Biggest Wi-Fi Cloud Is in Rural Oregon

Associated Press ^ | October 16, 2005 | RUKMINI CALLIMACHI

[RLM]

HERMISTON, Ore. -- Parked alongside his onion fields, Bob Hale can prop open a laptop and read his e-mail or, with just a keystroke, check the moisture of his crops. As the jack rabbits run by, he can watch CNN online, play a video game or turn his irrigation sprinklers on and off, all from the air conditioned comfort of his truck. While cities around the country are battling over plans to offer free or cheap Internet access, this lonely terrain is served by what is billed as the world's largest hotspot, a wireless cloud that stretches over 700 square miles of landscape so dry and desolate it could have been lifted from a cowboy tune.

[RLM]

Isn't it interesting what a businessman can do unfettered by politics and restrictive legislation. How sad it is that most legislatures will prostitute themselves to any special interest cause with enough bucks to buy them off.

[Andy from Beaverton]

Only surpassed by the cloud of liberalism.

[cloud8]

"wireless entrepreneur Fred Ziari ... quickly built the $5 million cloud at his own expense.

"While his service is free to the general public, Ziari is recovering the investment ... Morrow County, for instance, pays $180,000 a year for Ziari's service."

Wow! This guy built a wi-fi network entirely on spec? That takes cojones!

[Justice]

Anybody on this thread know how to tell if anyone other than me may be using my wireless Internet connection? I have Verizon DSL and a wireless modem that is set up without the need to enter a password. Is there a way to tell if anybody in my neighborhood may be tapping into my connection? Also how does one set up a password? TIA.

[DennisR]

From komando.com:

"You can check to see if others are using your access point. Put the access point's IP number in the Internet browser's address bar. If you don't know the IP number, check your manual. Open the access point's software in your Internet browser. Find the MAC numbers of machines that are connected. You'll need to know the MAC addresses of the network cards on your system.

You may get the warning message if you have more than one account open on that computer. Or, if the printer is hooked to your computer and someone else is trying to use it, the message could appear."


From same site, check this link:

http://www.komando.com/tips_show.asp?showID=9199

[Justice]

Thanks. I will try it.

[Brilliant]

Each client, he said, pays not only for yearly access to the cloud but also for specialized applications such as a program that allows local officials to check parking meters remotely.

Putting the meter maids out of a job.

[getsoutalive]

Wow! This guy built a wi-fi network entirely on spec? That takes cojones!

While not the same business model, we have done a substancially similar, although smaller scale, network in Duck, NC. With more coverage on the way.

www.skyenetwireless.com

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

A great story.

[Salvation]

Oregon Ping

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Oregon Ping List.

[Valpal1]

That cloud of liberalism hangs over the coastal inland along the I-5 corridor.

There are dang few liberals on the dry side of the state.

[Iconoclast2]

I know the guy. Yes, he has cojones.

[dennisw]

Bob Hale, owner of American Onion, shows how he uses a laptop with wireless capabitlities from a remote, rural site at his onion fields in Hermiston, Ore., Aug. 15, 2005. Even as the most developed cities in the nation struggle with whether to offer free Wi-Fi access, one of the most rural counties in the nation has succeeded in creating the world's largest hot spot, a Wi-Fi cloud that stretches over the wide open landscape in Umatilla County.Hale says he can photograph onions and send realtime pictures to customers from the field to show the quality of the product. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

[not2worry]

Someone told me that when you use Wi-Fi your computer becomes an open book to anyone who has knowledge of hacking. Is this true?

I only use DSL with a firewall install.

I use a laptop that doesn't contain any sensitive information on my hard drive when I use Wi-Fi.

Any FReeper who can address this for me would be very much appreciated.

[jokar]

BUMP!