Free WiFi in Toronto

New Free Wifi Map Location

2010-08-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

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Free WiFi at Pearson International Airport with Rogers

2010-08-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

Will be posted soon, currently investigating, thanks for your patience..

..But you can thank them on Twitter @yyz

Starbucks and Bell to extend free WiFi user experience!

2010-06-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

Starbucks has decided on July 1st they will launch 'Starbucks Digital Network' in a partnership with Yahoo in all American locations with AT&T. However, this will also be available soon at Canadian locations in a partnership with Bell.

This new 'digital network' will enable Starbucks customers with an unlimited wifi access, just like the regular free wifi at starbucks, but beyond the standard 2hrs of free wifi.

This new network will allow customers to log in with a unique Username and Password of their choosing, similar to using the current 2hrs free wifi with registered Starbucks customer authentication, however the new network will provide hand-curated media and entertainment content from a third party content creator of Yahoo's choosing.

What does that mean? It means that you can enter a Starbucks (in America starting July 1st) and log in to use free Starbucks wifi as per usual. But the starting page will include a selection of content which has been customized and assembled for you on the home/default/loading page according to your Starbucks internet-surfing past.

This is really interesting, and a great service offering for heavy wifi users like me, but it begs a lot of questions; who is choosing content? who gets my info? and will they try to sell me things?

I will assume a few things about the network of content and user access which are typical of many csm systems,'expereince' and 'lifestyle' products of our already social and 2.0 world. Starbucks and others,want to know where you will go online, and what you like to do. This is now a natural thing for companies to do, and it's to be expected at franchised free wifi access point. Another way for a company to utilize this content 'network' is to produce a type of value for your advertisers (Starbucks advertisers and Yahoo, record labels, brand name products, and so on) with a guaranteed audience of users (starbucks wifi users) and provide users with specifically placed content, then track the analytics of all users interactions with each type of content.

This is a new mountain of customer data for Starbucks which informs them about who their five-or-so archetype customers are. This also lets them intimately curate content (and provide advertisers with analytics which drives advertiser content) and suits the unique style of user.

This type of insight also comes in handy when deciding what the new beverage product offerings should be at Starbucks, and how to market them, so on and so forth.

It's a genius idea. Despite the collective groan of hipsters everywhere, Starbucks will draw upon their penchant for zeitgeist and false-indifference as they succumb to an increasingly pre-personalized experience of 'Starbucks digital network' content, with their several visits daily, and soon, absolute dependence on Starbucks wifi encounters.

This is a great wifi services pivot for Starbucks, but you may feel skeptical, bothered and otherwise just a little snarky after hearing about it. If you do, it's because you really want to try it, like right now.. and you might also be a hipster holding out and sweating for a camera version of the iPad.

Free WiFi on iPad!

2010-04-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

This is my test of Free WiFi in Toronto on the iPad in the Apple store, 5th ave New York. I made this video last Saturday to test out the usability of the site as is. It fits nicely on the iPad, but there's a problem.

The iframe I used to code the map into this site is not allowing users to click on place marks! This wont affect any other format of users on the site. But's awkward to use an iframe for a map this heavily dotted (for all you coders) I know, but it's been working thus far, even with the terrible latency.

So let me know if your an iPad user out there, reply or comment and let me know if you have the same problem as I did with place marks. I know you're out there.. I've seen about seven of you on the site recently.

I'm not creeping anyone out, I don't actually see any details, as you can see below.
But I'm making some improvements to the site for the new and relatively marginal iPad users of the world.

If your a developer, feel free to give me tips on mapping more efficiently. I'm up for any suggestions.
cheers!

Israel bans WiFi iPad imports for consumers..

2010-04-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Israel has banned the import of the WiFi iPad due to WiFi standards in Europe compared with that of the United Stares. The device is being temporarily held from users that bring it into Israel for the length of their stay, at which point they can apparently be returned to the original owners.

This makes sense to me..if I was a small industrious and conflict-ridden country in the middle east I would be worried about the security of my wireless communication spectrum. It's also fair to say that Apple is very busy with all of their multiple product/service launches, and too busy to implement all new standards for all of Europe and the world congruently. I think there may be a few startup businesses in Israel working on products for the iPad already. There's is a startup culture there which is well established, especially in tech and the medical industry, and Apple is aware of this. So stay on the lookout for third party WiFi iPad products/services originating from Israel, despite these temporary WiFi spec issues.

Second Cup offers guests augmented reality

2010-03-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

Second Cup is doing a great job of socially enabling 'guests', and they're moving more strategically to generate valuable data with their 'cafe card'. This and the brands recent development of 'cafe locator' (on AR browser app Layar) is yet another indicator of Second Cups' growth and eagerness to acknowledge the urban consumer experience.

Starbucks was the mass-cafe pioneer of Wi-Fi for all of it's customers, but Second Cup followed suit in Canada last year offering the same '2hrs of Free WiFi'. Though they probably realize by now the positive impact it's had on many who experience Second Cup, as well as the increase in sales and return visitors (the purpose of the cafe card)

As far as the Second Cup augmented reality, once a user has downloaded an AR app browser known as Layar on their mobile phones, they can search for the Second Cup 'cafe locator'. The locator will apparently aid users to find Second Cup locations in three ways.

One way, users can point their mobile camera phone in any direction with the camera facing outward and see in real-time, the second cup placemarks overlaid onto the camera view, hence the augmented reality. This takes advantage of the iPhone's accelerometer and digital compass to locate one self and to orient the map based info over the field of view as an information layer.

Two, users can see a google map displaying the users location and Second Cup cafes relative to them.

The third way, users can view a list of of locations sorted with the closest at the top.

I'm unclear whether Second Cup 'cafe locator' includes the ability to note wifi locations at each or access details like average speed. I know that some random Second Cup locations don't even offer wifi. That info is a must have for 'guests'..especially in a location-based app. I know this because on the number of 'Second Cup Wifi' keywords that shows up in the analytics of my site here, every day.

If I could request something of Second Cup, it would be to have wifi access location details available as xml somewhere online, through a simple URL, which could update when necessary to stay current. Then I could upload a complete list of free wifi locations to my wifi map above, without any mess, and it would advertise their placememarks free of charge.

But here's interesting thing to note, I'm still under the impression Second Cup free wifi access may end soon! It's supposed to become a pay-per-fi service according to sources, see previous post for details. This would give Second Cup some purpose for the 'cafe card' and pre-filling cards to swipe guests and gain wifi access at the teller. But paying for access is not the same, I could probably return to Starbucks at that point, they both make Americanos.
A shift of customers like this might also become visible in Second Cup's guest analytics..but who knows, maybe they have it figured out.

p.s.

Check out the Layar app for the iphone, there are thousands of layers you could use around the world. It evan has an API for people to develop their own Layars, such as 'cafe locator'.

It's an innovative AR browsing product with some great people behind it in Toronto and abroad. I met the CEO of Layar in Toronto, Mathijs Gajentaan at the Augmented Reality conference in Toronto weeks ago. It was the first conference of it's kind in Canada and went really well, with demonstrations of AR techniques and ideas, and lively industry discussion in groups, even a surprise guest lecture from Steve Mann (whom I invited ad-hoc, day of event)

Give some feedback below if anyone has tried the app.. I need to get my hands on an iphone before I have more specifics

The iPad user experience?

2010-03-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

There's been some interesting developments in tech in the last few months all together. In the months to come, obvious game-changers like the iPad, location-based 'everything' and 3D adaptations to entertainment (home and theater) will begin to change our outlook on the world again.

