South Bruce Peninsular - The Plugged Inns - Comments

UPDATE: Library is now on DSL

garym — Tue, 10 May 2005 00:54:47 -0400

Just an update for seekers of Internet while out to the beach: The Sauble Beach branch of the Bruce County Library, like most other BCL locations, is now equipped with DSL highspeed access available through their terminals. No open WiFi and using machines very limited in software and reasources, but at least it's not 56k.

garym: ict evangelist - musician - whatever

SpotNIK Responds

garym — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 09:36:36 -0400

Frank Davis of SpotnikMobile was kind enough to send me all the details on a new service they plan to roll out in the very near future:

bq. Spotnik will soon launch 'spotKIT' - a fully bundled Wi-Fi hotSpot solution that includes everything you will need to become part of Spotnik's premium Wi-Fi hotSpot network. The package includes:

The use of an enterprise-grade Wi-Fi wireless access point
Spotnik marketing materials to promote the service within your location
Full network monitoring
Ongoing 1-800 customer support for end users
Additional revenue for your hotSpot

spotKIT will be an affordable addition to your daily operations. Based on a 2 year contract, spotKIT includes the leasing of all hardware, as well as marketing materials, network monitoring, and customer support.

To play in the hotspot game, there's a startup fee and a monthly leasing payment, and you will also need the Bell or BMI highspeed service to your location (which you may have anyway). Total combined cost works out to a couple of hundred and change per month and about the same to get signed up on both services.

Heck, even I can afford that. If anyone is interested, drop me a line and I'll let you know what I know about it.

garym: ict evangelist - musician - whatever

The Plugged Inns

garym — Mon, 31 May 2004 00:48:30 -0400

One of the questions I get asked over and over every summer is "Where can I get Internet access?" -- the good news is that there are answers, the better news is that there may soon be lots of answers.

Back in '95, my friend Gene would drive out from his cottage to our house several times a week; he'd become enthralled with some internet contest and to participate, he had to check his email regularly. Hard as it is to believe, in 1995, 'regularly' meant only a few times a week; back in those innocent days, our house was about the only place in Sauble where you could get Internet.

Today, your primary answer is the Sauble Beach branch of the Bruce County Libraries ... when it is open access is only 56k dial-up on quaint old machines, but it's there, it's affordable; it's access and nothing to sneeze at. Whatever works. Similar access can also be found at the new digs of the Wiarton Branch. Readers of my personal blog will know of a few unofficial hotspots in the village and I'll bet there may be a few added since then; I have also mapped a few more over in Owen Sound, although, if you've come here expecting toll WiFi I'm afraid you're still out of luck.

But maybe soon, and maybe sooner than you think.