Dang, I wanted to do that too, but at the rest stop I tried to use, only about 45 minutes from Midland, there were signs touting the wireless but no accompanying signal.

How things have changed.

Awesome!! Aren't air cards too cool?

Jim, I think TxDOT got ahead of itself and installed the signs long before they had the kinks worked out of the hotspots. This was the first time I'd been able to successfully connect at this particularly rest stop.

But, now that it's working, Janie's right -- it's very cool.

So you were going wireless? I have an aircard (via cell phone) that I plug in and I can blog going down the road (that is, if MLH is driving!).

Oh, I misunderstood your comment about the aircard. No, I don't subscribe to a cell-based internet service. We don't travel enough to warrant the extra expense.

Being on the fringes of civilization (Stanton, Tx) there is only dial up access from the small local company who have a lock on the area. Our sole access to the net now comes from our P.C. cell phone air card. Before that we would have to find hot spots that didn't charge for access to go online when we first moved here. Nothing like sneaking into a hotel and sitting in the parking lot for an hour while both of us go online.

There's no doubt that air card technology plays a valuable role. There have been a few times that we've wished we had it, and I'm sure there will come a time in the future that we will.

I vaguely recall reading somewhere that those free wi fi hot spots weren't too secure.

But if you felt comfortable keying in your blog passwords, then it must be safer than I thought.

George, having someone hack my blog is the least of my worries. Heck, it would probably be an improvement! ;-)

I don't think you can make a blanket statement about the security of hotspots, free or otherwise.