Does anyone still care about the iPad after all of those publications, and official reviews making a quantitative analysis? After all of the technical feature comparisons and invested money, how do you know you actually care to own one?

How might this device affect a city and the use of free wifi? I know it has great features and that it's missing some, but that won't help me understand if the device will fit into how I live.

Sometimes, app designers need to take research into their own hands literally, before shoveling out $700 or telling a friend to buy one. The iPad simulator is only soo good. Especially since the product may have barely gone through usability testing at all.

Speculation about products/services always accompanies first-impressions, in much the same way a friend relates a new product experience to you, with a sidebar of opinion.

Why is a new product experience soo intangible or 'magical' as Jonathan Ive puts it. Why can't we put our finger on what something is like before it exists? Probably because we haven't experienced it..

So to buckle down fuzzy unknowns for our advantage, designers, engineers, and others resort to prototyping to test their assumptions about a user experience. Because even after all the data driven decisions, some decisions are intuitive leaps based on educated and innovative prototyping.

This is the part of the post where I introduce 'experience prototyping' (pdf) and the work of Jane Fulton Suri of IDEO.

To test usability or software ideas before investing in development, people can make this model and paper-prototype the screens to develop an interface in a much more visceral way.

This is some of Apple's iPad User Experience Guidelines, to demonstrate the emphasis on understanding the physical experience of the product during app development:

Enable Collaboration and Connectedness

Think of ways people might want to use your application with others. Expand your thinking to include both the physical sharing of a single device and the virtual sharing of data.

Add Physicality and Heightened Realism

Whenever possible, add a realistic, physical dimension to your application. The more true to life your application looks and behaves, the easier it is for people to understand how it works and the more they enjoy using it.

Rethink Your Lists

Consider a more real-world vision of your application. For example, on iPhone, Contacts is a streamlined list, but on iPad, Contacts is an address book with a beautifully tangible look and feel.

Consider Multifinger Gestures

The large iPad screen provides great scope for multifinger gestures, including gestures made by more than one person.

Want a Free iPad? Make one yourself!

I created my iPad appearance model to 'prototype the experience' of using it in public in Toronto.

Obviously many people haven't seen one because they're not shipping yet, so reactions to the fake one are still priceless.

The video below illustrates how to 'experience prototype' an iPad before anyone else does, on the internet. Just make a model and take it where you might take one for Wifi, like Chapters on John st!

This revealed some of the basic human factors concerns with the iPad, like seating, and lighting, at a common wifi spots in Toronto. This could lead to the design of iPad accessories, maybe even limited edition pieces, sold right here on this site! I have a lot of designer friends, so we'll come up with something sooner or later.

The more realistic a prototype experience, the more useful the user feedback is. These prototypes help designers fail-fast and cheap. They provide qualitative information for designers/engineers to make considerations, which lead to intuitive leaps towards appropriate designs.

This post is an open-source design brief, to encourage others to use this concept, update my drawings and tutorial to create their own experience prototypes, to encourage more user driven research and less media hype about the iPad in Toronto.

Here is the iPad model PDF of the design drawings,
and my youtube channel of lenghty iPad model tutorials (1-10)

Cheers

You secretly name your 'WiFi network' for all your neighbors...

2010-03-09T11:50:00.001-08:00

I've done this before, this 'domestic culture-jamming' is already a classic move, and I'm sure many under 30 are used to living in urban areas or university residence where WiFi network 'name-changing' is almost another level of social lo-fi tweeting. Anonymously throwing around your neighbors name to instill humorous and fleeting insecurities, like "Jessie, why do you still hate me?" and so on.

It's really funny when your living in an area where people you quasi-know are around, and the social voice of your neighbors is more than a murmur through the wall, but a direct message, broadcast to anyone who desires a wireless connection. This can even make it onto a wifi enabled device in the hands of passersby. I've searched for signals passing by condos, and the names are really funny sometimes.

My network name at home is currently "The Silly Network...quite silly." This is a testament, not only to the trials I experienced setting up my simple network, but the indirect way that both me and my girlfriend comment on the social awkwardness of our neighbors, and how we always seem condescended and, just silly, to neighbors.

For some reason, we have been living in the same terraced ground-floor condo environment for 1 year, where the fidelity of neighborly conversation is like that of carvings in the sand. Impossible to clearly understand, and vanishing as waves of ambivalence wash over each party. Then walking backwards slowly away from each other, looking for a copacetic and abrupt ends to a bland and otherwise micro-topic of conversation. This is a common among city neighbors, and for some reasons, it's understandable.

It was much cooler in dorm, when you could directly address floor-mates by either yelling at them down the hall, using a flash-based 'Arnold' sound board through your stereo, or simply walking into their rooms.

The work/condo life is pregnant with aloof mixed messages and brief sentiments from neighbors. Awkward hello moments, until..the 'WiFi network' naming rituals! It could even a conversation starter.

I'm glad I found this tweet from passive aggressive note.com and re-post by nycwireless.net. This is a priceless piece of wifi culture.. it's soo true.

First blog entry with BlogIt!

2010-03-08T12:19:00.001-08:00

Just testing out the fidelity of this new BlogIt! app that I'm using. Hopefully it doesn't let everyone spam me once this post is up on both sites.

I plan to orate all the posts for my blogs from this one location, hopefully BlogIt can handle it!

cheers!

Evan - Publisher of 'Free WiFi in..'

Jet Blue offers in-flight WiFi in beta form, neato!

2010-03-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

"Taste the future of in-flight experience on JetBlue's BetaBlue aircraft, an Airbus A320 with complimentary email, shopping and instant messaging services* above 10,000 feet"

Thats kinda cool, I like to taste my future when I experience it.. I guess. This is really good though. For once there is a decent air travel brand that I can say that I enjoy the experience of. I'm not getting paid to say this, I actually love the feeling of flying to NY in 50 mins and having one interruption about a snack and free pop, while I just chill watching their in-flight satellite tv. But now that there is Wi-Fi up there it would be great. That allows the real socially anxious and plane anxious types to just let loose a couple tweets up there and relax. It would even be neat to ninja video up there if you didn't like the direct tv too much.

Well done Jet Blue, the experience for travelers seems to be getting better once we're up there. Now all you have to do is stop delaying every flight out of Buffalo every time I take a bus there..It sucks walking across the border back to Canada when you delay my flight for six hours and cancel it at 3:00 am. This may have been due to multiple storms in the same evening at JFK, but that can also be changed..right?

iPad, Free Public Wifi and User Research Scenarios

2010-02-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

This post will be edited soon..

this is the beginning of FWIT's (Free WiFi In Toronto's) exploration into the Human Factors of the iPad and Free WiFi, and the possible user interactions and scenarios which seem likely to play out in the near future, with mention of possible solutions, DIY quick fixes, and/or things to consider while pondering why iPad should/shouldn't exist.

Just imagine wifi iPad apps and products of the future

2010-01-29T13:22:00.000-08:00

I imagine things are just starting to rev up on the iPad SDK all over the world. There is a fury of programming happening, even as you read this post. It's a good thing they made the new device a touch bigger (no pun intended) than the iphone too.

I did have something unofficial to say about the iPad in the comments of Scott Anthony's article for Harvard Business Review.

The iPhone apps are really getting crazy, but the ability to contain the entire device in a single hand still has some serious merit. The new iPad needs two hands most of the time, and lacks a lot of things users need from a human factors standpoint, which I'll get into deep, next post. I do have some industrial design observations for you all, but if your just here for the free wifi listings, feel free to ignore it. I have some serious 'scenario planning gone wild', hopefully I get some 'google juice' for it when it's posted. Check out this vid by social blogger- 1938media mentioning google juice, and a false iPad specs release that fooled all of tech journalism (search @jason on a twitter search to see the guy who did it)

I can't wait to see some third party wifi enabling product ideas.. there will be some definite winners and some serious loosers. I might even get into the many types of products I would create for myself, based on the dimensions of the specs sheet if I have the time.

