Hotspot Hunting - Episode III (UP Diliman)

This is the first of a three part series on my WiFi Hotspot Hunting experiences. The second and third parts will come out on June 8 and 10.

After Hunting in Baguio for the first time (Episode I) and settling for a cozy hotspot in a metro manila mall (Episode II), here’s how my hotspot hunting in UP Diliman went one drizzly day ….

Discovering the bounty

Last month, I was at my brother’s apartment in Quezon City. I was about to line the wooden floor with some pages of a 10 month old m|ph magazine before stretching out a kutson. But, just when I was about to rip out some pages, an article jumped out at me. It was about wireless campuses. (The pages of m|ph were spared for that night. Apologies to Jim and the editors of m|ph ... but it's always good to reuse and recycle... ;-) )

Other WiFi-ed Campuses Main reference: m|ph June 2004

Ateneo de Manila University De La Salle University - Manila Mapua Institute of Technology The University of Asia and the Pacific University of the Philippines - Diliman Asian Institute of Management (added by Ka Edong; see story)

Ah! Perfect for my (then) new WiFi card on my laptop, Kurdapia! I was going to UP the very next day to do some wall climbing with my AIM classmates. But, that late April gimmick day wasn’t right for hotspot hunting.

Rain or Shine Hunting

It was only until yesterday that I was able to do some hotspot hunting in UP. I brought Kurdapia to UP Engineering building. Enrollment day pala. There were tables at the Eng’g lobby right in front of the library. I got a weak WiFi signal, it was labeled “DILNET”. I was connected but couldn’t load any webpages.

I tried to find a better signal by transferring to the Beta Epsilon tambayan just a few strides away. Negative – zero signal.

I’ll take my e-mailing somewhere else.

As I recall the article, it said that UP Diliman had free and open WiFi access in some key buildings within the campus. The article was written circa June 2004. I recall reading that there were WiFi hotspots in the Quezon Hall, in the Eng’g library and at the computer center.

So I tried my luck at Quezon Hall. It was a drizzly afternoon yesterday so I stayed in the car and drove by Quezon Hall behind the oblation. No signal.

My hotspot hunting came out with nothing. Ah … the joys of hotspot hunting, the thrill of almost getting your target but it gets away.

Mabuti pa yung second hotspot hunting escapade ko sa isang mall sa makati ….

… To be continued … Hotspot Hunting Episode II ….

Check back on Wednesday, June 8 for more hotspot hunting stories and maybe some tips for WiFi beginners.

Ka edong the haunter

p.s. Any UP Diliman WiFi users out there? Any tips on catching the WiFi signal in UP Diliman? Paging Clair Ching…