Just one month ago, Houstonist asked the question: "Where's the free wi-fi?" We finally have our answer. On August 19th, the city of Houston announced that they'd created a large cluster of free wi-fi locations throughout the dowtown area, both in an effort to provide the free wireless access that has been long-promised by Mayor White's administration and to promote the continuing revitalization of downtown as a destination to work, live and play. They've even......

Over 20 years ago we all collectively asked, "Where's the beef?" But today, in an era of advanced technology, Houstonians are left to ponder alternative queries, such as “Where's the free wireless Internet?” We live in an era where automobiles can parallel park themselves. We live in an era where our televisions can predict what type programming we might enjoy and record it for us to watch at our own leisure. We live in......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. In this edition of Tech Buzz we are going highlight the best and most notable posts and events of 2007. We covered a lot of technology and internet related Houston based stories this year and these are our top picks. Houston's Failed Citywide Wi-Fi Project The biggest tech story of the year was Houston's failure to secure and provide wi-fi services for our tech savvy netizens.......

Good morning, Houston. Hey, guess who's having a birthday today? Well, OK, it's technically not Houstonist — our second birthday was back on Nov. 20, but we figured that if the queen can have two birthdays, so can we. And so we're throwing ourselves a little birthday party tonight, and you're all invited. It starts at 6 p.m. at Monsoon Wok, Lamar at San Jacinto (yes, street parking is free downtown after 6). Six......

Good morning, Houston. So, how about this: According to Popular Science, Houston is the 10th most high-tech city in the nation — ahead of both Dallas (No. 27) and Austin (No. 53). The rankings were based on 36 indicators, including technology in science, the number of Wi-Fi hotspots in cities, and research budgets at local universities. The final ranking, then, had to do with more than the Internet: It took into account things like......

Good morning, Houston. Looks like we'll have a tougher time cracking out those fake Benjamins next year: The $100 bill will soon be getting a high-tech makeover to thwart counterfeiters. The key feature: 650,000 tiny lenses embedded in each bill, which will magnify the printing so that the portrait of Benjamin Franklin appears to move up and down or side to side, depending on which way you move the bill. "It makes for a......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. City WiFi Still On Hold It's been a few months since Mayor Bill White approved a multi-million dollar deal with EarthLink to provide over 640 square miles of wireless service to Houston and we are still waiting. Earthlink should have already started installing wireless nodes on light poles around the city but has failed to do so. EarthLink is still within time constraints set by the......

The Chronicle had a story this weekend about Houston's coming municipal Wi-Fi network: The network, which will be built and operated by EarthLink, will have the latest security features when it's completed in 2009 — but it'll be up to users to download and install security software to make sure they're protected. But will they? That's the question we'll have to wait for an answer to, especially where it concerns people who haven't really used......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. City-wide Wi-Fi Is Coming, Protect Yourself A recent story in the Chronicle states that city-wide wifi will require users to download tools to help protect themselves while online. The Tech Buzz feels that the responsibility falls on the user to protect themselves while online regardless if the wifi is free or belongs to the city. Everyone should take precautions and be careful when transmitting sensitive data......

Here's a service the city provides that we're not excited to use: you can now fill out police reports online. The purpose of the online form is to "allow Houston citizens to conveniently file police reports from home, work, or anywhere with Internet access." Which sounds just a little more charming than it really is. This online report filing and the anticipated citywide WiFi is sure to make filing police reports much easier. Why is......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. HelpLine: Outlook Freak Out Jay Lee over at The Chronicle's HelpLine helps a reader who's Outlook email app is opening mulitple windows. Click here for the solution to this wacky reader debacle. Ugliest Building in the World? Someone placed a story on Digg about The Ugliest Building in the World. Yup, that's the Federal Reserve Bank Building on Allen Parkway. Ugly? Maybe, but Houstonist is just......

We heard. We went. We saw. We loved. Inversion Coffee House (1953 Montrose Blvd ), a relatively new installment to the Montrose art scene, is an independent, locally owned coffee joint. And we heart independent coffee joints. Located on the former site of the mind-boggling Inversion House created by artists Dan Havel and Dean Ruck, this java dwelling resides in the new home of the Art League of Houston. Art lovers and independent thinkers are......

The city's municipal Wi-FI network is a step closer to being built: Yesterday, City Council unanimously approved a contract with EarthLink to build the 600-square-mile network, which will be the largest in North America when it's completed in 2009. And, as expected, downtown will likely be the first area to have coverage, with other areas following in 100-square-mile sections. "We're not going to wait for all the zones to be completed before we turn [the......