Anyway, lets just look back nostalgically now, at all the noble things the iphone did try to accomplish for us, before the iPad..

Oh iPad, do I love thee?

2010-01-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

I need to take some time with what will be my first post about the iPad everyone.

Why wait right? Why not make an amazing post, right now?

Well, I'll be back to jazz about it more after I can reflect, after working at the library this evening.. with real books. I actually put real books on shelves. A job which may now have been rendered obsolete, in every sense. There's even an app for my job..

I am excited, but I won't shower it with praises of joy just yet, and that's ok considering that..

'This device has not yet been authorized as required by the rules of the federal communications commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained' - Apple (iPad video)

But, just incase you have no idea what I'm talking about.. make sure you're in a comfortable chair, with a small garbage pail, or a tissue box, whichever suits your opinions about Apple, and just let it out..

Here's The iPad..

It will be everyone's new wifi cafe conduit, trust me, there's even a coffee mug in the user scenario, Apple already knows you like coffee, and that you want an iPad to go with it.

Free WiFi In Toronto In 3D! You have to wear some glasses though..

2010-01-07T23:19:00.000-08:00

Kidding!

Honestly, everyone's just trying to one-up their neighboring blog, tv/handheld device this month after CES and Apples pending announcement (see previous post). So it's only natural and capitalistic for me to advertise some new features of my blog.

What started with Wedgewood's planned-obsolescent tea set, is starting to get out of hand.

When 3D TV are actually being sold, I'll try and make my own glasses or rig my existing HDTV when DIY for the value-added TV hits the internet.

Everyone knows that in a few years this crazy new tech will be reduced to a small box you plug into your existing tv, with infrared sensors, or some jazz for your glasses.

In the coming months, manufacturers will try and make consumers pay for the special 3D TV add ons, which is justified, in the first round, to bamboozle wallets. Then people will head to their electronics superstores to figure it out, or download an app to stream 3DHD>4G to their iSlate (Apple tablet).

Your cable box will need to accept 'new 3D feed' or something, which will esentially be the same HD you have now, except split up for two eyes, on the cable providers side or on yours if your tv has a 3D chip in it.

But consumers will pay more for it until the sales numbers and formats settle in, whatever they are. Then a couple of ambitious electrical engineering students, or Google will post DIY notes online. Thats what I'll wait for..

But most likely, micro-patterned plastic lenses for the 3D glasses will skyrocket in price.

Really neat tricks will evolve when the glasses, people wear, incorporate infrared light and a sensor (like the wiimote) for individual gaming experiences.

Check out Johnny Lee here, he knows whats up. He's actually brilliant, and just a regular, but very smart guy..

After all my pessimism, I really do enjoy living with 3D things. I just want to watch Kids in the Hall Season 1 a couple more times before 2D is obsolete.
Here's the ultimate in first-person entertainment..

Apple, WIND mobile, and 4G for Toronto's WiFi in 2010?

2009-12-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

Excuse me, clearing the dust from my keyboard..

The new year will definitely throw some wrenches into conversation about WiFi in Toronto. WIND Mobile is now a competitor in Canada's wireless spectrum, also offering an internet-stick technology. It's making it's presence known in the market in Canada, just like Bell's, Rogers and Telus. WIND is betting on taking the Canadian customers who are fed up with big-3 contracts and offerings. The price of the WIND internet stick is $150 upfront, with a required flat-rate of $55/month for any data downloading that users want. No cap, just slower service if you've downloaded more than 5 gigs in a month. Is this expensive? There is no other company selling this service this way, so consumers really have no heuristics to judge the value of this.

Some speculate that coverage is still patchy, and that some areas of the downtown have very noticeable signal loss. But I have no realiable references for this info from friends, so citations are welcomed and needed. However, this product means that anyone can have internet wherever they want in Toronto. Wifi'ers don't need to worry about searching for free signals, or finding suitable cafes or restaurants for browsing the web. This enables the internet-stick customer to focus on the experience of the content they want, and forget the locations or connection details they would normally worry about to gain access. Just find a USB port and go! The only thing that stops me from signing up for this new stick right now is the price and some signal uncertainty. So that is some opinion on the WIND stick, and how does this erroneous paragraph segue into things about Apple?

Apple will be making a very significant announcement about the 'mobile space' of products offered on Jan 27th. They have rented a nice venue in SanFran for several days. There are millions of blogs that have been chattering for years about the possibility of Apple creating a tablet-like concept for viewing content online, much like the iphone. The rumor also has a viewable screen of anywhere from 7" - 10" and possibly 4G enabled...4G? What? It seems like Canadian carriers are still licking wounds from the switch to 3G networks, and the bullying from every smart phone OEM, about poor network capability, latency, and ridiculously high prices.

Well, for consumers participating in the mobile industry in Canada, that appeared to be true. Consumers are also still recovering from smartphone whiplash, when the market penetration of smart phones for business customers became saturated, every regular consumer was basically obligated to upgrade to smartphones, it seemed every carrier had switched overnight. BB even has 'love' lifestyle branding commercials, featuring visions of people on the beach in water. There's also the small fad of parents buying BB for kids. Even your 8 year old can schedule meetings in the schoolyard, set up their handsfree dialing features and react to PINs during recess. This is almost too much to take at once, and now, there's 4G?

Even more evidence of a pending 4G network can be seen at your local electronics superstores. OEMs all over the world sell media and home entertainment devices that are dual-band enabled to receive wireless signals in two different frequency bands. One is for for packets of web data, and the other band is for high-def video streaming or wireless digital audio. There are routers on the shelf at superstores that handle these bands. Rogers has products which work in tandem with their HD cable to allow streaming of entertainment to your plasma upstairs, in the backyard though your HD projector, or at a neighboring relatives house etc. The possibilities for dual-band entertainment are endless, but the dual-band 4G network is not even on the radar in Canada's cell phone market. We're not quite done selling 3G inventory to everyone big or small. So, hopefully there is some kind of 4G device from Apple in the coming weeks that has our mobile service providers sweating again. We need better 3G wireless pricing in 2010!

A 4G device and network isn't really necessary for people who just want to communicate and check the weather. Do we need HD video streaming in our hand on the bus to work? Other than video-conferencing and HD telepresence, I think 4G network devices will almost skip the business market, to jump right into consumers hands and entertain kids at recess.

Googleness, and Canada's 'free wifi'

2009-11-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hey all, it's been a while. Mainly because I've been learning html and, as you may have noticed, my site layouts based on various pieces of good feedback. I'm new at this, and I've learned some things.

If you don't want to read this, no worries. I'm not born a writer, so struggle at will..

I've been digging through the Google Analytics of my site and learning pieces about it's performance. What really got me interested was comparing Google Analytics info on a micro scale, with some Google info on a huge global scale. You might say, "this guy thinks he's getting a broad understanding of what people want from one singular Google perspective". Your right, but when comparing Google info with with what friends opinions are, on a real one on one level, looking up directions etc, it really gets you thinking about how much Google means to your friends too. There's really only one perspective coming from Google's data mining, and it's an important one because it trends the things online that all people agree on really really well. "Thanks captain..". But this also breeds more agreeable terms in our reality. Like what the favorite new indie album is in Toronto, according to you, augmented by others who voted online too, spiking this idea in Google search for others who happen to be friends of your friend, looking for new music to enjoy and connect with. Social web etc..

