edibleapple.com — This should come as good news for iPhone owners. AT&T announced plans yesterday to purchase Wayport, a Wi-Fi provider that caters to a number of businesses including McDonalds and an impressive array of Hotel chains. All in all, the deal now bolsters the number of AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots to 20,000, and are free to use for all iPhone owners.
Nov 7, 2008 View in Crawl 4
firefootNov 8, 2008
Bookmarking this for when I head to the U.S. next :)
m3mn0nNov 8, 2008
Ignoring this because it's only for the U.S. :)
carzorstelatisNov 8, 2008
Public utilities shouldn't be able to charge whatever they like with their monopoly. Internet access is just as essential to economic activity nowadays as electricity.
carzorstelatisNov 8, 2008
Really? It's available without a contract (aka 'pay as you go') in the UK. I suppose the US doesn't have quite the same consumer protection laws as the EU does though.
eswartzNov 8, 2008
Regarding Tethering:<a class="user" href="http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/11/att-tethering-p.html">http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/11/att-tetherin ...</a>
macslutNov 8, 2008
Realize what you're doing is a hack. A hack shouldn't be intuitive, otherwise, it's not really a hack, it's a feature. In this case it's a hack against the AT&T WiFi network, not the iPhone. Steps 1 and 2 are required on the iPhone and have nothing to with what OS your using on your computer. Is there an easier or more intuitive method for doing this on another phone to get your computer on the AT&T WiFi network?Changing your MAC address on your Mac is 1 step:In the terminal, enter:sudo ifconfig en1 lladdr xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xxYou don't need to reboot. This works on any Mac running OS X. As I described above, this can be automated, and there's GUI freeware that can do this.On Windows, see:<a class="user" href="http://www.nthelp.com/NT6/change_mac_w2k.htm">http://www.nthelp.com/NT6/change_mac_w2k.htm</a>This requires knowing what kind of Network Interface Card you have, going to the command prompt (equivalent to going to the Terminal in OS X), and rebooting at a minimum. It may also require working with your registry.Now, I'm not sure this is the best method, or even works with Windows, and that's why I didn't mention it before.But instead of just blindly criticizing Apple's intuitiveness, how about pointing to an OS and showing how their method is more intuitive?
tupperbacharachNov 8, 2008
@macslutWhy is it perfectly acceptable for Apple fan boys to use the OSX command line to "hack", while a Linux or Windows user running "ls" or "dir" is an evil, non-intuitive HACK, which makes Apple so superior?Is there an easier or more intuitive method? I have never used an eeePC, but I will bet $200 that both the Linux and Windows models employ a gui interface to accomplish the same thing that is shown in the OSX Terminal example. I would imagine the same applies to most Linux phones with wifi capability.In addition, such a gui feature is incorporated in most of the major newbie Linux distros. The gui method is probably more intuitive than the ifconfig method. However, whether or not a gui is easier to use than the command line is a personal call, and not written in stone favoring the gui, as Apple fanboys would have everyone believe.So, it is always interesting to see Mac fans tout command line procedures.Another fun thing is to see the Apple fanboys talk with amazement about some mundane, trite feature, as if Apple invented it. You don't have to reboot for the ifconfig changes to take effect? Wow! I can't wait until that feature is available in Linux!
emberjohnNov 8, 2008
That was simply generous.
kolanosNov 8, 2008
T-Mobile G1 users have had free access to T-Mobile's hotspot network since launch, it's amazing that the T-Mobile G1 is beating the iPhone to the punch despite a two year head start.For G1 users, every Starbucks gives you free Wifi without having to buy any coffee or get a passphrase, as well as every major airport, hotel, etc.
macslutNov 8, 2008
@tupperbacharach,Go back and look at the thread. I mentioned "This is just as easy/possible with Linux and Windows, I just don't know those systems well enough to give instructions" in my very first post on the matter, to which you responded criticizing Apple's intuitiveness.However, you still have yet to show an example of an OS that does this more intuitively or easier. In response you give:"I have never used an eeePC, but I will bet $200 that both the Linux and Windows models employ a gui interface to accomplish the same thing that is shown in the OSX Terminal example"I don't *think* Linux does, I haven't seen any instructions for doing so other than the two line commands on any distro. Windows definitely does not contain a gui for changing the MAC address. The instructions are actually fairly complex, require rebooting, and I don't see how you'd automate the process. Even the 3rd party gui apps for changing the MAC address on Windows are more complex and not as easy.Again, if you know of an easier way on Linux or Windows, how about providing some useful information here, instead of making $200 bets that you're not going to pay up on."So, it is always interesting to see Mac fans tout command line procedures."Why, unless you've got some irrational stereotype of Mac users in mind, most of us are reasonable enough to see the benefits of using the Terminal when it's appropriate...such as in this case."Another fun thing is to see the Apple fanboys talk with amazement about some mundane, trite feature, as if Apple invented it. You don't have to reboot for the ifconfig changes to take effect? Wow! I can't wait until that feature is available in Linux!"It helps if you can maintain some sense of context, and not over-sensationalize the comments that were actually made. The context of what I was saying about rebooting was one in which I asked how does any other OS do it easier and clarified how easy it was on OS X. Nowhere did I speak anything about being amazed, and only brought it up because in Windows, you do in fact have to reboot and may deal with many other complexities such as the Registry.So again, instead of baseless Apple bashing or "betting that it's easier", how about either actually providing easier instructions for Linux and Windows users, or admitting that OS X does this easier (literally a split second easier than Linux, but a lot easier than Windows).