San Francisco Magazine, September 2003
Wi-Fi, Why Pay?
Good-bye, home office. Hello, beach office, as free Wi-Fi access becomes widespread locally.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but depending on where you’ve planted yourself and your laptop, you might just get free DSL.
No, this isn’t a Pac Bell commercial. Rather, the city’s generous grassroots wireless community—which has been making its bandwidth accessible at no charge to any9one with a wireless network card—is turning your java hut or patch of grass into an Internet workstation with a view and a nice breeze.
With a Wireless Fidelity (commonly known as Wi-Fi) card, users can log on to designated open networks, sometimes with no permission necessary (other times, you ask for a code). The card will simply find a signal, provided you’re in range (usually 300 feet), and presto: instant DSL.
Not surprisingly, wireless hot spots have increasingly become a home away from home office for the city’s freelancers, job hunters, and artists, who are surfing freely from North Beach to Ocean Beach. Libraries and hotels have also jumped on the bandwagon.
On a recent afternoon at Cole Valley Café, Sanjay Srivastava, java in hand, was using a quiet window seat as his virtual office. "Right now, I’m working on a paper, researching online databases, and checking email," says Srivastava, 29, a psychologist at Stanford University who works from the café once a week.
Fawn Fitter, a freelance writer, says she takes her "office" on the road, from airports to coffee shops. "I have business meetings in cafes now," she says. "I do group chats via instant messaging with work colleagues and share files remotely."
Wi-Fi isn’t new. The protocol has been around since the late 1990s, when geeks began to share wireless networks. Since then, cheaper and more plentiful wireless products and faster connections have made strong, free signals accessible to larger audiences. And Wi-Fi promises to become even more popular next year, when many Internet providers will upgrade to support the latest Wi-Fi standard.
"Wireless networking is in an entrepreneurial phase right now," says Matt Peterson, cofounder of the Bay Area Wireless Users Group. "The industry is trying to make it easy for the consumer."
If you’re looking to get in on some free bandwidth, keep a few things in mind: A site may be accessible but not public. To avoid virtual trespassing, stick to known free hosts; www.nodedb.com compiles a list. Also, don’t hog the bandwidth or engage in illegal activities (i.e., downloading kiddie porn) on someone else’s free site. Finally, beware of potential security problems. If you’re unwilling to risk having people access your files, stick with protected commercial services such as Surf and Sip and T-Mobile. Have fun, keep the sand out of your hard drive, and try to get offline for at least an hour a day.
GETTING CONNECTED
A sampling of free wireless sites around the City:
The Beat Generation Meets the Wired Generation
At North Beach’s Caffe Roma (526 Columbus Ave.), sip a first-rate latte and take in the street scene while you work.
Surf While You Surf
BAWUG cofounder Tim Pozar operates a wireless node from his building near Ocean Beach (45th Ave. at Pacheco). Don’t forget your sunscreen.
Pretend You Still Have a Job
Golden Gate Perk (Bush at Kearny) is the place downtown to search Craigslist without spending your unemployment check on Internet service.
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
If you can see San Bruno Mountain and you have a relatively strong antenna, you can get the signal.
Chat and Chew
Okay, Venture Frogs (1000 Van Ness Ave.) is goofy. But there’s a full menu, and you can chat online while you wait for your movie to start at the AMC 1000 Van Ness theaters.
