Trademe WiFi and McDonalds free wifi - can't get mail via POP

Forums › New Zealand Mobile and Wireless › Trademe WiFi and McDonalds free wifi - can't get mail via POP

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xpd

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#501925 4-Aug-2011 14:28

MaiTechnoKiwi:

Go Auckland also, they decided to go against the trend of all other main streets and offer PAID wifi through Tomizone, why not Free??

Auckland is really behind when it comes to public technology.... wifi ...Snapper/Hop card... I prefer Wellington over Auckland in regards to public technology offerings.
Was stoked when I found I could use wifi on the bus to the airport..... its the little things :)

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richms

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#501926 4-Aug-2011 14:33

MaiTechnoKiwi:

Go Auckland also, they decided to go against the trend of all other main streets and offer PAID wifi through Tomizone, why not Free??

I object strongly to my rates being used to pay for other peoples internet access. Hell, why not go handing out free mobile phones on my dollar to random people walking past?

No, it should be paid, but the rates should be reasonable, and not make the better 3g services look like a bargain in comparison.

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#501930 4-Aug-2011 14:45

richms:
MaiTechnoKiwi:

Go Auckland also, they decided to go against the trend of all other main streets and offer PAID wifi through Tomizone, why not Free??

I object strongly to my rates being used to pay for other peoples internet access. Hell, why not go handing out free mobile phones on my dollar to random people walking past?

No, it should be paid, but the rates should be reasonable, and not make the better 3g services look like a bargain in comparison.

Its hardly a cost honestly.Wellington's setup and running costs were outrageous, something like $200k for setup and $80k per month running...someone is really filling their pockets

Again, that is why I strongly agree with what I offer, Free Wi-Fi with paid options
The money made through sales (at better prices than 3G access) pays for the system to operate.

$200k setup in my books would be 500/750 hotspot routers
They have not done all of Wellington!

Tomizone do offer reasonable prices, but free is free...
Maybe if they offered the businesses on the streets they are putting WiFi the option of offering Free between them they would make everyone happy...

xpd

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#501936 4-Aug-2011 15:04

richms:
MaiTechnoKiwi:

Go Auckland also, they decided to go against the trend of all other main streets and offer PAID wifi through Tomizone, why not Free??

I object strongly to my rates being used to pay for other peoples internet access. Hell, why not go handing out free mobile phones on my dollar to random people walking past?

No, it should be paid, but the rates should be reasonable, and not make the better 3g services look like a bargain in comparison.

But you dont mind your rates going towards a museum in Wellington that most Aucklanders only visit once in a blue moon ?
Id be happier seeing my rates going to something Id actually use (wifi) regularly rather than the museum in Wellington which I might get to once every 5 years.

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nate

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#502046 4-Aug-2011 17:41

Talkiet: The point being is this is not their core competency. They would need to add support, billing systems etc which wouldn't be cheap and since the free access satisfes most people, they wouldn't have a hope in hell of making the investment back.

I'm going to wade in here as the owner of a cafe which provides free wifi.

It basically boils down to one point - attracting customers in. If we were advertising the wifi as business grade, then I think your argument of all services being available is a justified one. In regards to free, if you don't have restrictions in place, customers will abuse it.

We use it to get people to stay longer. If they stay longer, they buy more coffee/food which means more $$ for us. It's not a core service, and I don't think anyone expects a small cafe (or Maccas) to offer the creme de la creme of experiences.

Take Giapo, the boutique ice-cream store on Queen St. Not long ago he ran free wifi, all you could eat, no restrictions whatsoever. I saw his internet bill and it was huge. People could and were abusing it.

Just recently he's put in wireless kit similar to what we run (thanks to a couple of the more savvy Geekzone users on here), and it now has some restrictions. It has brought down his usage considerably, and his monthly internet bill is now more reasonable.

At the end of the day, someone has to pay for the free wifi, and if it's unrestricted, it becomes economically unviable to continue with it.

freitasm

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#502053 4-Aug-2011 17:54

Ah... The good old debate of "free vs paid". It's reasonable to assume whatever is free will be abused folks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

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MaiTechnoKiwi

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#502090 4-Aug-2011 18:47

Agree without USAGE restrictions (data) people could abuse the service,
also of note they could be using the connection to download Copywrite material via P2P (arh.. back again!) and someone has to be liable here also.

I have found many people however that are quite happy offering this openness on their wifi service in their business. Some places like the one you say are in open space and in a busy street, that was just stupid to offer a unrestricted service from the start.

