By Burt Lum

While enjoying a day at the beach picnicking with some friends, the conversations drifted to and from tech topics. One recurring topic was wireless Internet access, particularly the WiFi type, using the latest 802.11b standards.

WiFi excitement started brewing several years ago with Apple's introduction of the Airport wireless access point. Devices such as laptops equipped with 802.11 cards could move about untethered to a LAN wire and still access the network.

In an office environment, this could eliminate the need to have network wires strewn across the floor. More interestingly, the idea of roaming around downtown, the shopping center or the beach started to get network hobbyists thinking.

Wireless hotspots, as they are sometimes called, started to pop up across major metropolitan areas such as San Francisco (www.sfwireless.net)where the bigger the tech talk the better, and New York (www.nycwireless.net).

The WiFi phenomena, like the early days of the Internet, are motivated largely by altruistic and non-commercial reasons. Granted, there are commercial WiFi ventures, but the passion seems to reside in the hobbyists.

One subject getting its fair share of garage tinkering is antenna design. If you ever wondered what to do with your old Pringles cans, here is a site that provides a step-by-step instruction guide to making a WiFi antenna: www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448. Whereas the typical commercial access point devices such as Apple's Airport can reach 300 feet, this directional antenna can extend WiFi access greater than 10 miles.

If you are now intrigued by this wireless capability and want to find out where to connect, go to www.80211hotspots.com.

One of the most active wireless communities exists on the Big Island. One prominent member of this community is Bill Wiecking. He's done a lot of work to extend the wireless network, primarily for the students on the Big Island. You can find more at Wiecking's Web site at www.workingwireless.net.

Profit motive or not, ubiquitous WiFi connections are a cool thing. ;-)

Burt Lum is one click away at burt@brouhaha.net.