Free Downtown Dayton Internet service.

[Jim]

Gene Heskett wrote:
> On Thursday 22 January 2009, Steven Vollom wrote:
>   
>> On Wednesday 21 January 2009 8:25:41 pm Derek Broughton wrote:
>>     
>>> Steven Vollom wrote:
>>>       
>>>> I just tried to change my ISP to Cincinnati Bell, to get cheaper and
>>>> faster
>>>> service.  They told me that I could connect free to the downtown
>>>> free-service, because I am in live in the area.  My laptop is broken ,
>>>> but I
>>>> have a router with antenna.  They said I would have to purchase their
>>>> wireless service to connect to it.
>>>>         
>>> What part of "purchase" is "free"?
>>>
>>> Sounds like a scam to me.
>>>       
>> Here in Dayton, to promote the Downtown area, they have included free
>> internet service.  It works pretty well.  Lots of people hang out downtown
>> in the coffee shops with their computers and socialize becuase of it.  Lots
>> of students in Dayton.  My studio is very close to the downtown area and is
>> in the area of free service.  I am so stupid that I never thought of it
>> before now.  Anyway my laptop broke a week after I purchased it; it was
>> used so there was no recourse.  It never occurred to me to hook my PC to
>> it.  I think that the service is probably not a part of the need.  I think
>> that it was not figured when the City started the promotion and therefore
>> has caused them to lose a lot of downtown service business.  Anyway, unless
>> you have to have some code connection to a wireless service to make your
>> laptop modem to connect, it makes sense that you could use it free without
>> having service in the area you are located.
>>
>> When a person with a laptop goes on a business trip, is he charged
>> connection fees when out of his home area?  Or is he able to connect to any
>> available signal where he is currently located, eliminating the ISP from
>> collecting a fee?  An interesting thought.
>>     
>
> When I have gone on the road, the only thing I was ever charged for was the 
> deposit on the little dlink radio the motels have that is pre-programmed for 
> their service.  Plugs into the cat5 jack on the end of the lappy.  But I 
> haven't ever paid that where I usually stay.  I just tell Cindy I need a 
> radio and it comes over the counter.  Much easier than trying to figure out 
> all the passwords and encryption so I can use the bcm-4318 in my lappy, and 
> considerably more dependable than the linksys wifi router it connects to, it 
> crashes at least 2x a day.  As for the connect fees, the motel covers that, 
> either as part of the charge, or buried in it, so that is a wash.
>
> A word of advice:  If you have to go by a wifi card for the pc, make sure it 
> is an Atheros chipset based design, they are the only semi-friendly to linux 
> folks around.  Brand names on the box generally don't mean a thing, so read 
> the fine print carefully, or get return privileges.  The one I have here came 
> in a NetGear box, a WG311T but that's old now & this stuff changes at about 
> the same rate as our underwear.
>
> You might have to make them open the box so you can read the label on the 
> chipset, my box doesn't say a thing about it on the outside.
>
>   
>> Thanks for the input.  Enjoy the day.
>>
>> Steven
>>     
>
>
>
>   
Adding to that, these manufactures out here are changing chipsets in a 
model # that they put out previously, the version # is the only way you 
can tell what chipset was last put into a given Model.
So Model # 1241 ver.1 could have a different chipset  than in ver. 2  of 
Model #1241, this is where you have to check out
the Linux sites to see if there is a driver for your version #