What I'm getting at, is that to increase the potency of my site on google search, I have to generate a feedback loop of some kind, looking at social web data online and real observation and feedback, relating to 'free wifi'.

I'll listen to local business stakeholders and see how they deal with google and wifi. See what works for them, in terms of outing themselves as a business, offering services, and thwarting wifi 'campers'.

I also want to look at my own data from my own site, see what works for me in positioning my site for those stakeholders, and compare this with how my friends search Google for local businesses or wifi and deliver some value there.

So while people are taking care of everyday things, and trying to get to something from the web quickly, without much thought, they just hammer a term into google search while they walk down the street with their iPhone. In the second leading to the page of google search results, they peer up at the direction they're walking and keep a fair distance from the interface itself, not getting absorbed in it. This helps people get on with life as they access only what's needed online. This newer capability of mobile phones basically augments the experience of info, and a users reality in a way that is always Google related. To rely on this kind of information finding, during fleeting everyday moments is great. You don't need to sit and pay attention to a computer to get info, it's just info in your hand, anywhere.

Now think about all the people you know that might want to find wifi in Toronto. It's a select few, at random times, most have never really thought about it yet. It's not a common thing because of the lack of social reasons to have this dependence, technology and limitations within city laws etc..

People with smartphones right now are usually connected to the web. But for most, the web is a distraction and not really as accessible within our lives as we might like, and sometimes it's too much. To really go searching to find new places to use free internet is still socially awkward, a waste of good time, or even taboo at times.

A friend equates what I'm doing to someone mapping where public washrooms are in Toronto. Which suggests a map like this is kind of a harmless resource for everyone, but at the same time, not completely socially accepted. I agree, the way wifi is connected to purchases is almost the same. It just respects local businesses. Currently, this is the wifi social climate in T.O.

To identify 'free wifi' locations right now, people could use their handheld device antenna, and search for signals while they walk around. But in order for them to be ready to search for something and find it instantly, imagining that through Google others had had come across this same question "where is the wifi here?", they can be satisfied with an answer, sooner, if they Google it. This person would likely be looking for a place to access the web with their laptop. Because smartphones are web enabled, but not yet great for viewing online content.

I started this site because I found it tough to just get online anywhere, and if I did, it was too habitual and awkward. Even with all the wireless tech we have, there are still not many free options. I know my friends wanted to find connections, and the thing that connects all of this stuff we want to know, is that we have all asked these questions online in Google search. Because it's the only obvious place to search.

Here are the results for the search keywords 'free wifi' in a tool called Google Trends from google labs, which is a fancy area of google products that are pretty much still in testing.

This shows how much the term 'free wifi' shows up in keywords of google searches in the world, and the amounts compared with other countries.

Canada is far behind (10th) a lot of countries in the world, and I'm sure the number of times this term shows up in searches, and why, is completely different for every country based on the socio-economic environment they are, and why they search for this.

But this gives me a great clue as to where to investigate. Where people that have searched for 'free wifi' have been gratified with answers. How they have, and what those sites, apps, etc, are like. to use. These countries probably have the ultimate in business models or no business models and have dedicated ways of finding free wifi spots. If it's all mobile, then Canada is the last place to look for advanced internet connectivity. Though our service providers will harness ($) popular media publications to convince us otherwise.

So, thank Google for any positive and unexpected changes to this site. They'll probably be borrowed from other countries that 'google' for 'free wifi' more often, as well as the word on the street in Toronto.

'Free Wifi in Toronto' uses new placemark icon!

2009-11-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

'Free WiFi in Toronto' introduces a new placemark icon to distinguish places that haven't yet been 'sniffed out' personally by 'Free WiFi in Toronto' (FWIT). The new icon is to denote locations where the internet access is rumored to be wifi and free to the public, yet there has been no primary research done yet by FWIT to dote over it. So the icon will represent unverified locations.

The primary research, that accompanies each location, normally includes download/upload speed test, qualitative review anecdotes etc.

The new placemark icon attempts to look like a continuous 'loading' bar of some kind. This kind of visual icon is familiar for most apple users anyway, though it is usually blue and white.

This just lets users know where potential spots are, and allows users to check out places that have unverified details on this site anyways. This means that FWIT will eventually post the highly anticipated, fine grain details of each spectacular wifi destination!

These new unverified locations have been found online, through trusted sources, by me. I can't really say that the wifi works here or exist until I see it for myself.

Visual Culture lesson: The Internet is a Simulacra playground as far as I'm concerned. Alot of info online is a representation of something that may not actually exist in reality. So, I won't post random, subjective Internet testimony or reviews up here, unless they are mine.

To retain whatever journalistic morality I might seem to have; no secondary research will find its way onto the FWIT wifi map, other than standard links to google searches and reviews

Second Cup will offer WiFi for limited time..

2009-11-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

Second Cup has begun to do the exact same thing that Skype did a few years ago. Skype offered customers the ability to call cell phones for free and any other landline in North America. This was offered for free to boost the usage and interest around Skype. This huge buzz was largely word of mouth. It also established a customer base that depended on free Skype phone calls. Users that had skype accounts could talk to other users on Skype for free, and video conference for free, but the ability to call through local landlines and cell phones was available for a limited time.

This is exactly what Second Cup will do with what is currently 2hrs free wifi at 50 different Second Cup locations in downtown Toronto. Second Cup wants to leverage more loyal customers based on the 2hrs free wifi service that they offer. I'm sure they want customers to develop a habit of purchasing Second Cup coffee or at least get them comfortable with the coffee shop experience they provide compared with competition.

Second Cup attracts business crowds and students to use wifi on laptops and smartphones, but soon they plan on charging money for access based on time. According to Second Cup's VP of operations and this blog article from IT World Canada.

"The Wi-Fi service will be offered free until April. After that time, a cost of 15 cents per minute will be charged to Rogers Wireless customers, billed directly to a customer’s invoice. Users can also choose to prepay time allotments to their credit cards at rates of either $15 for 24 hours or $9 per hour. These plans expire at the end of the allotted time regardless of how many minutes were used." - IT World Canada

In my opinion, they could limit free usage of wifi, but why not just offer less time, like ten minutes free for example. Internet realistically costs consumers $40 a month for the standard connection to Rogers, for a cable speed connection. The Second Cup connection isn't even that fast sometimes. Customers should at least be allowed enough time to check their e-mail or download a couple songs to listen to with their coffee. After that point, it would make sense to then switch the customer over to 15 cents per minute.

An interesting observation about Second Cup's proposed pay-for-fi service.. it's going to be expensive. There doesn't seem to be any creativity in the way that the wifi services will be priced or offered in conjuction with the other products that Second Cup sells. There is real opportunity here for Second Cup and other coffee franchises, or other arragements such as their biggest competitior Starbucks, to attach brands and the buying/drinking expereince of products to other services using wifi. They could just avoid price fixing and get up to speed with the rest of the world, whose internet connections speeds on average cripple that of Canadian service providers.

WiFi could be bundled with Second Cup coffee purchases. If a customer bought a coffee or a beverage at a regular price, maybe they could enjoy a reduced price of WiFi. Or free wifi for an limited time beyond their purchase. This can be achieved through a wirelss access password that expires, which could be given to the customer upon purchse, and coded based on the product sold. If the customer wants more connection, they could make an additional purchase or create an account for a Second Cup wifi rewards card etc. Or maybe customers could buy a seasonal beverage that's available for a limited time, such as a pumpkin tea, and collect an irregular amount 'WiFi points' or something similar to be used later. Maybe customers answering survey questions about Second Cups products offered could get them free or limited time wifi. Questions about the brand expereince, the type of music options that are sold etc.

