Yes I’ve definitely let this blog slide, but I just came across something that is truly revolutionary for the cafe commuter. It’s a hand held, 2 AAA battery powered, directional, wireless network detector with an lcd displaying network SSID (name), strength and whether or not it is open or not: Canary Wireless Digital Hotspotter

This is the second version of this product. It provides more information about hotspots and has a backlight for the lcd display. I’m glad I didn’t know about the earlier version since I probably would have bought it but now I’ll get to start out with the new and improved gadget.

Now I’m not advocating using any network you find, though on the other hand I don’t believe it is actually illegal, and not necessarily immoral either, I’ll leave it up to the reader to make up their own mind. What I’m excited about is that this sure as hell beats searching for internet cafes on line. Now you can just walk down the street or ride your bike and bother locking up until you find some place with an open network. I might just mount it to my handlebars and/or devise a water resistant case for it!

There are tons of reviews already. The one that turned me on to it was published on my birthday, my lucky day! Wi-Fi Net News