Wifi Internet Access In Public Places

Discussion in 'Gadgets & Tech Talk' started by Hal Pollner, Jul 15, 2019.

  1. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    Seated in a Starbucks coffee shop with a Laptop Computer, neither of which I have any use for.

    Hal
     
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  2. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    You will never see me waiting in line for a Black Friday sale to begin. :)
     
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  3. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    How about a McDonalds restaurant? Starting to see more and more people using laptops in there. Actually, it's not at all uncommon today seeing someone using a laptop at any donut shop.
    As for us, we don't haul our laptop around at all, but there are plenty of today's generation that do.
     
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  4. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Don't know if we'll ever do that again, but sure have before. Standing in a long line outside of JCP to get a nice deal on a Indoor Grill. Actually, stood in line, at 3AM, at a local Target.
     
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  5. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Some people don't have access to internet at home and have to rely on public wifi, such as Starbucks and McDonald's. I think it's nice service that they provide along with the overpriced coffee. :D I have made use of it occasionally when traveling.
     
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  6. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    I have used it often in the past in my line of work when on location or waiting for a train..or plane!!

    OTOH...I'm with you @Babs Hunt , you'll never, nor will you have ever seen me stand in queue in the middle of the night waiting for a sale to start ...
     
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  7. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    You'll never see me posting selfies on Twitter.
     
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  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I have often brought my MacBook into a restaurant. Even locally, I will sometimes do that because I start to feel closed up sitting behind my desk all day, so I'll get something to eat, get coffee, and work at a restaurant for a while. I tip well when I do that, so I don't think there's any resentment on the part of the staff. From time to time, people I know will come in and I'll close the MacBook up and talk.

    When traveling, my wife and I will both do that sometimes when we stop for lunch halfway to our next hotel, just to keep up on the forum and other things.

    I knew a guy who started a business building websites, of all things, using Internet connections from the library and various restaurants. Either he didn't have Internet access at home or there was something with the living conditions that made it hard for him to work from home.
     
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  9. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    Relying on Public WiFi? :eek: I thought that WiFi was something you used at home with your desktop computer! o_O So they have Internet access at public places? How? With a jack you plug into? I never knew this!:confused:

    Hallington
     
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  10. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    WiFi Internet Access in Public Places.

    How does that work?

    Do you access the Web in a public place using your own password?

    How does the Internet bill you if you're using The Public's equipment?

    I've had a Verizon modem with an Antenna for over 10 years. Does this mean it's using a WiFi signal even though my PC is connected with a yellow Ethernet cable?

    Also, my modem has a light that says "Wireless".

    Have I been missing something all these years?

    Gosh...
    Hal
     
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    Last edited: Jul 15, 2019
  11. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    It works the same way that home WiFi works anywhere else, except that the public has access to it. How much access, or how that is worked out, depends on who is paying the bill. If you've stayed at a hotel recently, you'll know that most of them use WiFi now, rather than an ethernet plug in each room. Those who had ethernet plugs before probably still have them, although WiFi is most likely also available. My iMac is plugged in by an ethernet cable, but we also have WiFi, so that we can connect our televisions, tablets, and other computers. My iMac is plugged in simply because it's located near the router.

    Many restaurants and coffee shops have WiFi now, including, I think, most, if not all, MacDonalds. You might have to ask them what the password is, or it's probably posted somewhere. Most libraries have public WiFi. In fact, if desperate, you could park your car outside of a library when they're closed, and still connect to their WiFi. When we had an Internet cafe, our public WiFi would reach about two square blocks around the building. Some entire towns have a public WiFi system, where anyone within its range can connect for free. I once stayed at a cheap hotel whose WiFi system didn't work, but I found that I could connect to the WiFi system from another hotel next door.

    You may or may not have WiFi at your house. WiFi would require a router, besides the broadband modem provided by the Internet Service Provider. Some ISP packages include the router, but others don't. We have our own router.
     
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  12. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Yes, you have been missing out on one of the greatest advancements ever, @Hal Pollner , and that is wireless connections for computers, laptops, tablets and phones.
    Almost every public place that you go, including hotels and hospitals and restaurants , have free WiFi now.
    At home, I use my wireless connection for my ipad, and also for the iMac desktop that I just bought, and it is a really old iMac.
    When I am traveling with my daughter, we use the hotel WiFi, and all we have to do is sign into their internet connection, we do not plug anything into a wall adaptor, or anything at all.
    I am sure that others here can explain it better, but WiFi is similar to the radio signals that you use when using your walkie talkie at the grocery store or wherever you said you use those at.
    A home CB has to be plugged into electricity, but it transmits the signals over the airwaves to other CB radios that are within range. My home WiFi works all over our home, and out in the yard, and then it fades out if I walk down the street with the ipad.
    The ones at public places are similar, in that you have to be close enough to be in the reception range of their WiFi.

    That is why you have an antenna on your modem at home.
    If you do not have your modem password protected, any person who is close enough to your house to receive the signal can use your WiFi .

    Both @Frank Sanoica and @Lon Tanner are very knowledgeable about WiFi, and I am sure that either one of your two best friends here would be glad to give you an in-depth explanation if you asked them to do that.

    Here is a website with a short explanation of what WiFi is, and why it is called WiFi .
    https://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Computer_Science/wifi_explained.asp
     
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    Last edited: Jul 15, 2019
  13. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Yvonne Smith

    Uh, Uhhhh! Beyond knowing WiFi involves wireless connection between my computer and the internet, I know nothing at all.......not even what "WiFi" means. In electronics school, and the commercial "high-fi" industry, high-fi meant "high-fidelity", referring to the degree of exact reproduction of the original sounds recorded.
    Frank
     
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  14. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Beth Gallagher
    I have heard use of "public domain" exposes one's computer to outside intrusion more easily. True?
    Frank
     
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  15. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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