I am old enough and geek enough to be bothered by the use of the word “WiFi” instead of the Internet or just network.
It’s only WiFi if you connect the wireless router at the end.
YSK some cities in the US are starting to build an affordable community built wifi network that goes around big telecom companies
Submitted 1 day ago by TheHalifaxJones@lemm.ee [bot] to youshouldknow@lemmy.world
Comments
axh@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Chivera@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Same here and when people refer to the PC tower as the CPU
Hawke@lemmy.world 1 day ago
That I cut a bit of slack for, because prior to the minicomputer let alone the microcomputer, the CPU would likely have been a large component like the whole system is for a desktop PC.
frezik@midwest.social 23 hours ago
WiFi is a specific protocol, IEEE 802.11 (with a lower case letter at the end for the version). There have long been hobbyist and commercial methods for using it with point-to-point links. There are some other wireless methods for this, like LoRa/Meshtastc, but they tend to be slower and less developed. Everyone prefers using WiFi.
So, yes, they are using WiFi in a point-to-point way. The antenna is directional to give it (potentially) several miles of range.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 3 hours ago
Setup some multi km Wi-Fi bridges before, that was fun.
user224@lemmy.sdf.org 1 day ago
It would seem a lot of people think Wi-Fi is internet. I’ve heard someone call it “Wi-Fi with exclamation mark” when without internet access.
truxnell@aussie.zone 1 day ago
My eldest when her internet want working confidently told me her computer couldn’t connect to the globe
technomad@slrpnk.net 15 hours ago
🤦
throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Language is so weird these days…
Everything is “app” nowaways
A .exe install on windows is “app”
A reddit account is “app”
Buying a phone plan and inserting a sim card into a phone is “activation” of a phone
Lol
Its a windows program or software
Reddit is not an “app”, its a platform.
You’re not “activating” your phone, your phone is already usable, all you did was purchase a voice/data plan and inserted a sim card. “Activation” is a apple internet lock thing, totally separate.
Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml 6 hours ago
I noticed the gradual shift from program to app over time since the iPhone took the world by storm, but then again it was never incorrect. Applications are synonymous with programs so an executable on your windows desktop is an app as much as it is a program.
I’ve never come across anyone referring to a Reddit account as an app but I can definitely see someone who interacts with Reddit exclusively using the Reddit app referring to both the platform and a means of accessing as the same thing both out of a conscious choice for convenience or ignorance and actually they’d be right either way except in the latter case only accidentally since it you say “I really love using that app Reddit to look at memes and talk to people” despite not actually knowing the app isn’t the platform, your sentence would still be correct.
The activating thing, I jimmycrackcrack declare that I will allow it. Look it’s a sneaky hardware manufacturer and provider term to imply the device doesn’t work until you give them money but then, as a piece of language with utility, well… your phone doesn’t work without a sim, at least in the common understanding of what “work” means here. Since a phone of any stripe, dumb or smart is pretty useless without a sim card, getting that message across to consumers that you have to do something to make it functional, to “activate” it is necessary. You could choose to frame it as unlocking but then again if you’re selling these things you probably don’t want people thinking you locked them up and then sold them the keys and in fact, the manufacturers kinda didn’t, it’s the service provider that doesn’t provide service to a functioning device until they’re given money, who are doing that and given they’re a business, that’s sorta how they have to operate.
deur@feddit.nl 18 hours ago
You don’t know what the word “application” is lol
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 18 hours ago
But… It is P2P WiFi…
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 1 day ago
For a municipal wireless network, I’m not too bothered with how OP describes it if it’s accessed through Wi-Fi.
meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
I hope they are aware of freifunk.net and don’t start from scratch completely. They’ve been doing that kinda stuff for decades and have developed a modified OpenWRT version and maintain lists of compatible routers
unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
NYC Mesh has been around for more than a decade. I assume they talked to other similar projects when building it.
meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 hours ago
Ah nice! :D Yeeeah just thought it’d be a shame to not utilize existing work that has been done on OpenWRT. But then again, it’s highly unlikely that actors from similar groups haven’t met at hacker conferences, GitHub repos, etc.
bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works 23 hours ago
I see freifunk networks more rarely nowadays. They also are notoriously slow. Usually the mobile phone network is faster, even in Germany.
meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 hours ago
Yeeah it kind of fizzled out, that’s true. In larger cities it used to be useful sometimes because of abysmal cell coverage and shady public WiFi. That has improved a lot since then, so yeah nowadays it can’t hold a candle to 4G/5G mobile data.
arrakark@lemmy.ca 9 hours ago
This is fucking awesome
TheHalifaxJones@lemm.ee [bot] 8 hours ago
Right?
MouseKeyboard@ttrpg.network 16 hours ago
Cue lawsuits from ISPs in 3, 2, 1…
explodicle@sh.itjust.works 15 hours ago
Time to go cyberpunk. Hidden routers using stolen electricity.
obinice@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
Okay, going off the title to start with you’re building a WiFi network, that’s very cool, but will you connect it to the Internet too?
