I’m sitting on a picnic table at the Old Port, after learning yesterday there would be free Wi-Fi here.

It’s a pretty standard free-WiFi setup. An open connection (QuaisduVieuxPort) that at first redirects all HTTP traffic to a special IP address so you can pointlessly click a button that says yes, you want to connect. Then, after a 10-second delay, you get a page that says you’re connected and you can start browsing.

Some more technical aspects for those curious:

• Upstream provider is Telus
• The system gives out unreal IP addresses (10.x.x.x)
• The real IP address you go through has no reverse DNS entry, which might cause problems connecting to some finnicky servers
• No apparent restrictions on POP3 or SMTP traffic, so using email shouldn’t be a problem (of course you’ll have to find an SMTP server to accept your outgoing mail from you)

Speed appears to be pretty good. Coverage is limited to the promenade of the old port itself (you can’t reach it from City Hall, the top of Place Jacques Cartier or from tiny Bonsecours Island).

I’m torn between observing that coming to the Old Port to play with your laptop is lame, and suggesting that it’s better to play with your laptop outside on a beautiful day like this.