Entrecard

February 6, 2008 · Filed Under Blogging · 2 Comments 

I don’t know if you have noticed, but I recently added a small widget down on the right hand side of the blog. You con recognize it becuase of the ‘E’, which stands for Entrecard and next to this letter there is a picture with some text and this links to other blogs who are ‘advertising’ on my blog. The payment I receive is in the form of credits, which I can then use to buy ads on other blogs.

Entrecard - Blog from ItalyAt first, I was a little sceptical about the Entrecard system, mainly because it means I have to go clicking around the www to amass enough credits to be able to pay for an ad. This clicking is akin to leaving your business card, (Mine is on the left) which is the way the Entrecard site puts it. I have to say that as a result of clicking I’ve come across some very nice blogs. And far from being a chore, this clicking is more a voyage of exploration. Yes, there is some dubious stuff out there, but there is lots of interesting material too.

In fact, this system is not a bad way to reveal your hidden gem of a blog to the reading world. So, go on, create a wee blog business card and sign up. You might just find it quite a lot of fun. Entrecard is totally free, and, in theory you can even sell your credits to others. Even if money does not bother you, it may not be such a bad way to donate money to a good cause you would like to support.

Any criticisms? A few, but nothing serious. First of all, this system can really eat up your time. And second, I have not come across any new blogs dealing with Italy and things Italian, not just yet, anyway.

And before anyone brings up the point, no, nobody has asked me to write this, I just thought I’d spread the word and, maybe, encourage a few others to read and or, even better, to set up blogs.

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Free Wi-Fi in Parco Sempione, Milan!

October 15, 2007 · Filed Under Milan · 1 Comment 

Yes, the service is now here and, most probably, works. I did have a little fun tracking down just where I needed to go to sign up for this wifi service, and the lady in the bar next to the children’s play area in the park did not really know, although she did say that lots of people had been asking the very same question. She pointed me in the direction of the library, so wandered over there.

Nothing, apart from a man using his laptop next to the library. I asked him about this not well publicised service and, initially, he told me to go to a place on the other side of town to sign up. He must have read the expression of disbelief on face (…as I started mentally cursing Italian complexity…), because he suddenly remembered another place where one could sign along the dotted line and go wireless for free. And this place was the much more conveniently located Aquarium (- on the map), about five minutes walk away.

Once you are at the ‘Aquario’ , which is virtually in the park, mention ‘wireless’ or point at your laptop and say ‘Internet’, or just try speaking, slowly, in English. And if you have made yourself understood, you will be asked to complete a simple form and to show some form of identification with a photo on it - a passport should be fine. Then, you will be given the top portion of the little form which has the wireless system logon info on it, plus instructions in English on how to connect. Now you can wander off into the greenery and try out the service for the next 3 hours, for this is how long your wifi authorisation will last. Although I’m not sure, I imagine that this 3 hours can be broken down into shorter time periods, so you can connect for 10 minutes one day and then use up the rest of your allotted time next week or something. As you may imagine, after having finally signed up for the service, I was eager to see how it worked.

Alas, I did not manage to use the service. Try as I might, I just could not get my pocket pc connected. However, before putting anyone off, let me just add that trying to connect with a Windows Mobile 5 pocket pc will not be as easy as hooking up with a normal everyday wifi enabled laptop. I’m sure the service will work fine for those of you with normal laptops, and at some point I’ll pop down to the park with my own ‘real’ pc and see if I can connect. For those of you who do have Pocket PCs and who would like to be able to use this system, I think that with some playing around and a little more knowledge, I will be able to get my Dell Axim to hook up to this wifi service. And I’m sure others out there, more capable than me, with have no problems connecting pocket pcs to this network. Before I next attempt to connect with my ppc, I shall also visit Guglielmo, the wifi provider’s web pages, to see if there is any specific information about Windows Mobile 5 devices.

I know Windows Mobile devices do not interest everyone. However, something which might be of interest to more people is that the Parco Sempione wifi service has a VOIP capability, so you can Skype your friends and make inexpensive phone calls from a park bench.

And finally, a word of warning.  Parco Sempione is a pretty safe place, but it is frequented by some ‘interesting’ types, so, especially if you are not male, do not try to find a spot that is too out of the way to do your wifi thing.  Try to stay near to one of the bars in the park, or the library, or any other area that has a constant flow of pedestrian traffic.  Now, I’m not saying you will have problems, and, most probably, you will not, but computers are a) not cheap b) crammed full of photos and other information that most of us would hate to lose.  The application of a little bit of common sense should ensure that your Parco Sempione wifi experience is a good one.  Have fun.

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