Surfing In A Window Sill
Because I am in New York this week staying with Felice and Ben to work on The Gates, I am temporarily deprived of Internet. You see, Felice and Ben don't have broadband, or any band for that matter, in their apartment.
I have once or twice before encountered this phenomenon in the wild and dealing with it is always a challenge.
My first inclination was to check out options for free Wi-Fi. A number of people pointed me to Starbucks. There are always people sitting there with laptops so why couldn't I be one of those people?
Anyone who has ever tried to log on at a Starbucks - or a Kinkos or in an airport - realizes that it ain't free. T-Mobile has an exclusive contract with Starbucks to offer their T-Zones service at an hourly or monthly charge.
Paying for the Internet outside of my home, which I can barely bring myself to do, would be unacceptable.
As my search continued I discovered that most of the New York Public Libraries offer free Wi-Fi while they are open. On Sunday afternoon I walked to the library across 53rd from MoMA and enjoyed fast and free Internet access until the place closed.
Yesterday after work, however, I realized a problem with this solution. The library isn't open when I want to use the Internet. In fact that Donnell library closes at 6 or 8 depending on the day. Not enough time to warrant the schlepp.
Felice and Ben then suggested that I try the F&B Güdtfood around the block on 52nd. Not only did they have free Internet but Monday was free fry day. I bought a beer, got free fries, and sat down to work on samfelder.com.
Today after work I did the same but when I returned to Felice and Ben's apartment I decided to sit in the kitchen to get some more work done.
Once at the table I noticed that more hotspots were popping up than in their bedroom. I moved the laptop to the kitchen window sill and the list tripled.
Clicking through the list I discovered an open base station, MargiesAirport, and hopped on.
Now I sit, comfortably sitting in my friends' apartment enjoying the view and friend Wi-Fi. Next time you are in New York and want to check your e-mail just stick your laptop out the window and see what you can pick up. You will be pleasantly surprised!
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Who is this guy?
When I read the first part, I was going to totally suggest you hit up Keim and see if he's got any info on wardriving in Manhattan. But I see you're already a few steps ahead of me.