On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 01:22:24 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

I'm just curious how it works. Like how do you know if there even is
a hot spot? Can you log in to anybody's network? How do you pay if
it's a non-free access?

Just curious.

=================

It depends :-)

We had a great deal of experience with this last summer as you can
imagine. More and more marinas, resorts, hotels, harbors, clubs,
towns, etc. have WiFi service available, sometimes free, sometimes
not.

The software drivers that come with your WiFi adapter will have a
display window that show which sites are within range, the name of the
network, whether or not it is password encrypted, etc. Typically you
select the site and click "connect" or something similar. I'm
presently using a Netgear Rangemax USB adapter mounted about 20 feet
above the water and cabled into the main cabin vis a USB hub.

If the site is encrypted and/or password protected you will need that
information before you connect, typically provided by the marina when
you register if it is their site.

Most subscription sites are not protected but will take you to a logon
screen when you try to connect for the first time. Typically they
will have instructions on how to sign up by calling an 800 number with
credit card info. Most offer plans by the day, week or month.

There are also many unprotected sites, some by design, and some by
accident. We found a lot of these last summer and had no issues using
them, but it is at your own risk of course, and no customer service to
call if the site goes down.