IronMac
Feb 8th, 2007, 08:47 AM
The following is a blog post that I've just put up in case anyone is interested in free Wi-Fi access in downtown Toronto.
As some of you may know, I have installed the “Breezy Badger” 5.10 version of Ubuntu Linux on my Thinkpad T20. This T20 was a workhorse in an earlier life for a pharmaceutical company and had its Ethernet port disabled for some reason. The only way for it to connect online is through its dial-up modem port and/or through Wi-Fi.
I currently have a Linksys WRT54G v.2 wireless router here which is set up for static IP addressing rather than the much more common DHCP. Reason being is that my Laserjet 4MPlus does not seem able to use DHCP or the router doesn’t seem to want to give the printer an IP address. So, rather than purchasing a new laser printer as a so-called “networking expert” suggested, my friend MW and the friendly but point-starved (posters compete for points and they will hound you for them if they help you! haha!) HP help forums helped set up static IP addresses on my G4, my sister’s WinXP machine and on the laser printer.
In the past, the T20 running WinXP and equipped with a Netgear wireless card had no problems connecting with the router but it was a different story when it was equipped with an early production-model 3Com XJack card. Tellingly enough, the XJack card had no problems connecting with the wireless network over at the Apple Store right before its opening. We all remember that event, don’t we?
So, because the WinXP install is now toast, I have installed Ubuntu Linux on the T20. Over the past couple of days, I visited the Apple Store and the Toronto Reference Library to check out their free wireless offerings and to test out my laptop’s wireless connection with the XJack card.
The Apple Store’s wireless hotspot is wide open which means that you simply have to start up your laptop, go to System -> Administration -> Networking -> Select Wireless Connection -> Properties. There are (currently) two Apple networks and I picked the one that didn’t seem to be the “internal” one. Key type is Hexadecimal, WEP key you should leave blank, Configuration is ‘DHCP’ and that’s about it. The connection is frighteningly fast from what I can tell and there does not seem to be any sort of limit as to what you can do with it so it’s tempting to just sit there and download whatever you like.
Of course, if your battery is running low and you’ve the cajones there are outlets to recharge in a nearby… but, on second thought, I will not elaborate since that may cause legal problems for me.
Great! So, my XJack card is recognized and easily used by Ubuntu! Yay! No need to hunt down a wireless card such as an old Orinoco Gold.
The Reference Library has finally introduced wireless access. It is currently available only on the first and second floors and you are ‘limited’ to an hour’s usage depending on the number of people using the network. Logging on is about the same as that already posted above but there is an additional step where you have to agree to certain terms of usage. You do not need to be a library card holder which is a huge bonus to travellers or the chronically forgetful. The connection is surprisingly slow with a consistent download speed of about 220 kb/sec or so. I didn’t time the Apple Store’s download speed since there was no need to at that point.
The library’s connectivity is obviously limited to its operating hours but I am not sure about the Apple Store’s network. The Eaton Centre is open almost 24/7 but I am pretty sure that the security guards will home in on you if you’re websurfing at 2 am.
There is also the HydroOne (sp?) wireless network in downtown Toronto but I haven’t tried that yet. I think that its period of free access will be over soon and they will soon start charging for access.
My next project to tackle will be to whether or not I can set up static IP addressing on the T20 and see whether or not that will connect to the Linksys router. I will be very pleasantly surprised by Ubuntu if it’s able to do what WinXP cannot.
If anyone else can suggest a free wireless hotspot go ahead! :)
As some of you may know, I have installed the “Breezy Badger” 5.10 version of Ubuntu Linux on my Thinkpad T20. This T20 was a workhorse in an earlier life for a pharmaceutical company and had its Ethernet port disabled for some reason. The only way for it to connect online is through its dial-up modem port and/or through Wi-Fi.
I currently have a Linksys WRT54G v.2 wireless router here which is set up for static IP addressing rather than the much more common DHCP. Reason being is that my Laserjet 4MPlus does not seem able to use DHCP or the router doesn’t seem to want to give the printer an IP address. So, rather than purchasing a new laser printer as a so-called “networking expert” suggested, my friend MW and the friendly but point-starved (posters compete for points and they will hound you for them if they help you! haha!) HP help forums helped set up static IP addresses on my G4, my sister’s WinXP machine and on the laser printer.
In the past, the T20 running WinXP and equipped with a Netgear wireless card had no problems connecting with the router but it was a different story when it was equipped with an early production-model 3Com XJack card. Tellingly enough, the XJack card had no problems connecting with the wireless network over at the Apple Store right before its opening. We all remember that event, don’t we?
So, because the WinXP install is now toast, I have installed Ubuntu Linux on the T20. Over the past couple of days, I visited the Apple Store and the Toronto Reference Library to check out their free wireless offerings and to test out my laptop’s wireless connection with the XJack card.
The Apple Store’s wireless hotspot is wide open which means that you simply have to start up your laptop, go to System -> Administration -> Networking -> Select Wireless Connection -> Properties. There are (currently) two Apple networks and I picked the one that didn’t seem to be the “internal” one. Key type is Hexadecimal, WEP key you should leave blank, Configuration is ‘DHCP’ and that’s about it. The connection is frighteningly fast from what I can tell and there does not seem to be any sort of limit as to what you can do with it so it’s tempting to just sit there and download whatever you like.
Of course, if your battery is running low and you’ve the cajones there are outlets to recharge in a nearby… but, on second thought, I will not elaborate since that may cause legal problems for me.
Great! So, my XJack card is recognized and easily used by Ubuntu! Yay! No need to hunt down a wireless card such as an old Orinoco Gold.
The Reference Library has finally introduced wireless access. It is currently available only on the first and second floors and you are ‘limited’ to an hour’s usage depending on the number of people using the network. Logging on is about the same as that already posted above but there is an additional step where you have to agree to certain terms of usage. You do not need to be a library card holder which is a huge bonus to travellers or the chronically forgetful. The connection is surprisingly slow with a consistent download speed of about 220 kb/sec or so. I didn’t time the Apple Store’s download speed since there was no need to at that point.
The library’s connectivity is obviously limited to its operating hours but I am not sure about the Apple Store’s network. The Eaton Centre is open almost 24/7 but I am pretty sure that the security guards will home in on you if you’re websurfing at 2 am.
There is also the HydroOne (sp?) wireless network in downtown Toronto but I haven’t tried that yet. I think that its period of free access will be over soon and they will soon start charging for access.
My next project to tackle will be to whether or not I can set up static IP addressing on the T20 and see whether or not that will connect to the Linksys router. I will be very pleasantly surprised by Ubuntu if it’s able to do what WinXP cannot.
If anyone else can suggest a free wireless hotspot go ahead! :)