Thursday September 19 2002 at 13:44 GMT
Sometimes the BBC seem to really be scraping the barrel, too scared to miss reporting on something ... even if it is nothing. Today they report that Nokia say using someone else's bandwidth is wrong and that warchalking is bad. More specifically, they say that sitting outside an office, using a wireless network is stealing.
There are two aspects I would argue here.
Warchalking can also play a part in the burgeoning home broadband market, where people, like myself, have a connection sitting doing very little most of the day. Indicating to tourists or local residents they can have access to the Internet for the cost of a wireless card should be encouraged - just make sure you secure your AP!
Nokia: enough already! Focus on making some better mobile phones, and leave the chalking on the street!
[UPDATE] The story has just been /. - read on for more geek response.
There are two aspects I would argue here.
- if, after all the coverage of wireless networks over the past few months, a network/system administrator still *accidently* leaves their Access Point open and access to the network available, then their employer should be looking for a replacement, sharpish.
- some organisations are viewing themselves as part of the bigger 'community', recognising that an AP can be set up securely (working alongside other networking technologies) and that rarely is a 1/2/10Mb Internet connection used to capacity, especially out of regular office hours; in this case, warchalking is of real use, letting people know where to get access. The majority of people do just want to hop online to check some mail or grab some information, not to hack. Who wants to pay $tarbuck$ a fortune for something that is available free?
Warchalking can also play a part in the burgeoning home broadband market, where people, like myself, have a connection sitting doing very little most of the day. Indicating to tourists or local residents they can have access to the Internet for the cost of a wireless card should be encouraged - just make sure you secure your AP!
Nokia: enough already! Focus on making some better mobile phones, and leave the chalking on the street!
[UPDATE] The story has just been /. - read on for more geek response.
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