The point of this article is to introduce you to the newest WiFi related websites and Web 2.0 technologies. You'll quickly learn that Wifi isn't the estranged wireless protocol that it used to be!
(thank you to killerstartups.com for these!)
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As WiFi locations continue to sprout up, people become more and more mobile with their computers with the added internet connection availability. Whisher makes WiFi even more available and adds a community feel to it. Once you have downloaded Whisher, you are able to share your WiFi with others in your area, or use the WiFi of a fellow Whisher for free. You can easily see the available WiFi connections on the Whisher module and see some information about the person sharing that spot. Now you can actually communicate with the people in your WiFi area. Those Whishers appear in your list of contacts that you can chat with, as well as the usernames of your friends from AIM, MSN, GTalk, Twitter, Yahoo, ICQ, and Jabber. You can also share files with anyone on your list and do group chats, no matter which network your contacts are a part of.
Another cool feature is the availability of information based on your location. You can find out about restaurants, events, shops, and people that are around where you are hooking into the internet. You can also check out where your friends are to see if they’re close by to go enjoy one of those spots you’ve just learned about from your location information. This is making WiFi more social, global, and free than ever before.
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JiWire.com offers advertising to people logging on to use WiFi at particular locations. For example, if a person wishes to visit a WiFi enabled cafe to catch up on some of their work, they would be presented with advertisements before they are able to access the internet. JiWire advertising targets mainly affluent business people and travelers. This of course would include the cooperation of the owners of the WiFi connection, who would take part in the profits as well.
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Travelers and laptop lovers, meet Hotspotr.com. Hotspotr.com meet your biggest fans. How many times have you had to roam a city just to find that WiFi sticker on the window? Did you get stuck in the rain on this journey and get your laptop soaked? Did you give up and pay to use a dinky Internet café computer? If you answered yes to any of these then go to hotspotr.com and just search the city you are in. There are 1663 cities on the site, mostly in the USA but many from around the world, and 5970 posted cafes with WiFi. To find a café with Internet just fill in the search space with the city, address, or café name and view the information. Each café should have information filled out on wireless, food, hours and a bit of other info if the poster so chooses. Users can post reviews and comments about cafes and share yummy items from the menu. WiFi cafes and hotspots are added by all users creating a community vibe that site visitors can trust. New cafes and cities are welcomed! Updates and café searches can also be done using a mobile phone.
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Not afraid to be ambitious, HotSpot Haven wants to help you find WiFi anywhere in the world. It is a searchable database of wireless locations where you enter a city or zip code, the service provider name, and/or enter that you want a free wireless network spot. Hopefully, the site will then find you a location meeting your preferences. They also encourage you to go to the location and write a review so people know whether they should go. Unfortunately, I did not have great success with some of the international cities I entered, and even inputting a zip code in San Diego came up with zero search results. When I then just entered the entire city of San Diego, I did get results, but the results were extremely limited despite my personal knowledge of dozens and dozens of locations.
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Do you live in Portland, Oregon and desire to find a WiFi spot other than Starbucks (where in most cities they charge for their service)?? WifiPDX gives you a wifi map of wifi hotspots in addition to a listing of places with Wifi. The hot spot list is cool, as a location is categorized by a specific business with wifi or by a general area -- either way, they list out the top 5 closest wifi locations within that vicinity. You can also input a Portland address or intersection to see where the closest WiFi is. And that is not all....many of the locations listed have user reviews....so you can get a sense of the vibe, cost, crowd, offerings, etc. Finally, they offer a text messaging service that allows you to ask WifiPDX to send you the nearest wifi spot you input -- for the cost of a regular text.
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Whether you’re Australia bound or if you reside in the Great Down Under, you’ll certainly want to check out FreeWifi.com.au to aid you in your wifi prospecting. The site includes all types of wifi spots, including, restaurants, beaches, parks, caravans, libraries, shopping centers, hotels, and much more. Each listing is accompanied by a short description and contact details. Places which require users to pay are clearly denoted in the listing. The site also comes with a free, downloadable guide explaining how to connect to free wifi, if you need extra help. To add your own listing, you’ll need to put down $250 (good for one year).
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New York, with its quaint tagline ‘the city that never sleeps’ is unsurprisingly filled with coffee shops; the people need something to keep them going after all. Yes there are Starbuck’s on seemingly every corner, and yes Starbuck’s has wifi and biscotti, but in such a large metropolis there’s got to be something better. Cup of NYC was set up precisely for finding the best cafes and coffee shops in the Big Apple. Not only do they intend to ferret out the best coffee in the city, they also want to find those uber cool places that are simply perfect for hanging out with the pals a la Seinfeld or Friends. Reviews include drink ratings, contact info, maps, and opening hours, along with extra features, e.g. wifi and pastries. You can also search for places by features and best drinks. Sign up today to submit your own reviews.
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Ever wish you had a list of all the WiFi spots in your neighborhood? Now you do. At OpenWifiSpots.com you can search for nearby free internet locations, the only irony is, the time you probably need to use the site the most, you wont be able to access the internet. So using the site will consist of a little bit of prior planning. The site claims to have the locations of 24,434 free WiFi locations in the US and continuing to add. I know they definitely have a bit more info to add, for instance, the site shows 58 WiFi locations in Las Vegas and I know that there are quite a bit more than that. But with time and with users adding to the content the site will defintitely catch up and become more and more useful with time.
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WeFi makes WiFi easy. Everyone gets frustrated trying to find a good WiFi signal when away from the home or office. WeFi makes this process easy and a social experience. WeFi auto-connect feature makes sure you are always connected to the best signal around, and as you move will make sure your connection remains strong. This is obviously important if you would like to enjoy your youTube or Pandora experience on the go. On the social side, WeFi members map various locations with WiFi, focusing on spots that are free. With each mapped site, a spot is created, which is basically a hub for information about that cafe or location. You can say what is going on there, maybe advertise for your spot, or even add flickr photos to show other WeFi members what the spot looks like. WeFi lets you check out Google maps to find the WiFi connections near you, as well as to locate other WeFi members within a city block or even at a distance. You will eventually be able to add friends and specify to only see where they are on the WeFi map, and eventually you will be able to see local reviews, events, and other users experience of the WiFi and spots that are near you. So dont just search for the nearest WiFi community next time you need to connect to the internet, but actually join and participate in that community and see whats going on.
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Do your neighbors steal your wi-fi? Want them to pay? Well now you can with Wifitastic, the perfect solution for wi-fi banditry and wi-fi exploits. The idea behind this service is that you can generate some money from your broadband connection by setting up a hotspot. Homeowners can charge their neighbors at a fixed rate—monthly, hourly or daily access, fees are up to you. Wifitastic will pay you 60% of what people pay to connect. All you need to set up your own hot spot is a specially configured router (a Linksys WRT54g model to be exact) which you can purchase from the site for a modicum $79.95. The rest is a piece of cake; your computer only needs to be on for installation. It is just like any other wireless setup except you get some cash out of it.
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The solution to hard to find internet connections is here! FON.com has made WiFi easier, more useful, and cheaper than ever. The concept is that in order to become a member, you buy La Fonera, the wireless router for your home and for other Foneros for $39.95. Once you have bought the router, you can choose who you want to share it with. You can share it for free with all Foneros, or you can share it for a fee that gets split between you and FON. The benefit of FON is that you can connect to WiFi wherever a FON router is close by. In this way, you don�t have to pay for internet both at home and away. If you don�t purchase the router, you can still take advantage of the available connections by paying $3 for use per day. FON is a Spanish company and is swiftly gaining tens of thousands of users monthly. In the upcoming months, they will be making a big push for users in the US.