Bundling the wifi service with beverages and product offerings, or membership cards, with even slight conditions and time limits could be an interesting way for Second Cup to boost product sales. This budling of service and product could further attach a customer's engagement with the internet to their dependency on the Second Cup brand and the experience provided.

If anyone knows the VP by the way, send him this link if he hasn't already thought of bundling services with products. Or at least have them check out November's Harvard Business Review article on 'Combining products and services, for more leading edge-insights.

Streetview could affect Toronto small business, but how about info-augmented Google streetview?

2009-10-26T16:35:00.000-07:00

I am quite amazed by Google's street view, in Toronto. I'm amazed because there are a whole lot of significant and insignificant dynamics about local businesses that will change because of street view. Not just things like cracking down on crime and so on.

I have no examples off hand, and I will not cite any that I can say I know exist, so this may just seem like another opinion piece by me, however I am very sure I can put scenarios in place to describe what the instinct of small business owners are, when something like streetview 'hits the streets'. I don't excuse my pun..

There once was a time, o' about a month ago, when businesses would advertise to all kinds of different online marketing companies, and they would get plastered all over the common blogs and online classifieds and directories in the city they were in. This was so any of the cool 'dine out' review and blog websites had all the info about the restaurant. The time it opened, closed, that type of food, menu samples, details about corking fees, list of wines, etc. This also came along with the obvious address info and google map link as a fail-safe for people that were unfamiliar with the neighborhood, or with the city. But realistically, there was no real way to see what the featured local restaurant in the directory would be like, to walk up to and experience for the first-time from an objective standpoint from a computer. There were lots of peer reviews, or random free google reviews which allowed people to get a handle on the prices they could expect and the quality, but that was other people's opinions. These were subjective opinions as well, considering that it's not reviews from anyone you know, which isn't terrible, but it was still a shot in the dark whether it was the right place for an anniversary dinner etc.

With Google's streetview a new dynamic, in the example about searching for restaurants again, is the external appearance of the restaurant at any time, on any day. The promo photos that were taken by the blog, usually make the places they feature look pretty good, the blog wants to post quality content. So the production values of promo material is fairly high. Other directory websites will just scrape data off the restaurants own site and use photos the restaurant wants to portray the brand. But when Google drives by your small Italian restaurant business, and at that time there are a bunch of hoods out front, smoking drugs and feeding dogs left-over bread attached to bike posts outside at 8:00am..and you had the guys up there repairing the roof with tar paper that day by a fluke of chance, then that is how your business will look.

This is important to consider as a new dynamic about Toronto storefront retail locations and anyplace that Google streetview can see. Everyone is a voyeur now that can Google right up to the curb in-front of a business, as the last 'ok' before setting foot into Toronto to take someone to dinner. Or to figure out what is around the area. This feature is a new way for potential customers to make judgments about your business based on how the business appears physically, from the outside, from miles away, which could have them avoiding the trip and opting for competition.

Features like streetview also feed the fire for more anticipated google features, the 'what the hell else is around this area?' feature. This feature is soo on the tip of our tongues when we search google maps or google earth that it is sickening.

Before travelling to a place you want to check it out, visually for sure, but with surrounding info and info about business that surround destinations that you may be heading to or came from.

Everyone wants to find a neighborhood in an area of the city and just find local business around the same geographic area, to figure out what's up.. like "whats up with Roncesvalles, what is everyone talking about?". If I want to know that right now, not later when I take a streetcar there, but right now, at home somewhere in another town, there is no way for me to just drag a mouse over something and have it declare what kind of thing it is, a restaurant, a business, a factory etc. I know there is Wikimapia, but thats really a sloppy version of something that should be more manicured and created like streetview. Or at least mediated better

I mean who wouldn't want to just hit a couple buttons and find out what restaurants are near by, where the local convenience store is next to 'the velvet underground', what is the closest dry cleaners next to a suit rental place etc. This kind of feature saves people precious search time, and costs google nothing because they already know where everything else is. It just wont pop up with other things because you can only type in location search info for one target in search at a time. I know there is the search nearby feature, but this does not exist in the streetview mode, with supplementary information about the sociographics and geographics on top of the streetview the images. What about embedded links to bubbles, in the locations street numbers.

C'mon, we know Google built an algorithm to blur peoples faces out, that wasn't that hard, how about a simpler one to attach hyper links and google maps bubbles to numbers that happen to be street adress numbers. This isn't Google Earth, I'm aware of why there are differences in the two products, but we gotta keep this map tool on top of intuitive qualitative info gathering. Looking at cartogrpahy now is basically just visual-geographic orintation within a given interface. Soon, virtual reality maps, or projected info-augmented reality from PDA's.

This streetview socio economic summary or bubble-address-number feature doesn't exist yet on Google Maps as far as I know and it really needs to. The streetview photos of an area might look like crap, but it may be a very high-class neighborhood or vice-versa. In Google Maps the user should be able to turn on features that expose different types of businesses in the area, so you can get a good feel for the type of establishments around, in a macro kinda way.

Right now, i'll just use streetview and stare at street signs and storefronts beside the locations that I typed in search, so I can guess what kind of establishments are near by, but I wish I could click on them and grab their info in a bubble right beside the other, at the same time, on the same screen!

Do it Google..do it

iPhone/smartphone provider wars, Rogers knew it was coming

2009-10-06T16:56:00.000-07:00

iPhones are gonna spring up everywhere in Toronto and Canada!

There are soo many new postings (and redundant copies of postings) about this announcement in the Canadian media distribution channels, that this time I will ignore the temptation to link my site into the undulating mesh of the blogosphere that hopes to rub some hits into their Google AdSense account, and improved SEO.

Just look around..everyone has one, why not Bell and Telus? Are they not cool enough to bring their iPhones to school?..I mean the market?

I just want to say something about the iPhone, it is my turn now, everyone in the world has had a redundant hack at it...

the iPhone is a first-time users best friend. If you read the interface and take in some of the screen interactions for about five minutes, you will become a pro at finding your way through the software and operating content of an iPhone. However, once you build mental models (in the noggin) about where the next screen's buttons will appear once you know your way through the workflow and menus, you will conclude that the interface has too many screens and excessive tasks involved in the workflow just to quickly add a new addresses on maps or a new contact.

This is not to say that blackberry workflows are better, but that the iPhone opts to design user friendly and for the personal consumer. The blackberry interface and workflow lends itself to standardization of interface hardware / software and software packages available through hard selling businesses to other hard selling business, it is a work phone. It's interfaces are all quick and dirty coding to get the interface job done. I would say it was designed by thrifty engineers with not much time on their hands before product releases.

Look at options in one of the most commonly used, standard, yet un-assumed BB applications for instance (alarm clock). It's quite easy for the user to overlook the fact that PM is selected instead of AM. Especially since there are no 'trap-doors' built in to the software to prompt users or verify selected info to escape from rolling the ball button too far and changing the alarm setting by accident, milliseconds before pressing the rolly ball down to select 'ok'. This small usability and functionality issue destroys early 8:00am meetings, and reputations for many employees that are attached to, and rely on their BB phones to help them work.

These two phones are meant for different users completely, but are being pushed under the blanket of 'smartphone', so many consumers assume there is something tangible to compare about the two product user scenarios and uses, or their unofficial neato-gadget-magazine benchmarking.

There are too many differences between a blackberry and an iPhone to really begin counting.