That’d be more of a headline if so, then just building a WiFi network.
dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 3 hours ago
Website literally has mesh in the name, no need to guess. Then would you believe it, but if you open the site it tells you more information and mentions the internet several times.
TheHalifaxJones@lemm.ee [bot] 12 hours ago
My friend has been using NYCmesh for a couple years now. He has nothing. It positive things to say about it.
LiquidSmoke@lemmy.ml 20 hours ago
[deleted]Lycist@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
Many many good reasons. Intranets are a thing pretty much everwhere.
Mostly for documents and resource sharing. Perhaps its a way to connect locally to a library and its resources without the vileness and enshittification of web2.0 getting in the way?
surph_ninja@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
I’m shocked this is going through. I gotta imagine at least Tennessee will block it. They’re super pro-big isp.
nroth@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
That is for sharing! I’m up to see what I can do on the UWS (signed up) but maybe that’s too far
ryanvgates@infosec.pub 1 day ago
Does anyone know what other cities are building similar networks? Or how to get started doing it in your city?
TwiddleTwaddle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
TheHalifaxJones@lemm.ee [bot] 12 hours ago
I reached out to the NYC mesh folks and they are going to walk me through it. It seems like a lot of work. But the more people who can get to help. The stronger it becomes.
AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today 21 hours ago
KPUD in Kitsap County, WA does something similar: www.kpud.org/fiber-internet/free-public-wi-fi/
upbeatWave@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
I think European has a head start on this. Not sure which US cities are doing it
Alatarius@lemmynsfw.com 1 day ago
I’ve heard rumors (or not rumors) of several cities across the US than outright ban community ISPs. I don’t know the truth of it, but I’m sure someone here can enlighten us on it and/or have trustworthy sources of info.
dash_jackson@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
I’m so down for this, especially in condominiums. The challenge is navigating the regulators since they’re often staffed with loyalists to the big ISPs.
BigTrout75@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Reminds me of the time I shared my Internet with my friend who was in another apartment. We just created a Wi-Fi bridge with dd-wrt. That was 15 years ago.
thezeesystem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
Way way long ago I remember when I lived in Portland that they tried this, it was a pilot program. Idk if it’s true or propaganda but it didn’t work out because it was slow down because of how much porn people where downloading, so they didn’t expand it and just stoped doing it.
jagged_circle@feddit.nl 19 hours ago
Packet shaping.
throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
I heard about some city (NYC??) that has public wifi access points with the terminal thing that acts like a touch screen computer for people to browse the internet. And people were allegedly watching porn on it, like in public on a busy street. So they disabled the touchscreen computer thing and only left the wifi access point on.
kSPvhmTOlwvMd7Y7E@lemmy.world 1 day ago
wow that’s alotta porn to slow down a 10Gb connection
moosetwin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
I wish I had that near me, but unfortunately I don’t live in New York (United States), I live in New York (United States).
ARGH PLACENAMES
jagged_circle@feddit.nl 19 hours ago
The domain has a c in it
moosetwin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 hours ago
I hadn’t gotten the idea from the domain name but admittedly the comment wasn’t very good regardless
moosetwin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
in reality though I did get excited seeing this only to realize that it’s in the city and I live in upstate
RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 1 day ago
This seems like a bad idea.
What sort of protections are in place against nefarious actors that gain access to this network? Do they do anything to isolate each connected device from each other so that two devices on the network cannot connect to each other, such as making use of subnets? Are users connections throttled, and if so, to what degree? Are certain websites blocked to prevent potential malicious actors from intercepting sensitive data more easily, such as bank sites?
I mean, the idea is a well intentioned one, but I can easily see this going very wrong very quickly.
frezik@midwest.social 23 hours ago
If your bank credentials can be intercepted that way, then the bank had poor security. They’re not responsible for that anymore than any other ISP.
unphazed@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
Yet somehow ISPs are expected to police piracy.
owsei@programming.dev 7 hours ago
Why would you not use TLS to connect to sites on a mesh network?
RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
I don’t know, I find people do all sorts of stuff with their networks all the time that has me scratching my head trying to figure out why they set it that way when I am eventually called to fix it.
unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
You really think this would even have live long enough to write an article about it if it wasnt built properly?
jagged_circle@feddit.nl 19 hours ago
As a service provider, you’re nkt legally responsible for what others do on your network.
arrakark@lemmy.ca 9 hours ago
Yes… But technically you do have other legal obligations like reporting and certain data collection, like who owns what IP for example.
altphoto@lemmy.today 1 day ago
Anyone remember ricochet wireless? That was awesome. It can happen again! Why not?
nucleative@lemmy.world 20 hours ago
I was just thinking about ricochet while perusing the thread. Ricochet was new when I was starting in IT and I can still remember connecting a ricochet modem to a company laptop and then pulling up our novell netware file share over our vpn. It was jaw dropping to see it at the time. Amazing how far we’ve come since then.
sommerset@thelemmy.club 23 hours ago
So no Internet when it rains?
Sorry but this idea strikes me as it’s just not gonna work.lurch@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
inb4 they sell it to a telecom and the politicians get a top manager or consultant job at that company
EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 4 hours ago
Can they start building affordable housing and go around the manipulated housing market?