And no, I’m not talking about pirating on the internet, I’m talking about getting your internet connection to the outside world without paying or having a subscription or license. Something like a mesh network with your neighbors with the exit node being one person’s high-speed fiber line, or even an exit node through a free public wifi network that you’ve hidden a little repeater device within range of… something like that could be interesting. I’ve been thinking lately of a world where decentralized networks become more common, and where people can freely use the internet without paying an ISP. What are your thoughts?
When I was younger, renting in a shithole of a rental house, there was a neighbour with an open wifi. I used that for nearly 3 years when I finally decided to test the limits. One day I downloaded 15GB in under 24 hours (trust me, at the time that was a lot), the very next day it has a password on it.
I don’t regret raising the red flag on that. I just wish they could know how much I appreciated the free internet when I didn’t have a lot of money.
I miss the days when people would just leave their wifi networks open. It was a godsend when moving into a new apartment and waiting on the cable company.