Saturday, October 05, 2002

WIFI Driving ->   After listening to a NPR story Athens, Georgia, goes overall wireless (NPR RealAudio) about the University of Georgia New Media Institute and Athens, Georgia I started to think how many towns will be like this in the near future.  If this experiment catches on how will I be able to tune into these kind of  public networks in my travels.  This is when I started to dream about "WIFI driving". WIFI Drive:  Let me start with what WIFI Driving is not.  It is not war driving/chalking.  Not even close.  This is not telco packaged wireless Internet access.  Most of the WIFI Drive nodes will be free access and open to the public.  It is not telco 2.5G or 3G. It is WIFI Drive 1G. In the near future when you drive down the road in your vehicle of choice you will pass through many public available WIFI clouds.  Yes, WIFI clouds that purposely extend into the roads of traffic.  These clouds will contain the context of location you are at not just or neccessary give access to the public Internet. A specific location message. Town background information, road and weather conditions, commerce including real estate, shopping and eateries, ATM locations, local WIFI hotspots and parking pads directions are just some of the information that can be made available in context to the location as you motor through the town.  Information a map could never give the road traveler or keep this kind of infromation updated. Send email, update you blog maybe.  But the real purpose will be to communicate location information along the road on your trip. It is a way to restore what InterState Roads took away from little town USA.  You will tune into the towns WI-Drive electronic billboard/audio/autoblog and it will supply local information that you could never physically sense as you drive 60 past the town's exits. Maps in the future will include WIFI Drive Node locations.  Systems will be devised that will optimize your driving route through the best/most WIFI Drive nodes. Towns will have signs that contain the following information: Welcome to My Little Town USA WIFI: PUBLIC B: C1 A: C2 G: C1 Note: The first letter stands for flavor of WIFI 802.11x and the C represents the Channel to tune to. If we do this right driving again will be informative and bring community communication back into the equation.  3:32:46 AM  comment []     InfoWorld: Wireless -> Trying to build a case against 'warchalking'. -> " Opposition isn't as simple as it might seem " The real problem here is the fact that companies are leaving their wireless networks wide open and don't even know it.  Vendors are installing most of these first generation systems and some don't advise their customers of the risks or options as they install and leave these networks wide open.  Uneducated customers don't know that their wireless networks may extend well beyond the physical of their building and property.  The situations and problems demonstrate the stage we are at here.  Education as an industry is needed. We are entering a time where many wireless networks,private and public will need to co-exist.  The private networks will need to secure up there networks as there will be also be networks that are ment to be public and open as the one being constructed in Athens Georgia. As more communities get on board like Athens Georgia, it will be common to drive around ''WIFI-DRIVE", and access open public networks.  2:31:28 AM  comment []

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