Three Ways to Find Free Wi-Fi
Sometimes it seems like you can never find any Internets when you need them. If you're out of the office, though, and you need to get connected, here are a few handy suggestions for how to find some free Wi-Fi.
1. The Usual Suspects. You stand a good chance of finding free Wi-Fi at local libraries, coffee shops, and bookstores, and hotel lobbies. Even if the hotel charges for connectivity in-room, you can often get a free wireless signal in the common areas.
2. Use a Wi-Fi scanner. Sometimes called war-driving, you can find open Wi-Fi networks by moving around with an appropriate Wi-Fi scanner. If you have an iPhone, Palm Pre, or some other phone with Wi-Fi, you can use it to find open networks. Or you can install a program like NetStumbler.
3. Investigate using the Web. There are a number of Web sites which compile the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots, making it easy to know where to go to get connected. Here are some of the best:
Photo by Tavallai