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Wireless Networking Media Media (Apple) Portables (Apple) Hardware

An iPod-based Guide To SF Wireless Hotspots 128

Posted by timothy from the creative-misuse dept.
Ryan MacCarthy writes "On the day Apple announces the 4G iPod, BayAreaFreeFi.com announces the wiPod , an iPod-based field guide for free wi-fi hotspots in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now when you are on the road you can look up a free hotspot quickly and easily right from your iPod. No, the iPod isn't wi-fi enabled. wiPod uses the Notes functionality of the iPod OS to store the database in an easy to use format. Enjoy!"
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An iPod-based Guide To SF Wireless Hotspots More

An iPod-based Guide To SF Wireless Hotspots

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  • What's better, since it's all in human-readable text format, this will be easily extensible for other cities.

    Now excuse me while I get working on southeastern Virginia.

  • Why bother? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by per11 ( 650595 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @06:56PM (#9742559)
    It would make more sense just to read the text file on your laptop or whatever device you will be using to access these networks.

    • Re:Why bother? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Or just use one of these [wifiseeker.com] when you want to see what is out there. Chances are you can connect to someone's unsecured network for free...

    • Re:Why bother? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      because people need to justify themselves that a 40GB mp3 player is worth $399

      • Re:Why bother? (Score:3, Informative)

        by antic ( 29198 )

        Tomorrow's slashdot article: "iPod based Notes!"

        I don't think it's a slow day on slashdot -- I just don't think that some contributors and editors understand that this is essentially the equivalent of someone formatting a set of data as text files for a specific system: not very special at all.

        • Re:Why bother? (Score:5, Funny)

          by Further82 ( 720625 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @10:24PM (#9744363) Journal
          I'm pretty sure slashdot has some kinda regular expression search replace setup for certin key words to be arbitrarily replaced by "iPod". It's already used on the words "mp3 player", now it seems they've added "handheld computer" to the list. I await the day when any random noun is replaced by "iPod". I'm sure the editors at slashdot have some kinda deal with Apple where each additional mention of the iPod in a slashdot article allows a select editor to give Steve Jobs a blow job.
          • I'm pretty sure slashdot has some kinda regular expression search replace setup for certin key words to be arbitrarily replaced by "iPod".

            Don't be such an IPOD, you IPOD!

      • Re:Why bother? (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Moofie ( 22272 )
        It amuses me that an equal number seem to have the need to convince themselves that a well-designed MP3 player ISN'T worth $399.
      • No. Because it's cool and we can afford it.

    • Re:Why bother? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:29PM (#9742918)
      Unless you just wanted to check where the nearest WiFi point is and you are listening to your iPod at the time.

      Which would you rather do? Take the iPod out of your pocket and scroll to the Notes menu, or pull your laptop out of your bag, wait for it to boot up, then open the list...all while standing and holding your laptop.

      I agree that this isn't extremely useful in every situation, but that doesn't make it useless.

  • lavish frugality... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anubis333 ( 103791 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @06:56PM (#9742562) Homepage
    It's funny, because if anyone can afford to pay for wifi; it's iPod owners.

    • What? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Rew190 ( 138940 )
      You do realize that wireless cards are only about 40 bucks, right? Not exactly lavish.
      • You do realize that ipods are about 300 bucks, right?
        • You do realize that ipods are about 300 bucks, right?

          Uhm yes, I have one, but the parent poster was implying that wifi is quite expensive (as many would argue an iPod is), which the majority of folks wouldn't find ~40 dollars to be.

          Get it now?
          • Of course, it is expensive if you have a mac, and want to buy apple-branded stuff :)
            • Sigh. That's very, very true. I'm afraid to see what an Airport Extreme card runs for... (although they are G, which is nice).
              • I got a (broadcom chipset) 802.11G card from Fry's for $40 once, but it was on sale and the brand is Airlink+. I've bought a few of their products now and they all work, though :) It's a very small card with a very standard external antenna jack.
              • $79 bucks, with no goofy sticking-out-of-the-side-of-the-computer-snagging- on-my-laptop-bag-antenna.

                Thanks for askin'.
                • Mac portables have antennas built into the edge of the screen. I get much better reception on my apple powerbook, than my thinkpad.
                  • That's exactly right. To my mind, that's THE killer feature of the AirPort system. Fortunately for the PC crowd, this feature incorporated in many Centrino notebooks nowadays. My mom's Hewcom Packpaq has a little button on the front edge of the laptop that disables the WiFi radio. Staggeringly enough for Windows, the network connection seems to fail over to an available wired connection when you do that.

