I was wondering if anyone has a list of how to connect to a free wireless network like a hotel guest internet. 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. 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.
Thanks in advance
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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.
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.
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:
Use the PepWave AP200 Access Point/router that maintains an 'always on' connection to the Citywide Wi-Fi. It handles signals down to -94dbm and reaches out to 1000 ft. or more. It supports DHCP to allow multiple NAT type connections. It also supports Port Forwarding for IP Cameras etc.
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