Ask-Steve.com

Step right up, get your hotspots here!

Want the skinny on where the wireless hotspots are in your area and whether or not they're worth the trip? I came across a site that fits the bill — not sure why I haven't heard of them before. The site offers daily wireless news, how-to guides and resources, and a personalization engine (you must register) where you can store a list of your favorite hotspots. It has a fairly advanced directory and search function where you can drill down on hotspots based on a number of criteria including type of establishment, free or fee, location, etc. — even photos and driving directions to find your hotspot of choice. The location-specific details page includes the address, phone number, photo, map, a paragraph each about amenities (seating, electrical outlets, atmosphere, etc.) and signal strength (including where to sit for best connection quality!). Okay, enough talk — get there! www.jiwire.com

An excellent site for finding free hotspots is The FreeSpot Directory — "a listing of hotspot locations that offer Free Wireless Internet Access." It also includes a Wi-Fi news Weblog and FAQ.
Don't go wireless without it! www.wififreespot.com

Need to register a domain? Go with 000Domains.com

I do more than my share of making it known when companies I do business with screw me over — or when they simply suck. So I feel it's only fair to balance this by also making it known when companies provide exceptional service and/or value. 000Domains.com is one of those companies. These guys offer a great value ($13.50/year for a domain) and their service is second to none — a huge contrast to most of their competition. They respond quickly and with intelligent, helpful replies. I hope you'll consider doing business with them because we vote with our dollars. If you're not satisfied with your current registrar or are considering registering a domain for the first time, you can't go wrong with 000Domains.com.

[And no, I'm not being compensated in any way for this and I don't have a friend that works there! :-)]

Yahoo! Mail Plus is mostly cool, but also stupid

If you're using a free service, you can't really complain. But I'm paying for Yahoo! Mail Plus premium e-mail service. It has more features for the price than anyone else, but every time I call Yahoo! support by phone — despite the fact that they're happy to take my money — they act like they can't believe anyone would dare phone them. Why have a tech support phone number, then?! They can't get off the phone fast enough and tell you about ever ten seconds, "You know, you can get help on our Web site and also send us e-mail." You don't say?!?!?

Their e-mail-based "support" appears to be handled exclusively by computer. None of the replies I've received so far could have come from a human.

Anyway, this is a typical thread with Yahoo! Mail Plus customer service:

Wi-Fi is huge -- and that sucks sometimes

I'm really glad that Wi-Fi is taking off because it means there are more and more places I can go and log on. The problem is that, at least in my area, supply is not keeping up with demand. It used to be that I was the only one using it most places I went. Now I have to battle for seats next to outlets because there are so many other people using it. [Editor's note: Sony Vaio laptops are excellent in every way except their cost and their batteries. The battery on mine worked for about six months, and even then it was short-lived and crummy. That's why I have to have access to an electrical outlet, which is very limiting.]

The other day I had to go to four different coffee shops before I could find a place to sit. Yes, in the fall and winter people in the Pacific Northwest live in coffee shops. Especially now that they have Wi-Fi, confound it all!

Stating the obvious: Most smokers stink

I have a number of friends and relatives who smoke and many of them try to be fairly conscientious about the people around them and the environment. But they are the exception. What is it with most smokers that they feel it's okay to:

• Throw their butts on the ground, often without putting them out
• Throw their butts out the car window, almost always without putting them out, so that the rancid smoke can waft into the cars of the people around them
• Sit in traffic and blow their smoke out the window — and into the cars of everyone around them
• Leave their make-shift ashtrays (cans, bottles, etc.) sitting wherever they used them, for someone else to deal with
• Enter a room immediately after smoking, stinking up the room with ashtray-breath

Do inconsiderate slobs have a tendency to smoke, or does smoking turn people into inconsiderate slobs?

Moblog from The Matrix

Well, from the line waiting to get in to see it, anyway. Oh, big fun!

Moblog!

I'm posting this from my mobile phone. Thus my uncharacteristic brevity!

The Matrix at 6:00 a.m. feels wrong

Okay, I thought I had it pretty good because a friend Fandango'd some tickets to the new Matrix movie tomorrow night. Then I find out that a bunch of people are going at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning before work! That's insane. Is there even oxygen at that time of day? I'm not sure the Matrix at 6:00 a.m. really works — it just seems wrong. Unless you stayed up all night before; then that might be kind of funky... I think I'd probably need two red pills to get me through. Anyway, looking forward to it!