                    Unless I knew better (which I do), I'd say that HcomPaq knew WTF they were doing.

      • Re:What? (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Anubis333 ( 103791 )
        I don't really see how you misunderstood me. Wifi is expensive, which is why people look for free spots. Yes, the card is ~40 bucks, but unlimited wifi on sprint or T-Mobile something else that has decent coverage is easily 40-90 bucks a month or more. In addition to a cellular bill or something.

        By people 'looking for free wifi' they are admitting that paying for it is cost prohibitive, but they could still afford a laughably expensive iPod, and they live in one of the most expensive cities in the world

        • Re:What? (Score:4, Insightful)

          by Rew190 ( 138940 ) on Tuesday July 20, 2004 @01:01AM (#9745519)
          Wifi is expensive, which is why people look for free spots.

          The free spots are sprouting up all over the place, at least where I'm from. That said, it's not expensive.

          If they were penny pinchers they wouldn't own an iPod.

          300 bucks isn't as bad as you're making it out to be. Consider what you get: a 20GB harddrive that's just used to store music. How long do you think that is going to last your AVERAGE user? Quite a while, I would guess. Anyhow though, if you can't afford the 300 bucks, then it's simply not for you. Noone's stopping you from buying the alternatives.

          iPods are very, very popular and they ARE sought out. There's a reason they have over half of the market share.

          Even players that -- really -- blow the ipod out of the water, like the 40-60GB iRiver with its 16 hour battery life and bells and whistles (costing less)

          You can have 'em. The iPod isn't about price and affordability, it's about being sleek, functional, and easy to use. iTunes makes the whole thing a snap for newbies. I looked at the other players back in January, but the elegant solution of the iPod sucked me in. I knew I wasn't going to use external memory, I wasn't going to record anything since I don't listen to the radio (why WOULD you listen to the radio if you have every CD in your collection on you?), battery life wasn't a big deal since I always charge my electronics at night... Anyhow, it's obviously a personal preference, but I got the iPod for ease of use, the power it gives you with the playlists and sorting via iTunes (rating songs, keeping count of how many times you've played a song, the list goes on). I'm also a very happy owner of a Powerbook and soon a G5, so the iPod was given a head start by default.

          people buy the iPod because it 'looks cool'.

          Yes, the iPod does look cool. Again, it's a sleek and elegant solution. It would be foolish to assume that 50% of the market would buy a product that merely "looks cool" but underperforms yet is also ridiculously expensive, yes? I'm not saying the iPod is the best portable media player, I'm just saying that it's successful for a reason, it is lusted after for a reason. The other players you mentioned are working to be something the iPod is not.

          I love it so much, I'll never understand why people buy into a 'style' branding or something.

          This is probably why you'll also never be hired by a company that knows how to get a steep profit margin while continuing to out-sell the competition while 99% of its customers are thrilled with its product.

          However, I am glad that despite all the foaming at the mouth Applle people modding me down, the thread is still only modded down to a 4 now. Maybe you can email the link to your friends and get them in on the action; it'll be a 1 in no time!

          Jesus, maybe you take the moderation a bit too much to heart. Hopefully you're not honestly insecure about your /. post scores when you get away from a computer. Make yourself a tea.
    • If anyone can afford to pay for wifi and an iPod, it's people who can afford to live in SF.

  • WHY! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Kenja ( 541830 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @06:59PM (#9742596)
    For the love of all that you hold dear, WHY!

    Can the iPod connect to Wifi spots? NO! So you'll have a device that can display this information in order to make use of it, why drag the iPod into it? This whole iPod craze is getting to the point of the people who install Linux on their toaster.

    • Re:WHY! (Score:3, Informative)

      by 2nd Post! ( 213333 )
      iPods have phenomenal battery life compared to a notebook. Most* notebooks also take a long time to become useful. The iPod suffers none of those issues.

      The same functionality would allow for a database of, say, gas stations, fast food restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores... all without opening a notebook.

      * Apple notebooks are exceptional in this instance, powering up from sleep in less than three seconds... but still slower than an iPod.
      • iPods have phenomenal battery life compared to a notebook. Most* notebooks also take a long time to become useful. The iPod suffers none of those issues.