It's like two neighbors building two sheds right next to one another in a backyard. They can both see what each other are doing. Yet, one neighbor is a perfectionist, takes lots of time, almost too much to think things through and plan. He also looks far ahead, to make sure it's going to look right in almost any decade. The other neighbor wants to get it done fast, smart but efficiently and without killing the calf. He likes to just build sheds and move on to the next one, leaving any fleeting mistakes unnoticeable in his dust of productivity.

BB buttons are tactile feedback. When you push them you know they were pushed because when pushing a blackberry button, it responds back by either a click noise or feeling in your finger or the push back, as the crumpled rubber micro switch under the plastic button pops back up. Now because of this, users can feel the button was pushed, and assume that now we only have to wait for the software to take us to where we want to go within the blackberry interface.

The iPhone is easy to pick-up, but requires alot more 'work' or close attention to slight changes in the interface graphics to signify changes in the controls or menus of the device.

When you tap down for a brief period of time (which was very carefully allotted and requires particular judgement for users) infra red sensors on the x and y axis along the screen glass edges, senses the blockage of light (because of your finger) and the iPhone figures out where your finger is on the screen.

This requires a lot of patience to wait until the phone has completed your button-pushing request and for you to then see the butons reaction, and then the outcome of the task. The reason soo much attention from the user is paid to the interface is because it's easy to tap the wrong area of the screen and have an undesired task sent into the phone. The user can only rely on the visual feedback from user inputs on the iPhone, and the slight sounds it can muster through it's mini speakers for button-pushing noticeablity.

There is however no haptic feedback on the iPhone. Some new smartphones have haptic feedback. Its just a fancy way to say that it enhances the feeling from a touch screen for user interaction. A vibration when touching the screen lets users know that they have made contact with the devices screen or graphic button areas and the device has acknowledged their request.

The iPhone surface does not respond back to the user to confirm that it has cued the request into the iPhone for processing. The user has to wait until the screen contact is processed to see the outcome of their interaction with the screens graphical buttons (the button turns darker to represent being pushed)

Anyway, there is my analysis of the iPhone, Blackberry inteface usability and I could go on.

Everyone that blogs goes on about this stuff, but I do not intend to link anything in this rant, to anyones blog or legit articles of whatever. I don't want to participate in blogger-link patriarcy. It's incestious. It's way too common now.

P.S. Use WiFi phones in cafe's any chance you have. Turn off you antenna on your mobile network provider (Rogers etc) and just turn on the WiFi switch. Freeee calls... don't feel that you have to justify your mobile network access on your iPhone with Rogers, by using their nework all the time. Just try getting access for free...see if it's faster.

I envision WiFi memberships and benefits..

2009-10-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

A lot of coffee shops and other lifestyle brands have things in common, for this blog, more importantly their consumer's WiFi nomadia. Many of these franchised brands will bundle together in a meeting room one day and decide that they cannot profiteer well enough from these wifi 'camping' customers. They will see a massive potential in the market of WiFi culture, yet they will stare at graphs of consumer trends and online presence history and traffic until they are red in the face.

Twenty cups of coffee into the meeting, Larry (not actual name), brand manager of Second Cup, might say something like "Man I'm sick of Starbucks right now..can anyone go get something down the street that's a bit different? I need some different food or something..we need to keep this meeting going, but I need like a McD's.."

That's when brilliance strikes...The graphic design intern, unaware of his pending coffee-run, is supposedly taking minutes while he has a brilliant golden brain fart.

He was staring off into space, half sleeping with his eyes open. In his awkward state, he imagined that Larry (hungry brand manager, begging for new choices) was actually a WiFi customer with a laptop on location at a retail store, begging for something new. His lucid experience flows like a wave across mind from one side to the other. He jumps out of his chair with an idea, heading for the whiteboard. Others in the meeting take interest in his sudden and alarming participation, as a form of eye drool crusts at the corner of his lids.

He draws a man at the front of a line up, receiving a membership card from the retailer. People in the room shift weight and lean forward, as they prepare for liftoff, assuming he's an avid cadet of the space variety.

"The man in this scenario.." he explains "is buying a card with his coffee which allows him to collect and record the amount of his favourite and different consumable items. This takes place every month at multiple brands and 'WiFi vistas'. He receives free wifi at any of these brand locations, for purchasing at least one item at all participating locations within a certain period of time. This could guarantee that the customer enjoys wifi at each location. This way, the customer participates in brand loyalty, experiences a variety of wifi locations, and buys one product at each brands retail location, to receive full and free access at any! He could even be eligable for special product give aways and 'perks!'" The graphic intern is now fully awake, anticipating the assault of flying push-pins, or a peppering of holes in his argument and momentary consciousness.

"Hmmm!" exclaims an important man across the room, sharply turning attention to his hand-in-pocket strut and well bunched forehead.. " This is a unique scenario..thank you for that inspiration"

This kind of thing will happen, there are similar purchasing and pricing models that support such ideas.

Could corporations approach on another for a strategic alliance of this nature, to capitalize on WiFi? They could, and should. If corporations and their franchises need to charge money for their services, at least they could offer selection and standardize the WiFi access and product variables for strategic brand alliances. They could even use the same network and share consumer online traffic data. These online traffic insights would be amazing for marketing and branding, and offer people brand variety and 'wifi vista' options.

But before companies will ever team-up and pimp out free standardized WiFi, I'll tend to stick with the local businesses, they do it right.

Local businesses still offer a variety of different brand experiences, high connection speeds, and no online traffic monitoring, which keeps the culture anonymous, free and happy.

New business models will change Toronto's WiFi use. Check out how these phones work, it's not quite related to Wifi, but it's kick-ass and basically free!

Weather, WiFi, and business as usual?

2009-09-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've made an enormously important observation about my blog, and possibly something that is good advice for any small business.

About three weeks ago, I got a feeling (whooo, hooo..that tonight's' gonna be a..). Then it became a question, and now an observation.

Weather will affect almost any business you can name.

In some ways the weather is as much an unpredictable problem as the amount of business you will have during bad weather.

What I'm getting at is that a small business, particularly a retail business like the ones that I venture into in search of WiFi, could potentially cash in large in a thunderstorm, or loose all customers completely that day.

In this regard, the instability of weather, being good or bad for a business, means there could be a hungry busload of tourists on one rainy day, and nothing more than the sounds of crickets the next day.

This site recently experienced rain and a thunderstorm. This is notable in the number of visitors I've had to my blog during the same time periods. Customers will not venture out in search of a coffee shop to just hang in, or a patio in the pouring rain. Finding a new and interesting place to use wifi is not a priority when you just want the day to pass by.

Unless I'm wrong. Maybe you are a potential customer caught outside in the rain with your laptop and the shelter of a local business with WiFi is exactly what you need. This could bring some unexpected business in, at least for the duration of the heaviest weather, then when things calm back down, people resume regular patterns of consumer behavior.

This is a valuable lesson I have witnessed as a consumer many times in my life, (line up at dairy queen in the summer) but never as a curator of content, providing the locations of wifi as a service. In a very basic sense, this blog is teaching me things like a small business experiment on training wheels.

thanks all..

Second Cup owns the Bloor West WiFi scene

2009-09-24T16:37:00.001-07:00

Bloor West does have alot of chill places to hang out, I'm a bit of a home-body when it comes to exploring random areas of Toronto. This WiFi blog is helping me be more adventurous.

I think in some ways this gives me an advantage to provide very objective views about the qualitative aspects of these 'WiFi vistas'. I don't really have a lot of daily interactions with most of these places. This helps me ask really basic questions for myself and have a first-impressions that are valuable to other nubes in the area.

