WiFi hotspots: Have laptop, will travel

The free, the paid, and the little-known places to get online around town

April 26, 2006

By DANE GOLDEN
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

How many minutes has it been since you checked your e-mail?

If you're like most Petalumans, it was probably just a couple of hours ago, if that. We're always in touch, e-mailing business associates, friends or family, or checking the latest news, sports scores or stock tips.

But what if you have a laptop and wireless card, and want to get out of the office (or the "home office") and out into the real world for an hour or two? You've got to stay connected, right?

There's an evolving tapestry of local choices, depending on your location and interest in paying.

Want to have your favorite cuppa joe while you're going online? You have more than six coffeehouse options. Four of them are, you guessed it, at Starbucks. You can go online at the locations at 205 N. McDowell Blvd., 5306 Redwood Highway, 125 Petaluma Blvd. North and 939 Lakeville St. These locations are each T-Mobile hotspots, where you can go online for $9.99 a day or $39.99 for a month. If you sign up for a year, it's $29.99 per month. The service can be used at many Starbucks around the country.

You can also go online at two Deaf Dog locations, at 134 Petaluma Blvd. North and 351 S. McDowell Blvd. Deaf Dog is on the SurfAndSip network, which is similar to the T-Mobile service but has fewer hotspots. It costs $30 per month for a month-to-month subscription, or $20 per month if you sign up for a year. The day rate is $5.

Had enough coffee for the day, and want to go online for free? Take your laptop over to the library, where in addition to the 13 computers for adults and two for kids, you can bring your laptop and wireless card and go online for free. You must have a Sonoma County library card to sign on, but you can receive one upon request with just a photo ID.

Because of the free wireless service, the library is one of the places first visited by out-of-town visitors, say librarians. Visitors from all over the world stop by, often during their first day in Petaluma, and particularly during the summer, to get a few hours of e-mail in.

What about a free wireless connection without a library card or photo ID? Most people don't know it, but the Senior Center at 211 Novak Drive in Lucchesi Park has free WiFi, open to anyone in the community. Anyone can go in and sit in the center's library and use the WiFi at no charge while the center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center shuts down the WiFi when they're closed.

Entrepreneurs Keith and Fabi Chatham, who are in the process of moving their business to Hawaii, don't need a hotspot as they go online during their working lunch at the Tea Room Café. They started using a Cingular wireless card for their laptop about nine months ago, and have been using the service as they've been relocating.

"It's a great service because basically everywhere I go, I can go online," said Fabi Chatham.

This type of WiFi service has gained popularity only over the last year or so. Several companies, including Cingular, Verizon and Sprint, offer these services from $60 to $90. They transfer data through the cell phone towers, so the user need only be somewhere where there's cell phone service. The plans can include cell phone service or be separate. Two local companies, Top Speed Data and Mawson Computer, are converting many of their clients over to these types of cards.

How else are people in Petaluma getting online? Well, you can bet there are a few folks going online by a process called "war driving." War driving is when someone drives around in their car in front of homes and businesses, using their laptop and WiFi card to search for unprotected wireless networks to log on to. Sometimes the person is just looking for a free place to check e-mail, but sometimes their goals are more nefarious, such as stealing personal data.

Mawson Computer owner Paul Sturm said that while wireless networks are generally secure nowadays if used properly, many home users never turn on their security, leaving their wireless networks open to invaders.

This can be a security problem in more than one way, he said. One possible problem is if two next-door neighbors both have wireless networks, but neither has the network security turned on. They could accidentally log on to each other's network, possibly exchanging viruses without knowing it.

"It could be dangerous if their neighbor has a virus on their computer," said Sturm.

There will also be one new way to log on in the next few weeks, when restaurants near the Turning Basin will have wireless access as well. Tom Corbett of the Yacht Club is working with Vista Broadband to install a service in that building that would be accessible to all for a small fee. The range would likely not go much further than the Turning Basin.

(Contact Dane Golden at dgolden@arguscourier.com)