Submitted by reform4 on Mon, 2009/12/07 - 12:29pm

Good News:  The Knoxville airport has joined a number of cutting edge cities by offering free wi-fi for travellers passing through.

Bad News:   It.   Is.   Very.     Slow.     About.       Like.     Dial.    Up.  

On.   A.    2400.    Baud.    Modem.    That.          Is.

And.   Standard.     Mail.       Ports.          Appear.    To.         Be.     Blocked.   

It's embarrassing.  

68
vote
R. Neal's picture

I hate when wi-fi hotspots

I hate when wi-fi hotspots block email ports. Especially hotels. 'Sup with that?

(Did you try port 587?)

metulj's picture

They don't block the SSL

They don't block the SSL ports which are what you should be using anyway.

I got a free token to use Delta's on-board WiFi. It was pretty great.

 

True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler Stimulating the economy as best we can! Further stimulation with Yoga Wear!

michael kaplan's picture

actually, a far better use

actually, a far better use of the 'wayfinding' funds might have been to cover all of downtown with wi-fi and provide an online wayfinding website. users of ipod touch, cell phones and laptops would all have access to interactive information about downtown.

metulj's picture

I've responded to this

I've responded to this before, but wi-fi is not good for outdoor and extensive installations. The high-quality, robust equipment required for such an undertaking would run in the millions of dollars. And then there are the security problems....

True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler Stimulating the economy as best we can! Further stimulation with Yoga Wear!

michael kaplan's picture

cities with wi-fi (from wiki)

metulj's picture

That's fine, but how many of

That's fine, but how many of those are public/private partnerships? We have more important problems in Knoxville than giving people access to their online Sudoku pages for free. Complete waste of time and wickedly expensive to do right and securely. You just can't run to Best Buy and snag some Linksys routers....

 

True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler Stimulating the economy as best we can! Further stimulation with Yoga Wear!

michael kaplan's picture

personally, i'd rather not

personally, i'd rather not have microwave antennas all over downtown. but, frankly, the 'wayfinding' project seems like the city just has too much spare cash it doesn't know what to do with ...

metulj's picture

If you don't want them for

If you don't want them for aesthetic reasons, you'd never see the antennas. If you don't want them for safety reasons, uh, ok.

Wayfinding systems are dumb. There should just be good pedestrian signage.

 

 

True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler Stimulating the economy as best we can! Further stimulation with Yoga Wear!

michael kaplan's picture

safety reasons. the evidence

safety reasons. the evidence isn't conclusive on microwave transmitters (which, of course, are everywhere). i've always been wary of that array on the bellsouth building.

metulj's picture

The evidence isn't

The evidence isn't conclusive that they are safe? You do know this is #9 logic. You get more RF radiation from taking a breezy walk.

 

True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler Stimulating the economy as best we can! Further stimulation with Yoga Wear!

michael kaplan's picture

within the context of a

within the context of a 5-second response, i don't think i could have been clearer.

here's how the fcc puts it:

There is no scientific evidence to date that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a variety of other health effects, including headaches, dizziness or memory loss.  However, studies are ongoing and key government agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to monitor the results of the latest scientific research on these topics.

now, maybe you can explain what #9 logic means. while i don't always agree with him/her/them, the person or persons posting under that pseudonym speak reasonably clearly and logically imo.

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