One of the first macro impressions about WiFi in Bloor west, more specifically west of Yonge, east of Bathurst, is that it is riddled with 'The Second Cup' locations. This is more heavily laden than the downtown core, and 95% of them offer WiFi. This means that 'franchised WiFi' is more common here that 'local small business WiFi'. A trend that needs fix'n in my opinion.

I'm not advertising for Second Cup here, I prefer to frequent local businesses and use free wifi with no time limit. But if you're in this area, and you only need 2hrs/day to get some free WiFi, there is a good chance you'll consider walking into a Second Cup. You can barely get down the street without seeing two.

All you need to do is buy a coffee, and you can pimp out your facebook friends list (wih a facebook application setup). This is similar to Bell/Starbucks team up, but the evil is that Rogers may have been in talks with Facebook and could now aggregate the data on anyone who is in Rogers customers lists and align it with data from Facebook.

This is a huge marketing tool that could potentially tell Rogers things like: the sites you prefer online, what groups you are a part of on facebook, what your hobbies are, how many minutes a day you use the phone, and at what time and how long you frequent the Second Cup because you have a penchant for free WiFi.

This doesn't mean they'll call you to complain that you use the WiFi everyday, or bill you...they'll just look at everyone that does this on a graph, and try to figure out ways they can create products to facilitate your group habits, with crowd-sourcing software, and without you really knowing. Thats what Facebook does with Neilson ratings, check it out..kinda scary, but ok I guess.

If this is some kind of conspiracy then I subscribe to it. Because how else could a franchised company claim to give you free access..Lets get together on this, lets figure out another way.

People really do need to get more invloved to change this kind of thing, monopoly is not cool. As you can see my my ravings on this blog the other day. I am pro wireless change.. here is what is happeing to the change right now. Globalive is on the butchers block with the CRTC, and they need some support from Canadians.

E-mail this man (Konrad.vonFinckenstein@crtc.gc.ca ) and let him know we need diversity in the wireless market...a bunch of Second Cups on Bloor will not help me diversify my day, especially if they are co-operating with Rogers and Facebook.

We need opportunities for new experiences.

Heads up Big Three, the end is nigh!

2009-09-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

I cant' wait for this to happen...I just want to watch and laugh menacingly.

New Mobile Wireless carriers in Canada will absolutely ruin the monopoly that us poor Canadians have been subjected too for far too long. The ridiculous profiteering is about to end thanks to companies like Wind, Public Mobile, and DAVE wireless. The Big Three will be reduced to a harem of doting yes-men, begging to keep you as a customer.

Time to get that free digital cable package thrown in, and a better phone contract for way less, or you just might go with the new competition.

The above image is not simply a terrible stock photo of a guy using a phone to suit my headline..I wanted to see if you fell for my terrible conventions of journalism. This is actually a photo of Globalive CEO, Anthony Lacavera, one of the creators of Wind mobile.

Wind mobile is a new wireless provider looking to step into the wireless market here in Canada and more specifically the GTA. This is such a good thing for the economy right now, just after the recession. You know what, I would even work for them. They're offering jobs!

Look at how these companies want customers to generate brand for them! Completely self-conscious, user-centric, but I'm sure they will always make an appropriate executive decision here and there.

I don't know who we can thank for letting these game-changers into the market, but we need to get smart people like this working in Canadian parliament.

It sounds too good to be true, but Wind mobile claims to be very understanding of customers and welcomes new ideas, and keeps them on their home page! The page doesn't pitch a single product either..amazing.

I have a suggestion: New providers. We want to use free wifi signals whenever and wherever we can..with your phones, no flat rate. Oh yea, and don't switch back to your EDGE network without notifying the customer during a call, thats just foul play.

Wind is not quite off the ground yet (excuse any pun) but they will own a large segment of the market called 'the people that generally hate Rogers'.

I hope these new wireless providers demonstrate how a customer value proposition and management strategy should look (read full article in chapters), because the current options are un-sustainable and ready for a serious upgrade.

Kensignton, a WiFi desert..

2009-09-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

I was eating at KOS in Kensington yesterday and was pleased to find that they offered WiFi. It's always nice to have breakfast and check da e-mail. But I could only find a bunch of personal WiFi signals in the Kensignton Market area.

Of course people will say.."why should kensington want more yuppies, walking through and loving it, and trying to gentrify the culture here with their dog sweaters, and wifi laptops?"

Well there is no good answer for that..but it has started to happen anyway. Kensington Market Lofts is a newer development where the toronto condo market had started to creep in on Kensington territory. There are a good number of signals radiating from there and other houses and rooms above storefronts, all locked as they should. But there were only really two businesses that offered open access.

I could see why you wouldn't want people clogging up the already teeny yet amazing cafe's, grocers and bars in kensignton. But I think that there would be a lot of really interesting side-effects to introducing some free internet highways into kensington.

I don't want that to sound that scary and yuppie, but it could be a really interesting way to supplement bloggers and ear-to-the-ground media types, in Kensington.

I would know even more about kensignton this way, even though I have my favorite places to buy groceries, I would know who's doing what, where and when, and I could be part of it, instead of just stumbling into everything at once, every time I go into kensington. I know its part of the fun, but I'd like to understand more about life in kensington and I can't find a place to live there.

Soo even though I sound like a tea-sipping yuppie...where's the WiFi?

Quams with the Rogers Center and WiFi access...

2009-09-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

I won't make this post very long, but I went to the Rogers Center last night, in the corporate suites to watch U2 live. It was honestly an amazing show, not to rub it in. But I was alarmed to find that every wifi signal in the building had a password, and the passwords I was given for access, were not working.

Well, for Blackberry Sponsored Bono and company, u would think that event organizers (live nation) and the venue (Rogers Center) could both pull together some kind of interactive product experience out of their behinds for event sponsors, ticket holders and general fan club. Perhaps they could further brand each venture better (OEM and service provider) and pat each others backs while giving each other a nice money handshake...please forgive the lame analogies, otherwise this post would not be quit PC.

But apparently not, both providers of U2 touring money, venue organizers and venue could not muster a single enriched media experience for visitors for free or at least one that both vendors seem to have a 'connection' with.

It was pretty puzzling though, not having phone reception in the Rogers Center while I am a Rogers customer, and ironically enough using my blackberry.

Back to U2 tonight, show number 2!

WiFi Anywhere! and the ethics...

2009-09-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

To create this blog, I've been using my blackberry pearl and searching the streets for wifi for a couple days now. It's been interesting..

Most of the time, weak wifi signals that I find also happen to be open access, meaning that anyone can select the right network and use the internet.
This is generally because the wifi proximity is not very large, and is ideal for a small local cafe where customers will buy something at the business out of courtesy, and use open access wifi (no password).

This is opposite of larger or franchised businesses having a built-in policy limiting wifi time etc., guaranteeing a charge for access, or limiting the length of internet use. For these businesses, the wifi signal can afford to be stronger without open access at a distance. The connection can also be faster and have a veil of security, using a password to keep faithful customers connected and avoid wifi vagabonds...like me, sometimes.

But I am slowly running into more and more strong wifi signals that are completely open access! This is good progess..

These allow me to step outside of my average moral dilemmas about free wifi usage and try using wifi from a distance where I could not physically purchase something from the business providing it.

Some would say that this is stealing..I would agree. However, I would never steal open access wifi from a local small business that is not franchised. A franchise can afford me using their wifi without me making a purchase. A local small business cannot. This is the line that I draw while looking for free wifi.

