[Sam Mallery]

Thanks Chuck!

I emailed the question to macwireless.com

I also stopped by Tekserve here in NYC last night. A tech there said the only real option was to have my internal card removed, and to install a 3rd party card in the PCMCIA slot. It’s a gamble though, because there is no way to tell if it will actually improve the reception. The labor cost to remove the card is $130.

[Sam Mallery]

Believe it or not, our building has never had cable installed in it. The other two apartments have those TV dish things on the roof. So the cable dudes would be required to come in and drill holes and stuff.

I wish I could install it myself. That would rock.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone!

[Sam Mallery]

I hear ya, but I live in a downtown area. The signal is likely coming from an adjacent building, each with several apartments in them. It’d be kinda weird to ring everyone’s doorbell and say “Hi, I’m your neighbor, are you the wireless network called Kentucky Squirrel?”

My mom has a wireless network, and she left her’s open on purpose. So there you go. These people are like my mother. End of story. The karmic gods are smiling on all of us.

It’s kind of like a message board in a way. Heck, this is the essence of Creative Cow itself. Helpith thy cyber stranger selflessly. I, for one, applaud my neighbors, as I applaud you. Each and every one of us.

[Sam Mallery]

There are plenty of people who don’t block their neighbors out on purpose. Maybe these folks fall into that camp. Who knows? There a half dozen wireless networks that are all blocked, but they did not block their own. Maybe they are generous. It isn’t bad karma until you know you are doing something wrong. There is nothing wrong with sharing.

Cable modem installation is $150. Internet service is then around $70 a month. That’s a huge bite. I wish there was more competition in the ISP world. I have no other chioce except for Verizon DSL. I had that for four years and the quality of the connection and especially the quality of their customer service went way way way down hill.

The fewer modems and wireless routers that are running all day long, the better it is for the planet. I’m trying to save the world from global warming, one modem at a time. You can’t knock that!

[Sam Mallery]

Thanks Granit. Is there anything I can do to remedy this?