Re: Wireless Connection Instructions

CAC <CAC.2su98m@no-mx.wirelessforums.org> hath wroth:

>I was wondering if anyone has a list of how to connect to a free
>wireless network like a hotel guest internet.

About 3 years ago, I was blackmailed into writing the ultimate user
guide for wireless connections. I hadn't even started on the Mac or
Linux versions, when the project was abandoned because it had grown to
over 5 pages long. The problem was the huge number of connection
managers that were appearing out of the woodwork. There are numerous
web pages showing how to connect using Windoze Wireless Zero Config
(WZC). That's easy. However, what about all the myriad of vendor and
manufacturer supplied connection managers? I don't want to dig out a
list, but my guess is there are perhaps at least 10 of these, all of
which disable WZC. Toshiba, IBM, Netgear, Boingo, Intel Proset, etc
all have one. If you want to write instructions for all of these, it
would be the size of a small book.

>I work at a hotel and we
>get so many questions and when I direct them to the customer support
>sometimes the guest has to wait for a long time before they get help.

Charge them to show them how to use their own laptop. The wireless
service is free. The tutorial is not.

A friend at a local hotel tells me that he sees a growing number of
tourists this year that arrive with totally virgin laptops direct from
the store. They buy it just before going on vacation and apparently
didn't have time to do installs and updates, much less learn how to
use it. Weird but not unexpected.

>So basically what I am looking for is a list of how to setup your
>laptop to access the network using win XP, vista or Mac. I know is easy
>but sometimes people get conflicts with their VPN and domains and
>sometimes we get people that don't even know how to access their
>windows wireless connection setup screen so if anyone has any
>recommendations I would really appreciated.

Oh, you also want VPN or NAC connections and Windoze AD services? If
they use those, they probably work for a company that has IT services.
Maybe their ISP supplies a VPN termination. Their IT people or ISP
support people should be helping them. One question you will get and
should answer is how secure is your wireless network. I suggest the
standard answer be "it's not secure" and indicate that the customer is
responsible for their own security. If they don't have a clue, point
them at one of the public VPN providers listed in the FAQ at:
<http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi#VPN_Service_Providers>




--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558