Don’t get me wrong just from the title alone. Hey, I like the initiative. Wireless access everywhere? What’s not to like?
Unfortunately, I’ve just spent an hour or so just walking through countless wireless access zones in city and not been able to make use of a single one. Problem? No power. So while, yeah, technically we can all access the internet from any supporting establishment (and there are many, not that there aren’t), we still can’t feasibly do so if our devices (read: laptops) don’t have the juice to run.
So yes, Wireless@SG is only half the problem solved.
A multitude of fast-food joints and cafes touting FREE WIFI HERE!! isn’t going to do much if they don’t provide any power sockets for us mobile geeks to get our juice. Luckily, I found a friendly Starbucks with wifi AND power sockets, so, Go Starbucks!
So yup. While Wireless@SG is a great idea, I’m still waiting for Power@SG.
The Uncharted Waters said
am September 18 2007 @ 9:47 am
I actually think that the lack of power supply is a business constraint rather than a technical one. They probably do not want their customers to hog the seats for one whole day.
Anyway, I am still not quite satisfied with Wireless@SG because I had encountered far too many cases where there is either constant disconnection, or ultra slow speed, or simply no connectivity at all.
sriram said
am September 18 2007 @ 12:02 pm
well said
DK said
am September 18 2007 @ 12:37 pm
Well, they promise us free wifi. Nobody said anything about free power.
Besides, the wireless@sg network is still quite unstable. Wait till they fix that problem 1st.
ruiwen said
am September 18 2007 @ 9:49 pm
@The Uncharted Waters:
Yup, I’d say it’s a business decision too. Though I’m wondering if there are ways to accommodate the costs of providing power through other means. Heh hourly charges per seat perhaps.
@DK:
Quite so, but yeah, unfortunately that only solves half the problem. Not to say that the Wireless@SG is a bad initiative though. It’s definitely a welcome one.
@Both:
The Wireless@SG service is a good one, but it’s unfortunately crippled by the lack of available power sources. Imagine if there was both wifi AND power. Now that’s what would bring about larger change than what we have now. Haha and if someone would fund me, I’d do something about that. Hopefully, anyway. =D
That aside though, definitely agree that the level of (wifi) service needs to improve. I was disconnected almost once every half hour when I was there =( Not very conducive to getting work done if I may say so.
Oh yes, and did anyone notice that the login page isn’t SSL protected?
James Chia said
am September 24 2007 @ 12:39 am
Must also think of their biz costs. I would prefer using WIFI on my laptop in the libraries. It seemed to run faster there.