Public Access WiFi
Fast on the heels of our recent recarpeting project, the Great Bend Public Library has expanded services by offering a free public access wifi hotspot. The connection and equipment are courtesy of Nex-Tech, and they installed everything Thursday, Sept 15th.
So far, everything is going fine. When patrons connect, they get a uasage agreement page. If they agree, they currently are forwarded to the Nex-Tech homepage, but we are working on changing that to the GBPL page. Our mobile lab computers have worked fine, and my personal iBook works as well. Right now we are trying to get a patrons wi-fi palm to connect.
The connection is fast and auto configures to the client. The connection is filtered by Nex-Tech, but I don't know what they are using. The system uses a small computer as its router, and the machine is smaller than most dvd players.
Nex-TEch has several hotspots in Hays, one in Osborne, and one in Wakeeny. They are looking for other public sites in their service area.
posted by Orcish @ 3:19 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Sunflower broadband also has a similar service for libraries within about a 15 mile radius of lawrence.
So far everybody's been really happy with the service.
So is this something that ISPs are doing? Why would they want to do THAT? I don't get it. I would think they would discourage this sort of thing?
I have been experimenting a bit with different solutions for public access wireless in libs. Haven't found anything I really like yet, but I know it is out there somewhere.
things I want:
-splash page, with option to require user/pw
-logging, pref by mac #
-port management, at least rudimentary
-time/bandwidth management, or at least time
-NAT addressing built-in, so I don't need another router
I am wanting a free product that runs on an old pc and interfaces with about any AP on the market.
Free is nice, but I would settle for cheap. But I want free.
It seems to me I remember seeing some of these elements on the cisco aironet APs, but now I can't find them. Now THAT is a bloated GUI on those little jobbers. I have to re-learn it everytime I open one up.
-Joe (10/4/2005)
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