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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > ibook/airport works in strange places

ibook/airport works in strange places
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skutsch
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Jul 12, 2001, 11:33 PM
 
So I take my iBook to school so I can grade papers while my students take their final exam (I teach college summer school) and I think, hey, maybe there's an airport base station around somewhere. So, just for the hell of it, I check and indeed there is a network with some bizarre name. And I hook into it. And it works. I checked my mail, surfed the web a little, it was way cool. The connnection was weak and things were slow, but still, I was surfing where no surfing should have been possible.

I doubt if it was a school network--my school is extremely un-mac friendly, and they're gutting the building I was in anyway, getting ready to move out--so I wonder if I was somehow logging into an office or apartment in one of the highrises across the street.

The moral of the story is, wherever you go, it might be there.

carl
     
graffix
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Jul 13, 2001, 01:33 AM
 
I know that Starbuck's has Wireless Networking built into a lot of their coffee shops... is there one nearby? If it was a private wireless network chances are they wouldn't have guest access enabled, but you never know...
Enjoy your free internet
g.
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bipto
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Jul 13, 2001, 03:51 PM
 
In the building I work in there's two base staions within range, but they're closed to me. Apparently, whoever set them up knew what they were doing. I also found a network in the Minneapolis Airport, but couldn't use it.
     
STAT
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Jul 13, 2001, 05:05 PM
 
Originally posted by bipto:
<STRONG>In the building I work in there's two base staions within range, but they're closed to me. Apparently, whoever set them up knew what they were doing. I also found a network in the Minneapolis Airport, but couldn't use it.</STRONG>
It's funny that you found an AirPort within an airport.
Apple user since 1987
     
bokkus
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Jul 14, 2001, 09:39 PM
 
[Please do not use MacNN as a medium for engaging in illegal or malicious activities.]

[ 07-15-2001: Message edited by: Gametes ]
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vmarks
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Jul 15, 2001, 09:46 AM
 
The wireless network in your summer school doesn't have to be an Airport connected to a Mac;

The Apple Airport cards and base stations are based on Lucent cards, which work with Windows and Linux as well. It's entirely possible someone set up a wireless network for their windows or linux laptops.

My home network?

G4/400 PowerMacintosh
PII 350 Linux / Windows / BeOS (and used to have os/2)
Thinkpad 600e Linux / Windows (wireless to my base station, an airport clone)
Thinkpad 385xd Linux / Windows / BeOS (wireless to the base station)
Soon to add iMac rev. A bondi.

Linux acts as an appleshare for the Mac.
I'm looking to get an iBook or Powerbook to replace one of the laptops...
If this post is in the Lounge forum, it is likely to be my own opinion, and not representative of the position of MacNN.com.
     
paterss
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Jul 15, 2001, 01:09 PM
 
Im waiting until after MWNY before I get airport just in case it gets a feature bump (or I buy the old one for less )

And I think I will be reading the access instructions VERY carefully
It would not be good to find my already high phone bill expanded by someone else.

I have a friend who is on the verge of buying a mac (his first)
and can't believe the things I tell him, like the airport card will be entirely inside my iBook - nothing sticking out.
"Ethernet included as standard - and no that doesn't mean theres no modem"

Off topic, and preaching to Gods own children - but I was just so amazed with the software I got with my iBook - not to mention its built in ports.

Stuart
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Very smart people learn from other peoples mistakes.
     
neophilia
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Jul 15, 2001, 02:10 PM
 
Hrmm wonder what the heck bokkus wrote..

Anyway, Airport+iBook = heaven. Here's an "iBooks rock!" little ditty: My university has gone wireless everywhere on campus, but some buildings are still kind of patchy. The other day, I was sitting in my favorite computer lab trying out the wireless and blammo, it worked great with 3 bright dots of signal. I told my Titanium weilding friend (sitting right next to me) that they must've finally fixed the nearby access point. Alas, his Ti could not get a signal.

Talk about a shock.. I knew the Ti's had bad Airport reception but to not find a signal at *all* when I'm sitting right next to him getting 3 dots.. yikes. Hope the next Ti rev has better reception..

Btw, paterss: I too was totally amazed by the software..particularly the MP3 collection. There is some REALLY good music in there..

-peter, http://peter.neophiliadesign.com/
     
bipto
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Jul 15, 2001, 08:19 PM
 
Alas, his Ti could not get a signal.
Alas, I feel sorry for most who bought a TiBook before the iBook was released. A guy I work with bought a Ti and yes it's beautiful and all but I wouldn't trade and I think he'd like to...
     
paterss
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Jul 16, 2001, 01:24 AM
 
neophilia- the music was good but i think I was most impressed with the speaches of Martin Luther King and President Kennedey.

Its the sort of thing you only hear snatches from normally 'I have a dream' and no further.

Almost 700 MB of MP3 - I think I might slim it down a little and save some space

Airport is going to be a nice to have for me rather than a must - but i guess in our next house I won't want to be running cables everywhere.
By then who knows what range and bandwidth we will have.

I think i will just go check the airport forum to see whats new.
Good to know that so many people are happy with it in their iBook though.

Stuart
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Very smart people learn from other peoples mistakes.
     
