Re: [SLUG] WiFI Ripoff

From: Caleb Rodriguez (calebsr2k@acm.org)
Date: Fri Mar 31 2006 - 23:36:18 EST


Just my two cents worth. Whenever I go to Barnes and Noble they offer
Wi Fi for 3.95 for a 2 hour block of time. Also see below at some
other things that they mentioned.

Barnes & Noble customers can sign up for a single two-hour session
for $3.95. Customers can also sign up for an annual membership with
unlimited access to more than 5,000 SBC Wi-Fi hot spots, including
Barnes & Noble bookstores, for $19.95 per month. Through an
introductory offer, SBC Yahoo DSL customers can receive unlimited
access to SBC FreedomLink hot spots at no charge until April 15,
2005, and pay just $1.99 a month with a one-year term commitment
thereafter.

Now I do not know about you, but I enjoy being able to take my laptop
anywhere and have access to my email and the net. I had been using a
ModemCard until last year. Now I use a cell phone to connect to the
net whenever I cannot or do not wish to pay those prices.
The speeds are very fast much to my surprise.
Caleb

On Mar 31, 2006, at 7:42 PM, Chuck Hast wrote:

> On 3/30/06, Craig Zeigler <craig@ctrust.com> wrote:
>> Chuck Hast wrote:
>>> On 3/30/06, Eben King <eben1@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Thu, 30 Mar 2006, Chuck Hast wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Fellow sluggers, I am again on the road after a long several
>>>>> sedate years
>>>>> in Tampa. I have found somethat that to me is a rip-off, that
>>>>> is the paid WiFi
>>>>> sites, do not get me wrong I am not against them charging
>>>>> something but
>>>>> the $7-9 they get for 24 hours of access is a rep, so far I
>>>>> have found these
>>>>> ripoffs in places where they have you by the short hairs, i.e.
>>>>> there is no other
>>>>> solution (for obvious reasons of course).
>>>>>
>>>>> One that really burned me was the Memphis airport, they have
>>>>> (Wi)(Fi)
>>>>> logos all over the place, and you fire up and get hit by the
>>>>> Sprint Vampire
>>>>> wanting you to give them a CC so they can extract $9 for the
>>>>> time you
>>>>> are going to be setting in the airport.
>>>>>
>>>> Sometimes only port 80 is redirected, so you can ssh to
>>>> somewhere (and
>>>> browse the web over tunneled X or VNC or whatever) without
>>>> paying. Other
>>>> times, you're stuck.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Hmm, a $5 access is not so bad, but I have never seen one, the
>>> lowest I
>>> have seen is 7.95 and most of them are like 9.95 for a 24 hour
>>> period.
>>>
>>> As to Tampa, I live there, it is no problem I know where there
>>> are spots all
>>> over town.
>>>
>>>
>>> I will have to try the ssh trick and see if that will let me get
>>> past
>>> it. Did not
>>> think about only port 80 being redirected
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Chuck Hast -- KP4DJT --
>>> To paraphrase my flight instructor;
>>> "the only dumb question is the one you DID NOT ask resulting in
>>> my going
>>> out and having to identify your bits and pieces in the midst of torn
>>> and twisted metal."
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ---
>>> This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by
>>> Networked
>>> Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages
>>> posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
>>> official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
>>>
>> I hate to be too obvious, but you could always use your cell
>> phone. For
>> example, I pay 24.95/month for unlimited data access from Cingular. I
>> can use it as long as I want, and transfer as much data as I want.
>> The
>> speed ranges from 128b/s to 400k/s depending on the network. This
>> to me
>> sounds like a good solution for you based on what you're whining
>> about... I'll stop there before I get myself in trouble..
>
> The company I am working for is talking about springing for it, so
> I will
> wait until they make that determination.
>
> By way Detroit Metro Airport is another one where you are met with a
> extended hand for either $7.95/24 hours or $4.95/15 minutes. I guess
> what bugs me about all of this is that in most cases the location
> already
> has the bandwidth there. And in all of the cases that I have seen this
> past week, I bet that T1 or whatever is being paid for by tax dollars,
> Sprint/ATT/Name your con game comes in and sets up the access point
> and the redirect piece and collects the fees from those who are
> willing
> to pay them. (I personally am not) That $4.95/15 minutes was even more
> of a rip if you go by that and set there for 30 minutes you have just
> burned up $10. The Ramada I stayed in had a good one, you did
> not have to do a thing, not even log in with a hotel supplied pass
> word. And it did not time out after so many hours or minutes and
> require
> a re-login. I guess I at least hope that the public entity that
> operates
> the Airport/rest plaza/whatever is getting a nice cut out of it but
> I bet
> that they don't get much.
>
>
> --
> Chuck Hast -- KP4DJT --
> To paraphrase my flight instructor;
> "the only dumb question is the one you DID NOT ask resulting in my
> going
> out and having to identify your bits and pieces in the midst of torn
> and twisted metal."
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked
> Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages
> posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
> official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.

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