Intel Ranks Colleges with Best Wireless Access 526
newdamage writes "Intel recently released it's ranking of The Most Unwired College Campuses and I was happy to see my school, Purdue, up there at #2. I can personally attest that my laptop w/ wireless card can be used over almost all of the main campus, and there's always a few people in lecture using laptops to access notes and take extra notes. Granted all I've found is that internet access in class just gives me a better way to not pay attention. What are other peoples' experiences with wireless access on their campus? Is there widespread coverage, and if so, does it help you get more school related work done by having your laptop connected where ever you are on campus?"
Also of interest (Score:5, Informative)
Also, do these lists just count wireless access points that Centrino supports? It almost sounds like some sort of propaganda...
Re:2 from Indiana? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Colleges must be pretty lacking... (Score:2, Informative)
If U of I is only #33, I'd really like to see how good these other schools are. There is nothing like taking your laptop out on the lawn, and check your email and stuff.
Purdue's wi-fi (Score:2, Informative)
As long as I shut the damn thing off when I'm in class, it isn't too distracting. It's so fantastic to be able to get a burrito or whatever in the Union, sit, catch up on email, do research (with the purdue.edu IPs it's easy to get into the library's [purdue.edu] online journals and stuff), listen to Air America Radio's [airamericaradio.com] stream, and so on.
If it hasn't made me more productive, I feel more productive, at least. And perception of functionality always trumps actual functionality!
Re:I always got too distra... eh? (Score:3, Informative)
Purdue Wireless Stats (Score:1, Informative)
http://www.noc.purdue.edu/traffic.php?tree_id=10 [purdue.edu]
For more general information:
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/airlink/ [purdue.edu]
My university is at the bottom of the heap. (Score:5, Informative)
Our Network Services department, despite repeated requests from faculty and students, has not set up any sort of wireless coverage anywhere on campus. They also prohibit faculty and students from setting up their own wireless equipment, whether or not it is connected to their network. I am not permitted to put a wireless NIC in my desktop and have it talk to my laptop, even if neither machine is on the campus network.
(I figure that since I'm allowed to use a cordless telephone operating in the 2.4GHz band, Network Services has no right to dictate what other signals I generate in that band.)
Any Slashdotters who are pondering attending this university should think carefully about whether they are willing to accept the complete lack of wireless and consistent 15-25% packet loss on the dormitory connections. (People use dialup because it's more reliable.)
In contrast, a friend of mine in Washington University Law School frequently IM's me from class lamenting how boring class is. (How someone can be bored with a computer (with 3d card) and network access in front of them is left as an exercise to the reader.)
University of Texas (Score:1, Informative)
Re:2 from Indiana? (Score:1, Informative)
Pity it only covers U.S. Universities... (Score:2, Informative)
Here were I study [iu-bremen.de] in Germany we've got hotspots in almost every classroom and pretty much everybody has a laptop. This is because of the payment facilities given by the Uni (granted, they get sucky models and prices are not so cheap, but I won't get into this or I'll never end this post). Unfortunately few people really use their laptop in class for taking notes. Almost everybody else is using IM/surfing the net/watching movies (!!) during class. Regardless, using your laptop during a boring lecture is much better than falling asleep, IMHO.
Still, I'd be curious to know in which place on the list my university would end up.
R.
Pointless (Score:5, Informative)
Carnegie Mellon only #6? (Score:5, Informative)
Not very accurate (Score:5, Informative)
K-State technically has wireless in some buildings, but not many. Yes, the library and union have wireless as do a few others, but that's where it ends. The biology and physics buildings both lack it entirely, as does the main building for the college of arts and sciences and only a large lecture hall in one of the main engineering buildings is listed as having it. Since it was installed I might have taken one or two courses that would have made it available to me. I don't have a wireless laptop myself (although my girlfriend does and I've been interested in how good the coverage is), but I doubt you'd be able to get online from anywhere outside on campus at all.
Essentially this is something they did about 2 years ago and then more or less have ignored ever since. The website for it lists that more locations will be coming, but in that time none ever have. IT out here is a joke though. Bandwidth in the dorms was so bad (i.e. >2k/sec) a few years back that almost every single student living in them had to sign a petition about it before we barely got some degree of improvement (up to maybe 10-20k/sec). The IT staff is frequently unreachable having locked themselves off in the library basement and rarely if ever respond to e-mail.
The presence of K-State on that list seems to indicate that the list compilers merely looked over webpages and cataloged the number of areas listed without any regard for the actual coverage provided.
