There are few things quite as nice as opening your laptop at a coffee shop, connecting wirelessly to a network, and enjoying a cup of coffee. A publicly available wireless network is called a hotspot. Hotspots are popping up at bookstores, airplane terminals, hotels, and just about anywhere you might think to try to get some mail or do some work on your laptop. Many hotspots are free (so called free-spots) by intent and anyone is welcome to use them. Many more hotspots are free because people don't turn their wireless security on. No password and no encryption equals "free," and for some it is great sport to ride around "hotspotting" or "wardriving" in their cars detecting available hot spots to list on their web sites. For a primer on warchalking, a related activity, see www.jiwire.com/warchalking-introduction.htm. Keep in mind that jumping on a wireless network uninvited is a form of hacking and an intrusion, so tread lightly. There are many instances where it makes good business … [Read more...] about Setting Up Your Own Hotspot