I beleive what others are talking about are the other restrictions, not so much data
VPN, Skype, POP mail etc.

I read an article when McDonald's brought out their WiFi that they considered themselves the largest Free WiFi provider in NZ now, and they got slaughtered for that... what no Skype, no Outlook etc

Anyway happy that WiFi has finally hit the debate...

Free is the only way, with paid options to help pay for the service

2/3 years ago america was stated to have about 85% paid vs 15% free, I just read an article the other day that Free has now gone more than 50%....

If you can add something to your business to generate more new and return customers, everyone should offer it!

lchiu7

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#502538 5-Aug-2011 20:25

As the OP I didn't think this question would stir up so much controversy!.

My views are, if somebody offers free wifi then offer all of it. If they are worried about p2p of whatever, then set some daily limits for traffic based on MAC address.

From my experience other free wifi providers (like the free one hour you get at Gloria Jeans) don't have those port restrictions but then how much can you download in an hour on a slow wifi connection.

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#502540 5-Aug-2011 20:37

McDonald's puts a 50MB daily limit already.

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lchiu7

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#502541 5-Aug-2011 20:42

freitasm: McDonald's puts a 50MB daily limit already.

There you are - so what's the point of blocking port 110?

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karit

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#502598 5-Aug-2011 22:24

lchiu7: There you are - so what's the point of blocking port 110?

Umm because 110 is unencrypted and to protect their cusotmers from people sniffing and firesheeping they block unencrypted ports like 110, 25, etc which have user/pass combinations going across them.

lchiu7

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#502675 6-Aug-2011 09:53

karit:
lchiu7: There you are - so what's the point of blocking port 110?

Umm because 110 is unencrypted and to protect their cusotmers from people sniffing and firesheeping they block unencrypted ports like 110, 25, etc which have user/pass combinations going across them.

Maybe so but then that would apply to any wifi provider, free or not. For example Cafenet in Wellington does not block 110 but they do always say, treat the access as public and use a VPN if you can. Imagine how much their patronage would drop if they blocked POP and SMTP ports.

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MauriceWinn

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#504134 10-Aug-2011 01:14

As Mauricio says, unlimited free gets overused and becomes unusable or costs the provider a fortune. Regarding blocking of ports and stuff, here's a direct quote from Zenbu faq regarding port blocking and accessibility of services - nothing is blocked. :

When you are connected to the internet at a Zenbu wireless zone you have unrestricted access to all internet services. No ports or services are blocked by our software.

However, some email providers (like Xtra) do not allow people who are not connected directly to their servers to send email using SMTP.

This means that it may not be possible to send email using your normal software, at least without making some configuration changes.

Zenbu DOES NOT provide a public SMTP server for customers to use. This protects our servers from being blacklisted, which would happen if customers used them to send spam email.

So what can you do?

The easiest option may be to use web based email like Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail or your email provider's web based interface. Please contact your email provider directly to find out whether they have a web based email service available. Most email providers will have a web based interface. Web based email is designed to be portable and will work no matter where or how you are connected to the internet.

If you really want to use your regular email software you will need to use a service which allows access through the connection at your current location. Some options follow:

We have used www.Authsmtp.com in the past. It was secure, reliable and didn't get blocked by spam filters.
SMTP.com provides a similar service, with slightly different plans and costs.
SMTP-Server.com provides a portable SMTP service and usually offers a free trial.
You can also install SMTP server software on your computer. There are several options available at Download.com (search for 'smtp server'). This will allow you to send email directly from your computer no matter where you connect.
Sometimes you can pay your email provider a premium for roaming SMTP server access. You will have to check with your email provider whether or not they offer this service

lchiu7

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#506489 14-Aug-2011 22:14

MauriceWinn:

If you really want to use your regular email software you will need to use a service which allows access through the connection at your current location. Some options follow:

Another option is to have your own email domain which should provide a SMTP server. This is what I do.

Also doesn't Gmail have a SMTP server you can use so long as you authenticate with it first?

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raytaylor

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#518994 9-Sep-2011 13:29

Your average mcd's staff member is a machine - not a human. And it costs too much to program these machines with email and hotspot troubleshooting abilities.

So from mcdonalds point of view
- They dont use tickets, you (anyone in the area) can connect without making a purchase
- They dont want to support the service. I run a few hotspots for motels and get at least 2 calls a day asking for our smtp server address- to which i say your email provider should be suppling you with a secure one.

- Facebook will use 50mb in about 10 mins just looking at photos so to make it last, they have to disable stuff like skype or stuff like that because the customers will burn through their measily little 50mb even faster and complain.

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