On Wednesday I sat upstairs in the London Apple Store checking my email on my laptop through their WiFi connection. I was surprised to find how pretty scarce WiFi is in London, so I just popped up the steps and plonked myself down. Within a short while I noticed I was being buzzed by the security guards and staff members. "Can you believe it?" one whispered. What? OK, so I was the only fellow in the whole store with a black IBM notebook open… hadn’t they heard all things Chinese were trendy??
Anyway, the following story made me chuckle: a guy sat in a car outside someone’s house has been charged with a third degree felony in Florida. He just pulled up and found a WiFi hotspot. Then the disgruntled owner reported him.
PC users in Apple stores – you have been warned!
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I think you are jumping to conclusions by describing the complaintant as “disgruntled” because someone was using his WiFi.
The facts are:
ST. PETERSBURG – Richard Dinon saw the laptop’s muted glow through the rear window of the SUV parked outside his home. He walked closer and noticed a man inside.
Then the man noticed Dinon and snapped his computer shut.
Maybe it’s census work, the 28-year-old veterinarian told his girlfriend. An hour later, Dinon left to drive her home. The Chevy Blazer was still there, the man furtively hunched over his computer.
Dinon returned at 11 p.m. and the men repeated their strange dance.
Fifteen minutes later, Dinon called police.
See: http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/04/State/Wi_Fi_cloaks_a_new_br.shtml
I, too, would have viewed the wifi thief’s actions as suspicious and would have called the police. But, I would have done it the first time I saw someone hunched over his computer, in front of my house, at night, attempting to hide his actions.
If I could be assured no one could break into my network, or use my connection to conduct illegal activities, I would have no problem sharing my bandwidth. Until then, anyone lurking outside my house at night, with or without a laptop, will get a visit from my local police department.
July 13th, 2005 at 2:37 pm
Many cities around the world pay lip service to making a wired community with free access for everyone. There are certainly business concerns whereas companies that provide the service for fees would suffer. On the other hand it would radically improve many peoples lives and make working on the fly a sure bet instead of a gamble.
Ultimately, I think this has more to do with the guy being a lurking weirdo than WiFi poaching.
July 15th, 2005 at 9:54 am