Hi everyone - we also are now totally un-wired with WI-FI.
Goodtimes - the reason you can't send email on your POP client software is because you would need to set up an account using the network's send address - sometimes you can figure it out. If your computer can tell you what the network is (for example, at Ike's coffee shops in Tucson - free WI-FI - they use Comcast as their service provider) you can use a "reverse DNS lookup" service on the web and then usually guess what their send-mail address is and set up an account to use for sending mail on that account. I just tried a few different versions of 'mail.comcast.com' etc until one worked. Sometimes you can ask and they'll tell you but often the staff are not aware.
For finding hotspots, for those of you poor folks who still haven't been enlightened enough to buy Macs
, you can download programs that "sniff" out nearby hotspots, or buy little devices that do it so you don't have to fire up the laptop.
I was wondering if anyone out there has used cell access to the web using the laptop out in the boonies (when you can find a tower)? My brother said it was cheap to buy a cable for his Verizon-Motorola phone, and at night or weekends he can access the web free when he's on the road. i haven't done it yet....
And anyone happening by the far end of the Sierrita Mountains in the lovely Altar Valley, Arizona, can use our network!
Roseann