        Gee, I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that the iPod has no wifi? One can only guess.

        Seriously, what difference does this make to either keeping this info on your palmpilot, or a wap/web site reachable from your new mobile phone bowser (not to mention, an online site will be more up to date)?

      • Re:WHY! (Score:2, Insightful)

        by stratjakt ( 596332 )
        They have these devices called PDA's (personal digital assistant), many of which have wifi, most of which have longer lasting batteries than an iPod, and all of which are better suited to such tasks.

        So does my smartphone with integrated PalmOS V, and it can do wi-fi and 3G wireless.

        You could get PDA with wifi cheaper than an iPod.

        Sorry, iPods make decent walkmans, but shitty PDAs. All the Mac zealotry in the world isn't going to convince me what an "awesome" PDA the iPod is.

        (Think different, think newt
        • When did I ever try to convince you the iPod was an "awesome" PDA?

          I merely stated the features of the iPod that make it suitable as a data presentation device. It is an excellent music player. That it has secondary useful characteristics do not make it pointless... merely flexible.
        • What if you DON'T have a pda? What if you don't want one? If you just have an iPod and a laptop, this makes the laptop more useful by not powering it up and unnecessarily wasting batteries. I mean, why buy a pda if you don't have to?

        • Re:WHY! (Score:3, Insightful)

          by ChuyMatt ( 318775 )
          [general statements]

          I would just like to say that everyone here is damned bitchy. Who cares if they use it as a pseudo-pda?!?! Why does it piss you off so much?!

          also, why, if they want to, does it get under your skin so much when people buy something for the innate functionality of it, not the hacking potential? Does this make your nose stick up? Does this, because it is so "mainstream" make you want to talk down to them?

          and because you believe that the iPod is wonderful, would it really hurt you to a

    • It seems that they're just adding functionality similar to a WiFi keychain [weblogsinc.com]. Once you've found a wireless network, you can set up your laptop to connect.
      I've actually needed service like this, as I've gone to several small businesses where the person I spoke to had no idea whether or not the shop was WiFi capable. It would have saved me at least ten minutes in each occasion if I could turn on an iPod or one of these keychains to see if service was available, and possibly find a strong reception point.

  • why...? (Score:1, Redundant)

    by javaaddikt ( 385701 )
    Why is this even notable? If you're going to be getting wifi access, you're going to have your laptop. If you have your laptop, why would you keep a list of hotspots on your iPod? You'd be better off searching with kismac.

    • Totally agree... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by bennomatic ( 691188 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:04PM (#9742656) Homepage
      I love my iPod, but if I'm wearing it, it's because I'm (a) working out, or (b) on a long, grueling airplane trip. However, I always carry my phone/palm device, so a palm-based version of this would be convenient if I don't want to pull my laptop out of the bag...

    • Re:why...? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by line.at.infinity ( 707997 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:10PM (#9742722) Homepage Journal
      It's more convenient to whip out your iPod and check for a wireless spot before you even open up your laptop. I think the same thing can be said about people who walk around with a PDA and a laptop, but for some, the iPod's PDA-like feature is good enough that they don't care for a full-blown PDA (stylus and all).

    • Re:why...? (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      "You'd be better off searching with kismac."

      I use Google to find WiFi.... Oh, nevermind.
    • Why indeed...but on the other hand, why not? It's useless for most people but it's not like it's affecting you that someone else wants to put wifi lists on their ipod, linux on their toaster, or solar flare predictions on their dishwashers.

      For that matter, what difference does it make that most people think what you make is useless if you're giving it away?

  • WOW! NEATO! (Score:5, Funny)

    by multiplexo ( 27356 ) * on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:01PM (#9742617) Journal
    What kind of other cool stuff will us iPod owners have access to? Perhaps a file containing the URLs of porn sites! Perhaps a text file containing the phone numbers of our friends! Perhaps another text file that contains the numbers and addresses of such geek friendly information as the location of the nearest comic book store, Fry's or Thai restaurant. Wow! Isn't it amazing how dull and pedestrian information is somehow transformed by putting it on an iPod!?

    • There's only one thing left: an iPod Notes file that helps users keep track of other available iPod Notes files.

    • Perhaps a file containing the URLs of porn sites! ... Isn't it amazing how dull and pedestrian information ...

      Man, you're obviously going to the wrong porn sites!