Here is a video of me accessing free wifi from sandwich select (or select sandwich?) on a nice seating area next to a garden and a boy statue on Bay st. at night. This was an ideal place to hang for a bit and go online..there was even a nice little plug protruding from the garden on a post. Makes for a nice charging spot..across the street from my temporary router.

There are more place like this in Toronto (Sobey's cafe on spadina). Places where I don't mind being outside and sneaking a little wifi signal here and there. I mean, hey, it's really really free!

Mobile Innovation Week, and my nube perspective

2009-09-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

I asked really simple and un-educated questions at the FITC Mobile developer seminar desk (part of mobile innovation week) at the Metro Toronto Convention Center today.

I am a nube to producing content for the internet. I have Industrial Design training, so I am in tune with anything involving the competencies of environmental graphic design, interaction design, industrial design and some architecture and exhibit design.

I am creating a blog of wifi locations in Toronto, with very little knowledge of creating the back end of online media. So I figured, why not get more engaged, and jump right into mobile innovation week, to see what I can learn. This could only open up my understanding of wifi and the forms of media it enables.

I could volunteer for FITC mobile and learn about mobile SEO and other topics for free! But I decided not too..

By chance, I met James Eberhardt, an acclaimed mobile application developer who is speaking today at the FITC Mobile developers seminars. I had no idea what I would ask people at the FITC registration table, but I did end up talking to an acclaimed innovator of mobile media..cool. Double cool, is that his business partner, Gabe Sawhney, also happens to be the entrepreneur behind Wireless Toronto (a non-for profit that seeks to unite local business in toronto in providing free wifi for customers) and the murmur project. The metal green ear signage on city street posts has a phone number to call. This lets users experience site based history and other facts about Toronto in a contextual manner once you call the number!

Heres the link to Mobile Innovation Week website, maybe this will get my blog on the Google search index..

Tim at BlogTO wrote a similar entry about free wifi in Toronto on the 8th of September, which started a heated (47 comment) debate in the comments section that is teeming with great user insight, and was actually really exciting to see. I did start my free wifi blog on th 4th of September and the article was posted by Tim of BlogTo on the 8th I believe, so there is no way that we could have squandered each others idea, it was merely coincidence that we both decided to talk about wifi in the city. It may be a hotter topic now in the city because of the combined effects of better laptop batteries, wifi enabled smart phones, and some other competitive variables between franchised and local businesses. These things have at least comtributred to really opening up the public discussions awbout wifi.

I hope to have some more good content up here soon, and I need to keep adding spots, the build up of images for placemarks on my phone is getting heavy, stay tuned!

tiff..? qui fai le wifi?

2009-09-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

There will be hundreds of international visitors for the Toronto International Film Festival. Hopefully they don't seem confused by the number of pay-per-fi businesses and public Internet hotspots, because they will want to blog this event out to their home cities.

Sure Toronto can powder itself and tell everyone in Canada that it's the greatest film town in the north, but how will the rest of the world know that? I would think, through international word-of-mouth.

It could be beneficial to Toronto to have a good handle on international visitors to the festival and not only A listed celebrities. I'm sure the city has an agenda for this, but it may be all dusty and underfunded. I'm sure there are amenities in place at hotels to support internet access and international journalism, though I don’t think there is team of pr companies in this city whose goal it is to inform the most obscure group of stakeholder…International Tourist seeking wifi.

Let tourists do the pr for tiff! If they enjoy the films, their stay and want to tell about it, let them sit down at a tiff certified wifi spot, without having to pay one zone, or starbucks, and share their thoughts and feelings about Toronto and tiff online…for free.

Whats better press than instant press? When a tourist can tell the Italian newspapers in Turin about tiff, before they leave the party, for free, then I'm sure the reviews would be fabulous.

Give them time to get to the airport, get harassed by airport pay-for-fi, and feel generally grumpy about airport security and the hangover. The review will be a very sober, very real, honest and objective one, but not as interesting and intoxicating as a review from a film festival event, or the local free wifi business on the streetcorner.

Every bar should have WiFi!

2009-09-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

I was on Bathurst, doing the usual scrape through downtown back home after work, and I thought it would be worth checking out The Wheat Sheaf and The Bank Note on King, two classic Toronto bars.

Neither had WiFi..that was a shocker. I thought yuppie neighborhood=wifi, but apparently there are some gaps in the common drinking places around here.

I can see why this might be, there is an older crowd there too, but why would you want to turn away the business lunch crowd and laptops, or even impromptu business meetings at the pub. The people that do have a quick 'luch and a learn' at a bar may want to stay longer if they can log into company sales portals and make changes, etc.

In pusuit of free wifi vistas..

2009-09-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hello world...Toronto!

I've made a crazy amount of progress for this blog's debut (right now). It's been up for four days and I will add new locations, more photos, a video blog about things that are wifi/Toronto related, and give people the down-low on free access in the city. I hand-curated these locations, but I'm not done by any means, I know soo many more wifi spots, I just haven't had the time to post them yet. (ie. tequila bookwork etc.)

I want to show people multiple places to go and relax, I want to support local businesses, and help strengthen homemade brands. I will take into account big franchises and their wifi, but I will make a point of showcasing small businesses that offer patrons free wifi destinations, which encourages local brand loyalty and quality surfing experiences.

Wifi culture exists now, and it's important for business to see the mutual benefits in bringing people and their laptops out of their homes and into local Toronto businesses for free. This offers people a way to connect and interact in their communities online and offline. Free wifi offers businesses a way to build a new culture of respectful, loyal customers and patrons a refreshing place to enjoy their online experience.

This is the manifesto stage of my blog. Just letting people understand my intentions and the direction this blog will go. My posts should become less heavy/profound and more concise and interesting.

Thanks for the support so far.

Free WiFi in Toronto is here!

2009-09-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Finally, a place where you can go and just find locations for free WiFi free access!

The reason I'm doing this is double edged.

A.

I needed to post my findings of free WiFi in Toronto, to remember them, and because the place that I currently live in is a small Toronto condo, isolation gets real lame. I also could not find a blog that does this for Toronto..

I want to enjoy the parts of the city, and pick my free 'destination' internet access. But it takes a lot of work to just hike around looking.

This desired experience is basically a new form of odyssey that we all really need in the city. This can be attributed to many factors, but personally, the lack of changing scenery gets to me. Patterned routes of my city experience become further and further ingrained, and so do the accompanying thoughts and ideas.

Before long, I feel like I am literally stale and in a rut that I have created, enjoying even trivial or subtle changes in my daily experience. I can equate 'destination' surfing to almost mico-vacations or something like that feeling. Minus the dehydration and lack of sleep.

To further augment and extend my experieintial breadth of 'destination' surfing, I like to have free WiFi access to complete the feeling of a vacation..the 'all inclusive' type.

B.

The second reason I created this blog is to allow anyone to suggest or add their own findings and fond micro-vacations spots with free WiFi.

There are many free WiFi places that I don't know about in the city. So this blog may end up being a sort of micro-time share community.

Because once locations have been found and are shared with everyone, and assuming I get more advanced with the google maps API, people could even check this blog to see if people are actively in a free spot or not.

Or check to see if he desired 'destination' is really completely free..this is of course, assuming that people want to check or post on the blog while they are at one destination, looking to make a quick move to another free location.

I presume that in the future, the exclusivity of these free WiFi locations would be measured by the number of electric sockets in walls, the speed of access, or the type of restrictions that are applied to the use of the specific WiFi.

This exclusivity rating may also be based on 'destination' details. Such as having to buy some product from the hosting business, to receive a WiFi access code.

Anyway, help me stock up this blog up with interesting 'destinations' to surf, and the details needed to ensure your free WiFi micro-vacations!