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Go to Vietnam and every business, even the teeny-tiny mom-and-pop restaurants run out of a street facing living room, will offer free wifi. It was truly an ama

Go to Vietnam and every business, even the teeny-tiny mom-and-pop restaurants run out of a street facing living room, will offer free wifi. It was truly an amazing experience being able to expect wifi everywhere I went. And yes, they had passwords and offered secure wifi. You just had to ask for the the password if they didn't already have it displayed somehow. Working remotely, it was glorious. It put into perspective how much the US's focus on individualization removes the warm feeling of camaraderie. Edit: I love when I get downvoted with no comment replies. Real gutsy dispute there.

TheDong 3y ago
The article mentions that sort of "free wifi" (free as in "free with the purchase of a coffee or food"), but seems to be much more about things like Municipal Wifi (Free wifi for anyone in the city), and ad-hoc wifi. I also miss the period where it seemed like we might get actual city-wide free-wifi meshes in major metropolitan areas, but alas, it is not to be. Cafe wifi does not replace public utilities. > It put into perspective how much the US's focus on individualization removes the warm feeling of camaraderie. Sorry, what? Large US cities, like SF, basically every cafe has wifi too. A for-profit business offering wifi doesn't exactly give me a feeling of camaraderie, rather the opposite. Offering wifi is a way to ensure people talk to each other even less. I assume you're getting downvoted because you're relaying a personal anecdote that isn't all that relevant, and also frankly just comes off as an excuse to make a dig at the US that doesn't really make sense ("Did you know cafes have wifi in vietnam? Doesn't america individualism suck?").
- yawnxyz 3y ago
  In Sydney, most places don't have wifi (including cafes)
- Brajeshwar 3y ago
  Pune, a city in India, experimented with a city-wide WiFi[1] in 2007. I think it didn't work out. I've heard that in the remote hills/villages of India, there are WiFi routers deployed to connect the people there where phone/cell reception is bad or not available. These WiFi services helps with commerce, especially UPI[2] Payments. 1. https://brajeshwar.com/2007/pune-indias-first-wi-fi-city/ https://brajeshwar.com/2007/pune-indias-first-wi-fi-city/ 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Payments_Interface https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Payments_Interface
proconlon 3y ago
Vietnam has a far more self centered culture than the US. The motorbikes and cars will never ever stop for a pedestrian and drivers can and will split lanes and cut people off. People would rather force their way into a crowded elevator than let people off first. Maybe it's just wifi that gives you warm feelings, which I get, but I must be missing the camaraderie.
- xarope 3y ago
  I think you have the wrong idea about how pedestrians cross streets in vietnam. You cross, maintain a straight line and a constant speed, and the vehicles play frogger around you. Not the other way round. (only slightly joking here...)
gumby 3y ago
In Germany our neighbor had some network problems (FU Deutsche Telekom) so we just let her use ours, which I believe is illegal.
- MaKey 3y ago
  In Germany it's not illegal to let someone else use your WiFi.
  - gumby 3y ago
    nebalee reminded me what I half-remembered (I no longer live there) which was that the subscriber has liability for the use of the connection.
- nebalee 3y ago
  It's not illegal, but you are liable for any wrongdoing done by people using your connection (Störerhaftung), especially with regard to unauthorized filesharing. There was an amendment to the respective law to alleviate this problem and relieve providers of any liability, but the amendment was not phrased clear enough and there's a conflicting ruling from the European Court of Justice. In effect, if you are sued by rightholders for copyright violations committed through your connection, german courts decided, you are still liable unless you identify the perpetrator.
Ayesh 3y ago
If they didn't have the password visible, "66668888" or "88888888" usually works. I truly miss Vietnam.
Exoristos 3y ago
It sounds like the American city I live in. Oh, we also have free municipal WiFi.

TheDong 3y ago

The article mentions that sort of "free wifi" (free as in "free with the purchase of a coffee or food"), but seems to be much more about things like Municipal Wifi (Free wifi for anyone in the city), and ad-hoc wifi. I also miss the period where it seemed like we might get actual city-wide free-wifi meshes in major metropolitan areas, but alas, it is not to be. Cafe wifi does not replace public utilities. > It put into perspective how much the US's focus on individualization removes the warm feeling of camaraderie. Sorry, what? Large US cities, like SF, basically every cafe has wifi too. A for-profit business offering wifi doesn't exactly give me a feeling of camaraderie, rather the opposite. Offering wifi is a way to ensure people talk to each other even less. I assume you're getting downvoted because you're relaying a personal anecdote that isn't all that relevant, and also frankly just comes off as an excuse to make a dig at the US that doesn't really make sense ("Did you know cafes have wifi in vietnam? Doesn't america individualism suck?").

yawnxyz 3y ago
In Sydney, most places don't have wifi (including cafes)
Brajeshwar 3y ago
Pune, a city in India, experimented with a city-wide WiFi[1] in 2007. I think it didn't work out. I've heard that in the remote hills/villages of India, there are WiFi routers deployed to connect the people there where phone/cell reception is bad or not available. These WiFi services helps with commerce, especially UPI[2] Payments. 1. https://brajeshwar.com/2007/pune-indias-first-wi-fi-city/ https://brajeshwar.com/2007/pune-indias-first-wi-fi-city/ 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Payments_Interface https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Payments_Interface

proconlon 3y ago

Vietnam has a far more self centered culture than the US. The motorbikes and cars will never ever stop for a pedestrian and drivers can and will split lanes and cut people off. People would rather force their way into a crowded elevator than let people off first. Maybe it's just wifi that gives you warm feelings, which I get, but I must be missing the camaraderie.

xarope 3y ago
I think you have the wrong idea about how pedestrians cross streets in vietnam. You cross, maintain a straight line and a constant speed, and the vehicles play frogger around you. Not the other way round. (only slightly joking here...)

gumby 3y ago

In Germany our neighbor had some network problems (FU Deutsche Telekom) so we just let her use ours, which I believe is illegal.

MaKey 3y ago
In Germany it's not illegal to let someone else use your WiFi.
- gumby 3y ago
  nebalee reminded me what I half-remembered (I no longer live there) which was that the subscriber has liability for the use of the connection.
nebalee 3y ago
It's not illegal, but you are liable for any wrongdoing done by people using your connection (Störerhaftung), especially with regard to unauthorized filesharing. There was an amendment to the respective law to alleviate this problem and relieve providers of any liability, but the amendment was not phrased clear enough and there's a conflicting ruling from the European Court of Justice. In effect, if you are sued by rightholders for copyright violations committed through your connection, german courts decided, you are still liable unless you identify the perpetrator.

Ayesh 3y ago

If they didn't have the password visible, "66668888" or "88888888" usually works. I truly miss Vietnam.

Exoristos 3y ago

It sounds like the American city I live in. Oh, we also have free municipal WiFi.