting
with a day and working up. Expect to pay US$6.00 to US$10.00 per day
for your wireless access.
Connection speeds vary, of course. Every wireless Internet service that
I've come across is 802.11G, or 11Mbps, but the Internet speed isn't
nearly that fast. You should expect DSL level performance, though, on
a par with 3Mbps to 5Mbps. And, if it's free, be happy with what you
get!
Once my wife and I hit Palm Springs, our troubles were over - we stayed
with relatives, so our Internet needs were easily handled. But if your
trip includes a stay in a hotel, you'll probably find that, unless
you're either in the middle of nowhere or competing with rodents for
the pillow, your hotel offers some sort of Internet access. Because
it's so easy to outfit a hotel with wireless network service, it's
almost a given that even budget hangouts will have access. Again, the
choice is free or paid, but you'll find that most hotels offer the
service at no charge. You'll probably find a card or brochure in your
room with instructions, but you can usually just use the airport method
to find the hotel's access point.
One issue that you may run into (although it's becoming less of a
problem) is that not all network ports will be open. In particular,
any games that use a non-standard port (port 1024 or higher) may be
blocked. Sometimes resolving the problem is as easy as contacting the
tech support services for the network company offering the wireless
service. Sometimes not - they're not obligated to make every port
open. If you're concerned that your particular application may use a
port that might be blocked, you can do a little research before you
travel to find out who offers what wireless service along the way.
For this, Google is your friend. A search of <b>wireless internet
airports</b> will give you plenty of choices to start with. Tailor the
search terms to fit your needs.
How about wireless Internet access on airplanes? It's in the works.
Several airlines have been experimenting, particularly with
international long haul flights. But, like in-flight phone calls, be
prepared for sticker shock. Before connecting in the air, you might
just want to bring a good book.
All in all, wireless Internet access is becoming fairly ubiquitous.
It's available practically anywhere for a price and at a growing number
of places for free. So, the next time you travel, don't pack your
notebook away - keep it handy! Instead of sitting at the departure
gate staring out at the empty ramp, you can spend some quality time
with your favorite massively multiplayer online role playing game!
April's download of the month was a little stale, so I've updated it
with an exciting new gem - Firefox 2.0, Beta 1. It's scheduled to be
released Tuesday, July 11, but it's been available for download for
about a week. Head over to <a
href="http://www.freepctech.com">FreePCTech.com</a> for details on
where to go to grab yours!
And, as always, if you've got a suggestion for a future newsletter,
please let me <a href="mailto:du...@freepctech.com">know</a>.
See you next month!