Wireless Security (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Ranking Intel Campuses (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Not very accurate (Score:3, Informative)
Also, I don't remember signing a petition, but I do remember how on campus students were nearly monopolizing the internet pipe, such that the line was plateauing from 8 am to 8 pm. Since the implementation of p2p filtration this issue has largely vacated, and downloading from ocremix or debian updates typically move at 300 kpbs.
The IT staff in the basement are mostly concerned with the mainframes and the central router. The kind of people you want to talk with are upstairs, in ITAC or the head of CNS (or maybe resnet).
ITESM in Mexico (Most wireless school I know) (Score:2, Informative)
For starters, the ITESM, has been part of Internet2 for years (about two or three). Has had high speed wired networks everywhere but the restrooms for ages. They have been requiring laptops for every undergraduate since 97 (if you couldn't afford one, the school financed it). And has had wireless networks since 2000. Right now, you can have acces to 802.11a, b or c anywhere in school (yes, including restrooms, dont ask me how I know
Most exchange students from the US or Europe are always surprised of this (Even Kevin Mitnick, to whom I had the opportunity to meet him at a conference here at school, and actually had a chat with him about this same topic).
Most classes are now what they call "redesigned" to be accessible trough the web or before that, using Lotus Notes. They even built a new 15 million dollar hall, which is called CIAP (International Center for Learning for its initials in spanish.) and almost every class is dictated in english with videocameras recording every class so everyone can check them out later on the web (Still in experimental stages).
I think that in many aspects, catching up is almost always better, since you can learn from other's mistakes and benefit from newer a better technologies, like the ones we've been enjoying here at the ITESM, in a little undeveloped country called Mexico.
Re:Pointless (Score:2, Informative)
Yes, you may not be able to get it in the music building... but its only 75 yards from Highland Coffe, which also has wi-fi. Not on the South side of campus? then go to CC's Coffee in the law building or just past the North Gates.
UT Austin #3? Gotta be kidding (Score:3, Informative)
All the machines are on public IPs and there is no sort of virus scanning or update requirements at all. We accidentally put a fresh Windows install on the wireless network and got hit with a worm in 30 seconds. The network nazis, under orders of our joke of a security office, often filter DHCP addresses because of viruses, which is great until you accidentally get the lease for a filtered address.
UT just finally figured out that maybe they should offer SSL POP and IMAP on the central mailserver after having kids on unencrypted wireless for 3 years. VPNs are just now being looked at.
The worst thing about wireless at UT is it's so inconsistent. There aren't nearly enough APs in highly populated areas, meaning you get dialup speeds are not uncommon. There are dead spots everywhere because of poor AP placement.
We were doing a voice over wireless IP pilot, and it was impossible. Each building is on it's own VLAN and they don't route to each other. Some wireless systems are maintained by departments and you can't even log into them. We could communicate in our building, but the building across the street was blind. Even getting the phones to work, with UTs homebrewed authentication system, was a beast.
Re:Do these rankings bear any resemblance to reali (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Also of interest (Score:3, Informative)
Have you tried to use Dragonfly (Drexel's wireless network)? Coverage is spotty as hell. Maybe if you're outside you can keep a stable connection, but I know I don't walk with my laptop out... get run over by one of those damn landscaping trucks driving through the quad.
I had 1 lecture where I could access the network, and that was in the CS building. My dorm I could get a weak connection, but it would drop randomly.
Overall, its good as a backup for the wired network, but its not good on its own.
Oh, its all Onorico equipment, btw.
Re:Wireless Security (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Ranking Intel Campuses (Score:1, Informative)
I haven't been issued one of those new Centrino laptops yet (and probably won't be since I'm a contractor). I keep thinking about bringing in my Powerbook 17" and attending one of the ubiquitious meetings that Intel has. I wonder how long it would take for anyone to notice
I'm not proud but... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Rochester Institute of Technology (Score:1, Informative)
My Wifi Use At GaTech (Score:3, Informative)
What I tend to use wireless for in class is runing experiments for class projects where I can communicate with other group members during class via AIM, additionally in another class I use it to do the individual projects, the use of the wireless here is that I run CVS on my desktop computer, and need access to it when I'm in class. It's a nice little system. As for my other class I usually just do work for the two previous classes in it and not really pay attention
Re:Wireless Security (Score:2, Informative)
Airports? (Score:3, Informative)
I travel in and out of O'Hare regularly, and I'm not aware of any wireless service available to the unwashed. Perhaps wireless is available in the airline club lounges, but that hardly counts as "airport" access.
By contrast, I was in KC Mo last month, a much smaller airport than O'Hare, though with a very cool design in my opinion, and their wireless access was both publicly available, and clearly announced on their PA screens.
Re:2 from Indiana? (Score:3, Informative)