Google, Yahoo, eBay and Microsoft, competitors on the Web, all have the same idea for marketing themselves this holiday season: temporarily providing free Wi-Fi access at airports, on airplanes and at other places.
Google Inc announced on Tuesday that it would provide free Wi-Fi access at 47 airports across the US, including Boston, Houston and Seattle, through Jan. 15. The airports handle about 35 percent of US air travelers, the company said.
Travelers who connect to a wireless “hot spot” at one of the airports will see a browser page that gives them the chance to donate to three charities and have the donation matched by Google.
The 47 airports include some, such as McCarran International in Las Vegas, that already provide free Wi-Fi. Sponsorships help the airport keep the service free.
Google is also providing free Wi-Fi on Virgin America flights for the same period.
EBay Inc, the Web auction powerhouse, will provide free Wi-Fi on some Delta Air Lines Inc planes during the week of Thanksgiving.
Logging on will take users first to eBay’s holiday page, but they will be free to roam from there.
Since September, Microsoft Corp has given away Wi-Fi access at some hotels and airports, encouraging users to make a query on the company’s new search engine, Bing.
On Monday, Yahoo Inc said it is giving away Wi-Fi access in New York’s Times Square.
One street of the busy area was converted into a pedestrian zone with lawn chairs this spring, giving more of a reason to dawdle and perhaps flip open a laptop.
Boingo Wireless Inc, which operates for-pay hot spots in airports and is part of Google’s project, said it has been getting good results with free Wi-Fi campaigns sponsored by hotel chains.
The campaigns typically offer users 15 minutes to 20 minutes of access after they watch a 30 second video advertisement.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS