IT Milk: entry

The only wireless signal I am picking up at my new apartment in Wilkes-Barre is Prolog Unleashed. Damn, there aren’t any ignorant homeowners nearby to leech off of. I get as much thrill and excitement from discovering unsecured wireless networks as I would from stumbling upon a uranium deposit.

Apparently, Wilkes-Barre is working hard to advance its commercial sector, and public wifi is one of its efforts. Many of the restaurants advertise wireless internet while Prolog (the local ISP) provides an all-encompassing field of signal in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

But don’t confuse the word “public” with “free.” Prolog Unleashed is $30 for a month and $5 for a day. I am currently considering whether I should subscribe to Prolog Unleashed, because I don’t want to pay to only find out that the bandwidth is terrible.

The interface of Prolog Unleashed is akin to airport wireless internet. When you open up your browser, it automatically redirects you to a login and subscription page for the service provider. It would be so easy to set up an ad-hoc network and spoof their login page to start a collection of valid usernames and passwords. But that’s highly illegal, of course.

If anyone has any experience with Prolog Unleashed (good or bad), please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks.

Update for May 6:

I just signed up for Prolog Unleashed with a $5 Day Pass, and I’m connected to it now as I’m writing this. According to a quick test at www.bandwidthplace.com, here are the speed results for Prolog Unleashed Public Wifi:

Communications: 648.9 kilobits per second
Storage: 79.2 kilobytes per second
1MB file download: 12.9 seconds
Subjective rating: Not bad

Considering that I’m only getting 2 or 3 bars out of 5, the internet speed is adequate for my internet browsing habits.

Update for May 7:

Actually, I will not be following up on my Day Pass to a full monthly subscription. Prolog Unleashed constantly kicks me off of my VPN connection, and when I try to use a high-bandwidth application such as Skype or BitTorrent, the internet connection actually disconnects.

I guess you’ll be seeing me around Panera Bread quite often. For those who aren’t familiar with Panera Bread, it is an overpriced deli & bakery that offers free wireless internet to lure in more suckers.