I know there is a lot of negativity around big companies like Google doing "free" things like this. There is even mis-trust over a sense of unease at the notion of "there is no such thing as a free lunch."<p>These feelings are totally valid, and they unfortunately can prevent the rest of the community from acquiring a valuable resource. Free wifi in San Francisco (One of the techiest cities in the world) feels like a "no-brainer." Free wifi represents the values I would like to see more of in the world, namely cooperation, altruism and generally an increase in non-monetary exchanges.<p>As for the rest of the negatives, the kind of data Google might collect is statistically useless - the sample bias is just too strong. And since I have worked at Google, I know that many many Googlers feel VERY STRONGLY about not doing creepy/immoral things like that. You may feel differently, and that's ok, and I suggest attempting to meet and talk to more Googlers.<p>Finally, there has been much criticism about Google "not giving back" to the community. First, as an employer, Google pays their employees well, and all the taxes associated with that (see articles about SF's budget to a record high due to tech employment, and the boost of social services as a result). Secondly, Google buses, while derided, create a calmer, more peaceful city population, and massively reduce the # of cars on the road. And lastly by pushing forward projects like this (and I'm sure that SF city is preventing things like capture portal ads or whatever) I feel this improves the city.
I'm disappointed to see they're already on to offering free wifi elsewhere when the network they installed in Mountain View still suffers terribly. I've never seen it operate better than barely usable/non-existent. Hopefully this ends up better.
No such thing as a free lunch/wifi. I suspect Google want to capture data which they are currently missing out on due to people using 3G/4G networks. Also it doesn't hurt to improve their image in San Francisco.<p>Non-paywall article: <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/free-wifi-san-francisco-google/" rel="nofollow">http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/free-wifi-san-francisco-goo...</a>
When is the last time anyone here has connected successfully to outdoor wifi? Here in NY, I try it all the time in the parks that offer it, without success.<p>(I haven’t tried Google’s wifi near their office in Chelsea, maybe it’s better.)<p>Wifi seems consistently to be a poor choice for large, uncontrolled spaces. If anyone can make it work through sheer engineering will, it’s Google, but the evidence thus far is that it is a misapplication of technology.<p>LTE et al do a much better job of it, because they are engineered for such environments. Why do we keep pinning our hopes on wifi?
I sort of wish that google wasn't a private company anymore. Their service is so pervasive and so fundamental to society that I think it should really be nationalized. Or, since it's international, taken over by the U.N.<p>Or: to attack the same problem from another angle: I'd be happier if we had either decentralized replacements for Google and Amazon and Ebay.<p>I'd prefer these platforms - and the vast wealth and power they create - to be either in the hands of the general public, or in the hands of democracy, than to be controlled by the whims of the nouveau riche.
Yet another SF space to be crowded with laptop-wielding techies? I welcome this news with the same gusto I'd welcome it if Exxon paid for free interstates in Yosemite.
Hopefully they're preparing to produce a device that works in a park. Still waiting for the 21st century to catch up with the Psion 5 MX and PalmPilot...
but then they will quickly pull the plug on it once someone actually starts using it.<p>they have just done that with the Netflix deal and Chromecast - already cancelled, barely 24h after it was made available.<p>it's bad enough to be dependent on gsearch and gmail, no need to also get dependent on wifi access, etc. for "free", with no guarantee it will work tomorrow.
Google Wifi in Mountain View is horrible, I can't imagine this will be much better. 2.4GHz is always a shit-show in any major city. 5GHz is an option, but not nearly as many mobiles have it, and the available channels on each device vary wildly. Plus that would start creating noise for a certain WISP I have a fondness for and don't want to see them affected.