20 Crazy Things People Do to Get Wi-Fi Connections

Thomas Wailgum, CIO.com

Thursday, August 21, 2008 2:04 PM PDT



In their quest to get Wi-Fi Internet connectivity, people have done some pretty desperate things over the years.



Driving around in sheer panic looking for a Starbucks (but hoping for a
Panera, which offers free Wi-Fi) or hopping on a neighbor's unsecured
signal has become commonplace. (To read about the Wi-Fi strategies at
Starbucks, Panera, McDonald's and Borders, see "Should Retailers Offer
Free Wi-Fi to Customers?")



But then there's a whole other level of desperation that comes while
some people are searching for the almighty Wi-Fi access point. The
evidence: an August 2008 survey of 300 remote employees who work on
company-issued laptops. (The survey was commissioned by mobility vendor
Fiberlink.)



The survey asked these road warriors: "What interesting or out of the
ordinary things have you ever done to get connected to the Internet
and/or company network, when working remotely?" Of the open-ended
responses, here are the most noteworthy:



"Stolen Wi-Fi from a neighbor."

Editor's note: Nothing says "Howdy, Neighbor!" more than "I'm stealing your Wi-Fi!"



"Had to climb on my mother's roof once. It was so fun. I actually saw a naked neighbor girl."

Editor's note: Is that considered a two-for-one?



"Drove 15 miles away from Old Faithful Geyser to achieve a complete
Internet connection, due to static from Geyser emissions energy."

Editor's note: I hate it when that happens.



"Driven to the local coffee shop and purchased a muffin to use their wireless."

Editor's note: That seems reasonable.



"Gone to coffee shop without buying coffee."

Editor's note: Cheapskate!



"Had to 'hack' into a phone line at a hotel to get dial-up to work (many years ago)."

Editor's note: Easy does it, Mitnick.



"I have plugged my laptop into a hospital Ethernet line because the wireless was down."

Editor's note: Glad it wasn't the oxygen line.



"I have researched hotels that do not provide Internet but are nearby wireless hubs to get connection freely."

Editor's note: A little too much time on your hands, sir?



"Plugged into the back of a cash register."

Editor's note: Really? You can do that?



"I went up to the top of a mountain and worked for a week from a tent."

Editor's note: Grizzly Adams meets Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame).



"Turned someone's TV antenna into a wireless internet antenna."

Editor's note: Now that's talent.



"Logged into hotel conference rooms to get the connection for free."

Editor's note: Who hasn't done that?!



"Paid for a cab ride while I worked on the Internet."

Editor's note: That seems a bit "unfare."



"Plugged into electricity from the city of Seattle that was on a pole on the sidewalk, but only for a few minutes."

Editor's note: Well, as long as it was just for a few minutes.



"Held my laptop out a window to get the Wi-Fi next door so I could send an important email."

Editor's note: Hope it was one of those rugged notebooks.



"Sat outside an airport for 4 hours so I could use the free wireless across the street."

Editor's note: Good thing her flight was delayed.



"I've done a lot of crazy things but I'll never be able to admit it or I'd lose my dignity."

Editor's note: Tease.



"Moved throughout my home because of connection problems, I found
myself sitting in a ducky chair in my toddler's room because that is
where I got the best connection."

Editor's note: That's just quackers.



"Using dial up."

Editor's note: That's desperate.



"I think a laundromat is the strangest one I ever hooked up to."

Obama: Clinton 'can run as long as she wants'

Posted: 04:40 PM ET
Sen. Obama turns to leave after speaking with the press after a campaign event in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Sen. Obama turns to leave after speaking with the press after a campaign event in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania (CNN) – Sen. Hillary Clinton should remain in the Democratic presidential race "as long as she wants," rival candidate Barack Obama said Saturday despite two of his high profile supporters urging the former first lady to give up.

"She is a fierce and formidable competitor, and she obviously believes that she would make the best nominee and the best president," the Illinois senator told reporters while campaigning in Pennsylvania. "I think that she should be able to compete, and her supporters should be able to support her for as long as they are willing or able."

Pennsylvania is the scene of the next Democratic primary, on April 22, and the largest state that hasn't yet weighed in on the party's presidential race. Clinton, of New York, has won primaries in the biggest states so far, but Obama has won more total contests and leads Clinton in race for delegates to the party's August convention in Denver — where the nominee will be formally ratified.

Two of Obama's leading supporters, Sens. Christopher Dodd and Patrick Leahy, said Friday that Clinton should rethink her chances of overcoming that deficit and consider folding her campaign. Leahy, D-Vermont, said Clinton "has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to."

For her part, Clinton told supporters at a rally in Indiana, which holds a May 6 primary, that "The more people get a chance to vote, the better it is for our democracy."

"There are some folks saying we ought to stop these elections," she said in Indianapolis. "I didn't think we believed that in America. I thought we of all people knew how important it was to give everyone a chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted."

Obama said he did not discuss Leahy's call for Clinton to get out with the Vermont senator, who serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The candidate called fears that the Democratic Party would be damaged by a long campaign "somewhat overstated." But he added that both he and Clinton should avoid campaign attacks "that could be used as ammunition for the Republicans" in November.

Bush gives out wrong hotline number — again

(CNN) – When it comes to a government hotline number for homeowners seeking mortgage relief, President Bush just can't get the digits right.

After a housing roundtable in New Jersey, Bush twice gave out the wrong number in a public statement, saying the relief line was 1-88-995-HOPE – leaving off the third 8 in the area code of the correct number: 1-888-995-HOPE.

At the end of his statement, the president was quietly informed of his mistake and issued a correction.

Bush had trouble with the same number in December when it was first unveiled. Then the president incorrectly said the number was 1-800-995-HOPE.

Anyone who dialed 1-800-995-HOPE did not reach the mortgage hotline, but instead contacted the Freedom Christian Academy — a Texas-based group that provides Christian education home schooling material.

Don' drive and text

Rumor: Apple Launching Record Label With Jay-Z

Looks like there might another major announcement at MacWorld. BGR says they've "confirmed" that Apple is launching a record label with Jay-Z, who's set to step down from Def Jam. Jay-Z and Jobs are both brilliant businessmen, and the move would make sense on a number of levels: The labels almost view iTunes as a competitor now, the industry landscape is rapidly transforming, and whoever finds the magic formula for a new kind of label/distribution firm stands to make a lot of money as they establish the new paradigm of the industry. And iTunes already is something like a label. This could be megaton big, if the rumor is true. [BGR]

No surprise iPhone Cited as Year's Best Innovation

Who would have thought that an ultra advanced phone that geeks salivated over would turn out to be cultural phenomenon and the biggest benchmark cellphones since camera phones. Now even those have become so ubiquitous I can't get a cellphone without a damn camera. Well done Steve Jobs we should have all sent you a christmas card.

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