    • > Perhaps another text file that contains the numbers and addresses of such geek
      > friendly information as the location of the nearest comic book store, Fry's or
      > Thai restaurant.

      Joking aside, I think an offline restaurant guide would be mad hadny (Not just Thai)

      Granted, this too I would want on my iBook, not really my iPod, but still...

  • Awesome (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Wow! A text file! Why am I just hearing about this now?!?!
  • Did they really just release an inexpensive model, or is that just a typo about the 40GB unit....

    • Re:4 GB Ipod? (Score:3, Informative)

      by jokell82 ( 536447 )
      4G iPod == 4th Generation iPod, released today [macnn.com].

      But there is a 4Gb iPod, known as the iPod Mini [apple.com].
      • 4G iPod == 4th Generation iPod, released today.

        But there is a 4Gb iPod, known as the iPod Mini.

        To nitpick... It's 4 GB (gigabytes), not 4 Gb (gigabits). It's also not 4 GiB (gibibyte). Sorry. I don't know why I posted that. It just feels instrinctive to bash people for tiny errors on Slashdot. :(

    • 4th generation iPods [slashdot.org], released very recently.

      Although they are "inexpensive models", considering they're 100 bucks cheaper.

  • Innovation Gone Mad (Score:3, Insightful)

    by powerpuffgirls ( 758362 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:08PM (#9742696)
    I think the iPod-madness is getting a bit dated now. Just not long ago we have iPod going almost wireless, with the help of a PocketPC, and now this?

    While it is nice to think of something innovative uses on iPod, we must also look at the practicality of such efforts.

    Is there a website to record things like that? If not I'm going to start one.
  • Applications like this suggest a steath transformation of the iPod into a more general purpose mobile information device. Who is to say that somewhere inside Apple is not a frankenPod combo of an iPod and Airport Express wifi chipset or an Spotlight-derived information navigator that uses a Click Wheel interface. Mix in a little i of Newton, and Apple might just produce something interesting
    • Well, it's hard to believe Apple spun off the iPod into its own division just to upgrade disk capacity once a year.. perhaps a new colour every new and then..

      Most likely, PDA-esque features will continue to creep into future iPods, and the iPod will evolve into Apple's "Next Big Thing", rather than arriving with a splash like the Newton. IMO, of course..

  • Paper is better (Score:5, Funny)

    by Solder Fumes ( 797270 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:11PM (#9742733)
    In even a relatively large area, are there even enough hot spots to fill up a couple sheets of paper? And with paper, you have the added high-tech benefit of graphics. Imagine, being able to represent the location of hot spots as dots on a map!
    • I had considered buying this "paper" you speak of, but haven't heard anything about the battery life. If I can plug it into my cigarette adapter, I'm sure that it would be better than the poor iPod [slashdot.org].
      • Oh, paper works very well with the cigarette lighter. It is flexible enough to roll up and socket firmly into the lighter receptacle for quick access while driving. In case you need to get rid of the paper quickly, the cigarette lighter itself can be used to trigger a self-destruct oxidation sequence.

  • The wiPod is a great new product (Score:5, Funny)

    by dr fish spit ( 794612 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:11PM (#9742742)
    BayAreaFreeFi announces the wiPod

    Ok, so they released a new product... wait the product is a text file.

    Maybe next they'll announce gpsPod... which is a text file containing GPS coordinates of your address. Save the file to your iPod, when you lose it, the person who finds it can return it. And this is a FREE service!!!!

  • ...why should I even care? I use my iPod to listen to music in the car and that's about it. This is just using technology, inappropriately, for its own sake. Get a bloody life!!!

  • Bleh. Here's the Archos equivalent (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:15PM (#9742775)
    Works in every city in the world, doesn't need an iPod, can me printed on a very small piece of paper for easy access:

    1- Buy an old laptop
    2- Buy a cheap GPS
    3- Install Linux
    4- Install kismet
    5- Install GPSDrive
    6- Drive around
    I figure the old laptop and cheap GPS are less expensive than an iPod.

  • The PDAing of the iPod (Score:5, Insightful)

    by amichalo ( 132545 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:18PM (#9742799)
    I find it so frustrating how a device can not just have a SINGLE purpose these days. Most notably I am upset at how many 'cameras' manufacturers are shoving down my throat: My Cell Phone has to be a camera, my video camera has to be a still camera too, as does my Sony Clie PDA.

