25. June 2008 by admin.

World Technology Forum calls us Technology Pioneers

You probably already read about Meraki raising $20,000,000 to extend wifi coverage of San Francisco. Where Google and Earthlink failed , now the Mountain View wifi start-up intends to claim success .

Here’s the dirt> They are WiFi-ing the Haight and the Mission. There is no indication that this ploy will pan ou but… at least it is a tribute to the spirit of San Francisco’s humble attempts to deploy this technology to this relatively compact (49 square miles) land mass. Maybe San Francisco just can’t foot the bill for it’s very own people so like shabby debutantes we show up in Silicon Valley with our hats in our hands begging some cast off knock offs from the rich and the elite.

It’s like this… Say you work in a major corporation in the Financial District and they act like it’s going to leave them banging @ the poorhouse door if they were to part with an honest living wage for the lowly workers. Or check it out you live in one of the most progressive locales in the entire uSA but they can’t leave us have those mystical & Muy caro INVISIBLE WiFi WAVES! Oh, the humanity… Hey! By the 21st century we should have been flying around in hydro-solar jetpacks but look at us, mama… (Please notice that price was $20,000,000 usd , roughly the price of lunch for an Oil Tycoon) I guess the major reason this city was named for St. Francis was to remind all of us (me especially) to have patience and look kindly on everyone.

I received un Centavo fromNicaragua today and that’s roughly worth less than a penny in the economy of the World @ large. People have it rougher than the once priviledged economic power of the US. What is so tough about US getting a Citywide-WiFi up and running? It’s a real head scratcher, folks. Yes sir. A real head scratcher…

Well, keep jacked in and Citywide will be updating this story as it oozes forth from the Civic Center.

Peace to the people of the Earth & Citywide

PS

And maybe we can get some free wifi @ the newly proposed

George W Bush Sewage Treatment Plant

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28. April 2008 by admin.

As if Katrina wasn’t bad enough… now Earthlink is jumping ship in New Orleans

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New Orleans is about to lose its municipal Wi-Fi network as EarthLink plans to halt its participation in the citywide project on May 18, an EarthLink spokesman said Friday.

The Internet service provider had tried a three-pronged approach before it decided to terminate the network, said Chris Marshall, EarthLink’s VP of corporate communications. First, EarthLink tried to sell the network outright. Second, it sought to transfer ownership of the network to the city of New Orleans. Finally, it tried to transfer the network to a third party. All three approaches failed.

“We were unable to find a buyer — either the city or an outside buyer,” Marshall said, noting that New Orleans city officials and customers have been informed that EarthLink will remove its network. Subscribers are being offered alternate EarthLink high-speed broadband or dial-up services in place of Wi-Fi.

Earlier this month, EarthLink finalized moves to transfer its Wi-Fi networks in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Milpitas, Calif., to those cities’ governments.

EarthLink still has Wi-Fi network arrangements with Philadelphia and Anaheim, Calif., and while those arrangements remain in place, EarthLink has indicated it would like to terminate all of its municipal networks. The company has said it is in discussions with Philadelphia and Anaheim concerning the networks.

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You can read:

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The project goes dark May 18 after the Internet service provider said it was unable to find a buyer.
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On the InformationWeek website. It is an article written by W. David Gardner.

Read the rest of this entry »

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24. January 2008 by admin.

In Switzerland, our friend and fellow blogger -Adrian von Bidder of CMOT - is of the humble opinion…. Read the rest of this entry »

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3. December 2007 by admin.

I found a wifi connection outside the CalTrain station Thursday evening while waiting on the #10 to NorthPoint. It was a FEEVA flavored connection with four strength bars glowing hot green I thought the news had FINALLY come to pass

Google offers S.F. Wi-Fi –                                               for free

Company’s bid is one of many in response to mayor’s call for universal online access

Verne Kopytoff, Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writers

Saturday, October 1, 2005

Google Inc. has offered to blanket San Francisco with free wireless Internet access at no cost to the city, placing a marquee name behind Mayor Gavin Newsom’s effort to get all residents online whether they are at home, in a park or in a cafe.

The offer by the popular Mountain View search engine was one of more than a dozen competing bids received by the city before its deadline Friday. Officials will review the submissions and decide which, if any, of the candidates gets the green light to build the so called Wi-Fi service, which would be free or inexpensive for users.

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On further reflection,… I guess the commuters need the WiFi more than the citizens who are actually living in the heart of the City.

It turns out, two hours later, while waiting for the 9x into downtown… BLAM! - no WIFI. Cold, lonely waiting in the night for a bus outside the Wastewater treatment plant with no idea if or when it will show.

