[X4U] Man arrested for using Open Wireless network (was Re: Wireless "theft" )

[Peter Saint James]

On 7 Jul2005, at 4:00 AM, Timothy Luoma wrote:

>
> http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/04/State/Wi_Fi_cloaks_a_new_br.shtml
>
> Man arrested for using open wireless
>
> "Police say Benjamin Smith III, 41, used his Acer brand laptop to  
> hack into Dinon's wireless Internet network. The April 20 arrest is  
> considered the first of its kind in Tampa Bay and among only a few  
> so far nationwide."



     The story contains a bit more sensationalism than is  
warranted.   It's going to be difficult to make the charges stick  
without showing that the guy was doing something criminal with the  
connection.


     The part about ISPs thinking that using a wireless network is  
stealing indicates to me changes to come.  If I were running an ISP,  
I would do exactly the opposite of what many are doing at the  
moment.   I'd make the company really easy to get along with and very  
service oriented.  If ISPs continue to ignore customer service and  
piss people off, the public is going to say, "We don't need no  
stinking ISPs."  Wireless will be everywhere and ISPs would be  
anachronisms.


                                                 Peter