Free WiFI at Panera Bread on Amherst St, Nashua

[Fred]

Checked out the WiFi at Panera Bread on Amherst St next to Target (the
one on DW Hwy does not have one, which is annoying to me since its
closer).

Two bugaboos:

Bugaboo #1: I have with it is that it forces you to sign on with a web
page before you gain access. Basically, it's a contract it wants you to
click "yes" to. It does not ask for any further information. In the
contract you agree to have your session fully monitored by Panera. Uck.
Well, I encrypt my important connections anyway, so no sweat off my
back. Still, I don't sit well with that. But it's free, what more can
you ask for, right?

Bugaboo #2: The connection times out after an interval, forcing you to
log on again. I found this particularly annoying because it disrupted my
email client. Since my email client is set to check every 30 minutes for
more mail, it is not picking that up. It may only check for web
browsing, but I don't do much of that while I develop code. I suppose I
could write a script to invoke Lynx every so often to access a web page
to prevent the timeout from hitting. Experimentation for another time.

Aside from the two above bugaboos, it seems good -- average bandwidth
coming through a DSL connection to conversant. I get better bandwidth
through Borders's T-Moble HotSpot, but then I pay for that. T-Mobile's
connection does not time out, though it too requires a web page to
enable the Internet connection. I did manage to use Lynx to partially
automate that signon, though.

-- 
Fred -- fred at lrc.puissante.com -- place "[hey]" in your subject.
There are inflows and outflows -- and you're just a little node.