Oh well,… like Harold Brown says:

The main problem standing in the way of solving all of your problems is that the mayor of San Francisco could give a shit less about you. He’s there to front for the business interests of the group of billionaires who have trained him and supported and enriched him since his middle-teen years. You need a reform mayor and that means removing Gavin Newsom and replacing him with Ahimsa Sumchai. Or, Josh Wolf. Or, me.

Good For You, Citizen Harold Brown! Good For You, Good For Me.

CITYWIDE WiFi = Good for SF!

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25. November 2007 by admin.

You could call this organization a bunch of ‘head-in-the-clouds’ do-gooders because when we say ‘Citywide’ we mean everybody. The people waiting @ the bus stops need WiFi just as much as the the fossil fuel burning consumers, and the groups of critical mass bikers need WiFi just as much as the lawyers. No matter whether it’s 802.11g or .11n, this is a technology that must start at the city level. In the City of SF we can show real unity by rallying for this important technology. The more we are able to communicate with one another, the more we will be able to break down stereotypical excuses.

Sure, sure we have the ability to start with the best. The technology is ready and our tax dollars pay for it’s implementation.

Supporters of the 802.11n WiFi standard which, according to them, will “breathe new life” into the wireless networking technology, got some good news this week when the Enhanced Wireless Consortium passed a joint proposal by a 40-0 vote. Their proposal will now go in front of the IEEE at its meeting next week.

It is believed that 802.11n WiFi is estimated to be nearly five times faster than 802.11g, and up to 50 times faster than 802.11b. It would make sense that those municipalities looking to deploy a citywide wireless network pay particular attention to this development, although the standard won’t be ratified until (most likely) the end of this year.

The City (SF) could possibly check out how other chicsters are doing it

FOR EXAMPLE:

Around the World in 80 Nodes
By Naomi Graychase

The City of Lights is getting lit up in a whole new way. Colubris Networks has been selected by Alcatel-Lucent and SFR, a major French telecom operator, to provide Wi-Fi equipment for the “Paris Wi-Fi” project.

According to Colubris, once Paris Wi-Fi is completed, it will be the largest municipal wireless LAN in Europe.

Paris Wi-Fi will provide both indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi coverage for municipal areas, including parks, squares, town halls, libraries, and museums.

Starting last summer, locals and visitors to the city began enjoying free, wireless, high-speed Internet access thanks to Colubris access points distributed at 100 locations throughout the city. As of the official launch in late September, 225 public sites were covered by 315 APs. Once fully deployed, the network will light up 260 municipal areas using 400 APs.

All in all I have to reply in the same way this lovely crazy city responds whenever I ask ‘How To…’ Pull out your money and buy the right tools for the right job.’

WE CAN DO IT!

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11. November 2007 by admin.

There seems to be many obstacles in forming a movement in San Francisco’s 21st century atmosphere (money, time, lunatic demonstrations, corporate hi-jinx, and a general ‘whatever’ blaise attitude towards progress ).

Google didn’t seem to have ‘too’ many obstacles:

Free citywide WiFi in Mountain View

by Minnie Ingersoll

8/16/2006

Today, Google launched a WiFi network in our hometown of Mountain View. Radios hanging on lampposts throughout the city are now broadcasting a “GoogleWiFi” wireless (802.11b/g) signal that brings wireless Internet access to the city’s residents, businesses, and visitors. All anyone needs is a laptop or other wireless-enabled device and a web browser to get online. Then Mountain View users can select the “GoogleWiFi” signal, open their web browser and sign in with a free Google Account. To learn more about the network’s coverage area and the location of the WiFi radios, we’ve published a map.

Though problems of overindulgence seem to be the biggest problems in more metropolitan areas, as is elequently touched upon in

The citywide Wi-Fi reality check

Wireless technology tempts cities that want to offer low-cost broadband to residents, but operating a network is no walk in the park.

By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Published: May 27, 2005

….

The spectrum crunch
Even though a wireless network can be built relatively inexpensively, experts say there are many challenges to providing reliable service.

One of the biggest technical issues that cities face in deploying municipal Wi-Fi is that it can suffer interference from other wireless devices trying to transmit signals in the same channel. Because wireless networks run on unregulated spectrum, many devices can interfere with transmission. For example, microwave ovens, hand-held phones, garage door openers and devices using Bluetooth applications all use the same 2.4MHz frequency used by Wi-Fi networks. What’s more, thousands of computer users have installed their own Wi-Fi networks in their homes.

“The 2.4MHz spectrum is already very crowded,” said Lindsay Schroth, a senior analyst at The Yankee Group. “When you have a large deployment such as Philadelphia also using that spectrum there’s a lot of potential for overcrowding and interference.”….

OR maybe our struggling dead tree media overlords such as the San Francisco Chronicle toss out some scraps of condolence….

“The city Wi-Fi movement is noticeably slowing down on some levels, but leaders say it’s progressing with a refined sense of purpose and a clearer perspective on the challenges that face these projects.”

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