Travel Technology - Do you use a wifi finder?

If you travel with a wifi finder where do you use it? Do you wander near airline lounges seeing if there's wifi? I can't really see it being useful on the street? Would you use your laptop in a sidewalk cafe while travelling?

There hasn't been a recent thread on wifi finders that I could see but I found 3 models that can detect secured vs. unsecured networks although they still can't tell whether these are pay networks or not.

Wifi Walker (http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2006/10/wifi_walker_looks_for_wireless_hotspots.html)

Zytel Wifi Finder (http://www.networkcomputing.com/showitem.jhtml?docid=1619sp-ZyXEL)

Linksys Wifi finder (http://www.lordpercy.com/linksys_wusbf54g_wifi_finder.htm)

All three use a USB drive form factor, have an LCD screen (only the Wifi Walker mentions backlighting), and can store multiple network names.

I use a Zytel, but it's mainly for curiosity, just to see if there are any WiFi sites available. If I'm serious, I boot up my laptop.

I have NetStumbler (http://www.netstumbler.com/) installed on my laptop. However, I'm so surrounded by hotspots it doesn't help me very much.

There have been times I wish I had one, staying at a hotel without service in a city, having one to show if there was anything in the area is way easier then looking at a laptop screen while taking a walk around the block.

But other places, like airports, it's just as easy to open the laptop and see if something is there, rather then carry around the finder, at least for me.

One of the guys at the office has one, he stolls around with it every now and then to make sure nobody set up a wireless off the network, but he doesn't travel with it anymore.

.......But other places, like airports, it's just as easy to open the laptop and see if something is there, rather then carry around the finder, at least for me. .......yes and you can also use this link which is an updating website of free wifi locations: http://www.wififreespot.com/

IMO the best website for both free and pay wi-fi locations is www.jiwire.com and it has been mentioned on FT before. It also is more accurate than most.


MisterNice

I don't use one but have thought about getting one, I hate firing up my laptop to find a network although I gotta say that rarely is there a time when there are no open networks.

...There hasn't been a recent thread on wifi finders that I could see

Please also see: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=500858