Getting the Most Out of Wireless Networks

The word "hack" implies neither illegal nor unethical activity. A hack, in fact, is simply a way that a user makes a piece of technology or, for that matter, anything else more useful in their lives. The illegal activities associated with compromising security, sending viruses and so forth are usually referred to as "cracks" or "black hat" activity in modern parlance. A hack, as we shall see, is a very good thing when it's done within the acceptable boundaries of legality and ethics. Hacking your wireless connection simply means making it better at what it does, oftentimes through your own actions rather than through any technological wizardry.

A 4G wireless connection can be received on a city-wide basis. This means that you're working with all of the power of the Internet available to you in any location. This is how a great hack starts. You may have already gotten very good at using the Internet to make life better at home, but now you have the entirety of that resource when you're out and about. To understand how one hacks this, you start with a need. As an example, we'll take astronomy, for two reasons: one, it's done outdoors; two, it requires a great deal of information to enjoy this activity to its greatest potential.

Using your wireless broadband connection means that you have full access to your laptop anywhere. Starting with scouting your location, you can use the laptop, in the field, to pull up a topographic and satellite map of your location. This allows you to choose the best spot to observe the sky. If you're worried about light pollution, you can pull up a satellite image and find a road with few businesses or streetlights off of which to observe.

The next part of our example hack would be using the laptop to pull up an ephemeris, and using a compass to orient the computer properly so that it provides an accurate image of the sky you're observing. This can be used with your telescope to find the correct settings for azimuth and elevation. If your ephemeris gives only sidereal coordinates and you don't understand them, it's no problem. You have the entire Internet in front of you: Look it up. This is an example of using technology to its maximum. So far, we've used the major functions of a GPS system, a sky-mapping device, a telescope coordinate guide and a research tool for learning new information. This is with only a laptop and an Internet connection.

The best part of the hack comes when you find something new. If you see a planet, for example, and you really don't know much about it, you can easily set the kids or your friends to work looking up information. The wireless Internet makes this entire affair more enjoyable and educational than it would be otherwise. This is truly the definition of the word hack: Using technology in creative, and eminently useful, ways.

Clear coverage is available in simple and affordable plans for home internet, mobile internet and voip. Clear coverage goes where you want to go.