    Which brings me to my worry: The PDAing of the iPod. Just because something can do a task doesn't mean it is well suited for it or should do that thing. Witness that the iPod also has a calendar and contact list. Mind you, you cannot add or edit these things, but they are available for reading and syncing to your Mac's corresponding applications.

    BUT WHY?

    I guess the thought is that because your iPod is portable it should be able to carry around the data that might be nice to have when away from a device that should contain said data.

    But doesn't it make sense to have a music player with a simple interface and a single purpose? No confusion in the marketplace. No R&D time spent adding features outside of the scope of the device. Why should my PDA have a camera and play MP3s and play full motion video? How is this part of a Personal Digital Assistant? It's like these "SUV" luxury 4x4 stationwagons. What the heck is this car-plane-boat anyway?

    All this rant just to say that I think the SanFran WiFi hot spot list belongs on the laptop that could use it, or at most a WiFi PDA, but not the NON-WiFi, NON-PDA iPod. It is just dilution of the purpose of this great music player.

    Now if Apple would pretty-please make a PDA again...
    • Now if Apple would pretty-please make a PDA again...

      That dew pens one haw god the tex precognition is and if it is butter then the New tone

      • Well, go hook a Wacom table to an OS X macintosh and see how well it recognizes your handwriting. Apple has new software in place already for this. I have pretty crappy handwriting, and Inkwell recognizes it a lot better than the Newton ever did.
    • Having a single device being able to do more than its specific purpose is a good thing. Not only does it reduce the clutter of what's in my pocket, but if the extra features aren't really getting in your way, then why not?

      This could have been said about PCs 20 years ago. "Why are there all these other things it can do??? All I bought this for was word processing." I like my computer being able to play games, tune into TV, browse the web, listen to music...

      Peronally, I'm glad my PDA plays music and vid

    • Thanks for the lesson on what the iPod's purpose is. However, Apple may disagree. I mean, there are plenty of non-PDA mp3 players out there, and you don't have to use these features, right? Heck, you can even remove them from the top menu so you don't have to see them. I would have liked to have this in New Orleans when I didn't have any internet access to check where wifi hotspots were, cuz access problems happen to us all (I use the calendar all the time, too, since it conveniently auto sync's with OS X's
    • Uh huh. And you're typing your missive on a personal computer which only does one thing, right?

      Devices that can display text should let me display whatever text I want. You think Apple R&D spent ANY time on this?

      Why? Why NOT? It's a zero-cost option. Doesn't cost you anything that I might find it useful.

      PDA (and phone) cameras are useful for one reason: Ubiquity. Nobody thinks they're really good cameras, but they are FUN to have around to use to blackmail your friends.

      If you think it's a "di
    • Which brings me to my worry: The PDAing of the iPod.
      I bet Apple will bring this into action once the "iPod fever" dies out. At least it will satisfy everyone that says "Why in god's name do you need 40 GB or space?"
  • I'll be more impressed when they figure out how to make this [thinkgeek.com] play MP3s.

  • The most useless thing I can actually make use of (Score:3, Interesting)

    by l0ungeb0y ( 442022 ) on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:25PM (#9742881) Homepage Journal
    Well, I got the 40G iPod, a couple G4 powerbooks and an iBook and I live in SF.

    But this still doesn't interest me in the slightest, because I already know a few very cool SF internet cafes where gals go to chat up guys and vise versa... ohh and the wifi is $5.00 a day, but I'd rather have the nice scenery and ability to have some very personal offline porn than downloading it for free off one of these guys listed hotspots.

  • Surprised the new iPod ISN'T wireless. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Minstrel Boy ( 787690 ) <kevin_stevens@hotmail.com> on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:28PM (#9742913)
    I'm actually amazed the new iPod *doesn't* have wireless built in. Following the release of the Airport Express and AirTunes, I thought being able to stream music directly to AE would be the logical next step. Your own DJ playlist with wireless remote; you'd be the life of the party! Of course, it'd be a geek party so you'd be the only one there - hmm.

