Yup--Free Wi-Fi From Google
Posted by Harry McCracken | Wednesday, September 21, 2005 12:01 AM PT
Good story over at MSNBC.com confirming today's rumors of a free Google hotspot service--but it's only available at a gym and a pizza place near Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley. (The story mentions that there's been another Google hotspot in San Francisco's Union Square since April. That's less than two miles from my house. Who knew? I'll have to stop by and try it when I get home from DEMOfall.)
As multiple blogs are reporting, Google is beta-testing something called Google Secure Access, a Wi-Fi security tool.
Here's the FAQ.
A smattering of Google hotspots in the Bay Area does not a major story make--unless another shoe is going to drop. Anyone out there want to hazard a guess as to whether a widely-available GoogleNet is indeed in the works?
Who cares? Let's see some actual innovation- that means something *new*, not something that keeps an old technology alive.
How about a Google EDGE-type network? Hotspots are unsafe (you know the new security technology will be hacked within a week), unreliable, and useless to anyone living outside of NYC, San Francisco, Boston, or the like.
Celebrating this is like celebrating the auto makers' use of hybrid engines to boost performance rather than improve fuel efficiency (even the Honda Accord does this).
what good is a wifi if its in only one area???
i would much rather see broadband get faster and cheaper.
lets face it most people dont have laptops so for most people it dont make a diff. i would much rather see broadband get faster and in more areas where its not now there are some areas where you still cant get anything beyond dialup.
Well people can help speard wi-fi by setting up boosters! =D
The question then is, how many boosters will it take to get me a signal in Ohio?