BTP
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Jul 16, 2001, 02:30 AM
 
Originally posted by paterss:
<STRONG>
Airport is going to be a nice to have for me rather than a must - but i guess in our next house I won't want to be running cables everywhere.
By then who knows what range and bandwidth we will have.
Stuart</STRONG>
Once you have Airport in your home, you can never go back. I thought I'd have to do the hack with the range extending antenna, but I get really good range. Most of my family memebers have Airport in their home. I get reception everywhere in my family's house (5000sqft) and all over most of the property. If their neighbor's daughter sits in their living room, she gets one or two dots. ( I made sure the network is protected, who knows who else might be snarfing the signal!!) That is really amazing and they are not that close. This is likely the maximums that Airport is capable of. Airport continues to amaze my weeine (pc lovin') friends. They can share my connection and they don't understand why there is nothing sticking out of my 'book.

As for Starbucks, since there are about 400 of them within 20 miles, I'd like to know do they all have wireless? I may have to make special coffee stops.... How do you access the network? Is it open for all?

Finally, if they offer a much improved Airport, I will eventually buy one, but mine is so good, I can't really ask for much more. It is faster than my cable modem and reaches everywhere. Oh, and one more thing.. did I mention it works perfectly?
A lie can go halfway around the world before the truth even gets its boots on. - Mark Twain
     
Judge_Fire
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Jul 16, 2001, 07:04 AM
 
A friend of mine was moving to a new house close to Helsinki (in Espoo) and he figured he might still be in range of one of them large 802.11b antennas installed around here. I took my portable over, and though his place was just obstructed by trees, so the connection didn't really happen, the drive there was kinda fun...

We drove through some tech parks and neighborhoods with my powerbook open and could find lots and lots of unprotected LANs! Unless you want parasites like me, make sure your airport network has a password

Worst case scenario; feds knocking on your door because of the cracker parked outside...

[ 07-16-2001: Message edited by: Judge_Fire ]
     
Gee4orce
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Jul 16, 2001, 10:09 AM
 
There was an interesting article about just this on ZDNet today - it's called War Driving (apparently !?). You can get a Linux app that polls for open networks every second - connect you laptop to a GPS, drive around for a bit, and when you get home you've got the exact locations of all the accessible networks available...
     
amphibious
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Jul 16, 2001, 10:24 AM
 
Originally posted by Gee4orce:
<STRONG>There was an interesting article about just this on ZDNet today - it's called War Driving (apparently !?). </STRONG>
This makes me quite happy... I was just explaining the "good old days" of War Dialing for extenders (and extender passwords) to a bunch of friends that really didn't understand the concept. Haha... war driving.
     
sessamoid
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Jul 17, 2001, 06:57 AM
 
I remember looking into this a while back. The Airport/802.11b wireless networks in the Starbucks and airports is not a free service. You have to subscribe at a cost comparable to a DSL link. For that you get access at all their retail stores that offer it, I believe. I forget what company was running the service now.

Originally posted by BTP:
<STRONG>

Once you have Airport in your home, you can never go back. I thought I'd have to do the hack with the range extending antenna, but I get really good range. Most of my family memebers have Airport in their home. I get reception everywhere in my family's house (5000sqft) and all over most of the property. If their neighbor's daughter sits in their living room, she gets one or two dots. ( I made sure the network is protected, who knows who else might be snarfing the signal!!) That is really amazing and they are not that close. This is likely the maximums that Airport is capable of. Airport continues to amaze my weeine (pc lovin') friends. They can share my connection and they don't understand why there is nothing sticking out of my 'book.

As for Starbucks, since there are about 400 of them within 20 miles, I'd like to know do they all have wireless? I may have to make special coffee stops.... How do you access the network? Is it open for all?

Finally, if they offer a much improved Airport, I will eventually buy one, but mine is so good, I can't really ask for much more. It is faster than my cable modem and reaches everywhere. Oh, and one more thing.. did I mention it works perfectly?</STRONG>
     
funkboy
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Jul 17, 2001, 11:41 AM
 
This may be a question for the AirPort forum, but does anyone know offhand if you can setup, say, a public network on an AirPort Base Station that will limit the user to a max data transfer rate?

It would be nice if places that were felt goodwill towards neighbors and passer-bys could simply make a guest account that would have some low amount of bandwidth (24 Kbps or something, let's say) and allow this to be accessed by poor people who are, say, desperate to check their e-mail... I can picture myself in this position someday :-)
     
BTP
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Jul 17, 2001, 12:03 PM
 
Originally posted by funkboy:
<STRONG>This may be a question for the AirPort forum, but does anyone know offhand if you can setup, say, a public network on an AirPort Base Station that will limit the user to a max data transfer rate?

It would be nice if places that were felt goodwill towards neighbors and passer-bys could simply make a guest account that would have some low amount of bandwidth (24 Kbps or something, let's say) and allow this to be accessed by poor people who are, say, desperate to check their e-mail... I can picture myself in this position someday :-)</STRONG>
I don't usually read manuals, but I did with the Airport. I don't think that is posiible with the Airport software. That by no means says that i am correct, but I believe I am.

That is a nice idea, but keep in mind the jerk factor. "No good deed goes unpunished."

I don't mean to be negative, but you need to think of youself. Some jerk will threaten someone, send spam, etc. When things are free, some people treat them differently than they would if they worked for or paid for them.
A lie can go halfway around the world before the truth even gets its boots on. - Mark Twain
     
skutsch  (op)
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Jul 17, 2001, 02:12 PM
 
The name of the company providing Starbucks coverage is MobileStar. They also provide coverage in some hotels.

Their prices are a bit high: $3 to try it for 15 minutes, $30 a month for unlimited usage in a city, $50 a month for unlimited nationwide.

Still, it was cool to walk into a Starbucks and try it for a few minutes. Yes, worth $3. Once.

carl
     
   
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