    KeS

  • wtf mate (Score:4, Insightful)

    by The Unabageler ( 669502 ) <josh@3i[ ]om ['o.c' in gap]> on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:34PM (#9742959) Homepage
    this isn't news. this isn't even interesting. oooh, someone grouped textfiles for us to read! shit, they've been doing that for decades. c'mon man, maybe if they had some kinda text2speech app that ran on the ipod, then it would be news.
  • Reading Notes on iPod sucks due to smal size of allowed space (4K I believe)... you are forced to scroll back to root every minute or so... IMO, most interesting bit of this story is the "wi-" part - just wait until everything we used to see as an "i-something" will turn into wi: wiTunes, wiLife... wiFE... he-he
    • Thats no good, I want innovative new one-letter buzzword catalysts.

      We've used X to death, mainly do to X-treme product placement, Apple's beaten the i horse so badly you cant even identify its remains as organic at this point. The dotcom boom killed the letter e, e-file that e-mail while I'm in the e-toilet, will you e-secratery?

      GNU, spurred on by Gnome are destroying the letter G, KDE is going to town on K.

      So thats I, E, X, G, K down. 21 letters left that we can still start words with. Let's try to k

  • Hotspot Locations in your city (Score:4, Informative)

    by halo1982 ( 679554 ) * on Monday July 19, 2004 @07:39PM (#9742995) Homepage Journal
    While not iPod friendly, I found this website when looking for hotspots in the Kansas City area: www.jiwire.com [jiwire.com].
    They claim to have nearly 47000 hotspots in 65 countries, 15000 in the US. I hope this helps some.
  • Here is a better solution which utilizes a crappy laptop [sophists.org].

  • Makes no sense... (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    You have to use your iPod to lookup a hotspot - and then get your wi-fi enabled Pocket PC or laptop or Palm to actually connect - and then find the hotspot is not even available on that location anymore.

    Just use a cheap Kensington hotspot finder [geekzone.co.nz] instead. Thne you're sure there's something there.
  • Judging from the replies so far to this article
    it seems it piqued the ire of a facet of slashdot
    that always posts some sort of "why would anyone
    want to do/use/make/create something like that?!"
    [well- why not?]

    I wish there was a mod -5 Curmedgeon feature.

    I have my own curmedgeon chunk too which said
    "ooo! an ipod zealot text file. they'll feel so special. If i could only come up with something
    for cat worshipers that ran on the ipod i'd be rich!"

    I just moved to the san francisco from the midwest
    and I've
  • I've been watching the iPod applications list for an offline web browser. I think a generic app like that would be better than these one off apps like class schedule viewer and wifi hotspot directory.

    IPod Apps [ipodhacks.com]
  • another use for your iPod while riding around looking for wireless hotspots?


    listening to music!
  • I think most of you are missing the point here. Many a computer user have an iPods, and how else were you planning on finding that free wifi spot spurt of the moment, on the go? Did you think you were going to look it up on your laptop? You can read those wiPod texts with a computer, too. Just take the freebie and say thank you.
  • But what if the iPod was WiFi enabled, and also featured iTunes music sharing capability. If there were enough hot spots in a city, and enough people had iPods, I can imagine it would be fun. There wouldn't be much of a need for crappy commercial radio if there were thousands of songs available on demand for free with the purchase of an iPod...

  • To all the haters...

    Reasons wiPod is useful and rocks:

    1) it is a quick and useful guide to free wi-fi hotspots. I've been on the road in several occasions where a client has called needing to discuss certain matters that require Internet access. I can now look quickly through my iPod list for nearby locations to stop during our meeting.

    I used to be able to do this via the WAP enabled wifi hotspots [bayareafreefi.com], but now I can use the wiPod for instant access to bay area free wifi locations [bayareafreefi.com].

    Using WAP requires me

  • Think about this:
    A German supermarket-chain sells PDAs for about 400 complete with GPS Antenna and a Navigation Software for Europe.
    A shareware lets you add custom Points of Interest to the maps.

    So, you get a device, that can direct you via voice and moving map to a WiFi Hotspot, while you can listen to MP3s (and even OGG Vorbis *gasp*) from the Memory Card of the PDA *and* you can access the Hotspot with the same device if it's WiFi enabled.
    Or you can mark a new WiFi Point of Interest yourself while you d

  • Just because this is available, it does not mean you have to use it. This is an instance where some people may find a usefulness in checking their iPod to see if there is a wifi connection close to them. I don't understand why everyone is throwing a hissy fit because of something that you can download to your iPod. It isn't like Apple is now preinstalling this with every iPod. If you think it would be useful for you, download it, if you don't, then stop reading the thread, it seems easy enough for me.

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