[OPLINTECH] Nook and PublicIP WiFi problem

[Nathan Eady]

Stephen Hedges <hedgesst at oplin.org> writes:

> I don't know if any libraries are using PublicIP for wireless in the
> library, but if you are, Ro Swanson at OLC found some info you
> should be aware of:

As the last (as of this writing) comment explains, this problem is not
specific to either the Nook or PublicIP.  

In general, any wireless access setup that requires the user to first
visit a custom web page and do something with it (e.g., log in, click
an agree button, whatever) before they can actually use the access
point will, quite obviously, not work for any device that can't
display arbitrary web pages.

I only know of two ways to resolve this (without significant,
non-backward-compatible changes to the 802.11 standards):

 1. Require all devices to be able to display arbitrary web pages,
    or else they categorically cannot be used with the service.

 or
 
 2. Do away with the login page requirement and make the access point
    behave in the standard fashion that works with all 802.11 devices.
    In this setup there is no login page.  The device connects to the
    network and the user can immediately use the connection.

I don't know of any middle ground.  It's a yes-or-no question: either
you require the login (or "I agree" click or whatever), or else you
don't require it.  If you require it, it follows immediately that
devices that can't do it won't work.  The access point can't really
know whether the device in question is capable of handling that, so
you either require it unconditionally (and lock out devices that
can't), or else you don't require it at all (even for laptop users).

On a similar note, you also have the question of whether you supply
access only to the web (and DNS, without which the web is basically
unusable), or whether you open up a handful of other useful services
as well, such as maybe ftp, or whether you open it all the way and
provide full unrestricted internet access.  (Okay, there's also an
in-between option of opening up all ports *except* certain ones that
you specifically want closed, like maybe port 25.)  NAT and DHCP lease
time and transparent proxying are also separate issues.  All of these
questions are matters of policy.

-- 
Nathan Eady
Galion Public Library