This spate of free and sponsored deals would seem to indicate that Wi-Fi session use isn't high enough, because you don't give away a service that has a trajectory of adoption that you want. Instead, you use freebies to gain users who then find the service worthwhile enough to pay for routinely in the future.
Adding Wi-Fi is expecting to drive $4.3m in additional revenue across the five-year plan. Other lines may also receive Internet access starting in subsequent years and likely in the northeast, with Amtrak budgeting $26.2m for that work.
Amtrak would join several regional and national railroads primarily in Europe and North America that offer Wi-Fi on some routes, typically on every train that covers that route. Earlier programs to expand Internet access haven't yet borne fruit, but with an increased interest in commuting without driving in the U.S., onboard Internet access may be a big carrot.
The first trains with Internet service appeared at least five years ago, if not longer, and until the last two years efforts were in fits and starts outside of a couple of lines in the UK and Sweden. Now, with robust 3G in many cases paralleling major commuter train routes, adding Internet service becomes less troublesome. The Washington State DOT in conjunction with Amtrak and trainmaker Talgo has been working on adding Internet service to the Seattle to Portland route.
The AP notes, "Unicom's iPhones lack WiFi because it was temporarily banned by Beijing, which was promoting a rival Chinese system, according to BDA. The ban was relaxed in May after manufacturing had begun." That's incorrect. Wi-Fi wasn't banned, rather devices that used Wi-Fi with the internationally supported IEEE security standards that China doesn't like.
I have long maintained that China developed WAPI for two reasons: first, to provide an obvious back channel into encrypted communications that would allow the government to monitor as it desired; second, to provide access to foreign intellectual property by requiring companies to work with a local partner.
Clever use of built-in Windows 7 networking from Connectify: The beta version of Connectify for Windows 7 uses the OS's ability to create a software access point and a virtual Wi-Fi adapter while still remaining connected to an infrastructure Wi-Fi network. This Windows 7 feature virtualizes the Wi-Fi network connection, allowing a separate client and access point function to operate as separate virtual devices using the same radio channel and same hardware. Some advantages over ad hoc networking, just like with the upcoming Wi-Fi Direct technology, is the use of WPA2 Personal (AES-CCMP flavor) for securing the connection.
The work was originally developed by Microsoft Research, and is still apparently a little hidden in Windows 7, although available. Connectify apparently lets you take one or more WAN connections (like Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or 3G) and aggregate them into a single backhaul for the software AP, too.
The co-owner of the shop doesn't expect to make money--24 people would bring in just $240 or about $30 per hour open. That has to cover one staffer, and utilities: remember that this is Minnesota, where nature tries to kill you, so heat may be a substantial expense. But it's a nifty idea.
This is co-working, not cow-orking, which I don't want to know about.
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