We told you about last year's World Mayor competition. We know you love Bill White as much as we do, but he still lost out to that upstart John So, Mayor of Melbourne. Fortunately, there's always next year. Or this year. Go here to nominate our favorite mayor and yours, Bill White, for World Mayor 2007. Remember: what you say counts just as much as who you nominate. So what's World Mayor looking for and......

Here is a big, big Houstonist "heads up". The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art will re-open this weekend with some fantastic fanfare and events. This event is from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. this Saturday, it is FREE to attend and beer and wine will be available with proper I.D. (have we got your undivided attention, yet?). This marks a re-opening celebration of the Orange Show - plus (so proud of our Orange Show!!!)......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

City Council members on Wednesday approved a contract with EarthLink to build Houston's wireless Internet network, putting the city a step closer to having the nation's largest municipal Wi-Fi setup — or, as KHOU has apparently taken to calling it, a "wireless Internet bubble." (Not one, we hope, like this.) The $50 million network will cover all of the city of Houston's 600 square miles; Atlanta-based EarthLink Municipal Networks will build and run the network......

There's something we've been wondering ever since we heard about Houston's coming municipal Wi-Fi network, and the Chronicle's Alexis Grant has finally asked the question for us: How well is the network going to work? The answer: not too badly, but don't get your hopes up — it'll be a step up from dial-up, but not nearly as fast as home cable Internet service. According to EarthLink Municipal Networks President Donald Berryman, the city network......

A couple more details today on Houston's municipal Wi-Fi plan: According to the AP, pending City Council approval, Atlanta-based EarthLink Municipal Networks would spend $50 million to set up the 600-square-mile network, which will require 10,000 transmitters to be placed on light and utility poles (and, perhaps, rooftops) across the city. In short, it's going to be big, and Mayor Bill White didn't miss out on a chance to do a little bragging yesterday: Referring......

The Chronicle reports today that Mayor Bill White plans to announce a contract proposal for the citywide Wi-Fi network today. Among the details to be announced this afternoon is which company has been selected to build the $60 million network, which will be the largest of its kind in the United States. But in an interview with the Chronicle yesterday, White gave some of the general terms of the deal, including pricing structure. The mayor......

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward......

Mayor Bill White took another step toward a municipal WiFi network yesterday, asking building owners to lease space on their roofs for network base stations. Most of the transmitters for the citywide network would be placed on city utility poles, but White said spots would also be needed for the base stations — between 100 and 150 of them, mainly on top of buildings. "I will be bargaining hard to make sure there's a fair......

A few months after the city approved a contract for fancy WiFi-connected parking meters downtown, the first of the new meters have gone online — and though there are still some kinks to work out, things seem to be going fairly smoothly. You might have seen the new meters along Travis Street or near the City Hall Annex — they're tall, grayish and topped by solar panels. The big deal with the meters isn't how......

It's Friday, another grueling week of piloting your cube has ended. You and the rest of the water cooler kids are counting the minutes until your boss heads to the club house for her early afternoon sales meeting/golf-a-thon. Then, happy hour is officially in effect. The trouble is that the tribe can't break the habit of going to the same old watering hole since no one can remember life before Schlitz night at Bob's Country......

If you listen to the radio, like technology and enjoy a good bubble tea once in a while, we have an easy way for you to achieve nirvana: Head over to Tropioca tomorrow night for the August Geek Gathering. Expect a good bit of tech talk, salivating over new gadgets, WiFi and food (Tropioca offers sandwiches, pizza and desserts in addition to bubble tea — which is a good thing, because Houstonist is not a......

The Oak Forest neighborhood (just north of the loop near Ella) has a lot of history. The 60 year old subdivision was once the largest subdivision in Houston. It's now known for its affordable small frame homes and retro feel, with many Mom & Pop stores that have been in business since the early days. What it lacks, compared to other old areas like the Heights, is hip, artsy places to hang out. Well,......

Mayor Bill White talked online about the city's Wi-Fi initiative yesterday afternoon in a chat hosted by the High-Tech Local Celebrity Michael Garfield. The official transcript hasn't been posted on Garfield's blog yet, but most of the questions seem to have been about the business end of the new system. While most of the chat answers could have been found on Google, White handled a few curves. For example, houstonmacbro brought up the problem of......

As the city gets ready to pick a vendor for its public wireless network, a question remains: how do you pay for citywide WiFi? The Chronicle looks at the issue today, noting that Houston will probably follow the model being used in Philadelphia, the largest city in the country working toward citywide WiFi, which will charge residents for access to the network and give a discount to low-income residents. A proposed free network in San......

Torontoist throws down the gauntlet and challenges all comers: pillow fight, bitch. They also stand up for a fellow blogger taking heat from the TTC and welcome city-wide WiFi. SFist can finally admit it: It's possible that Bary Bonds juiced. Is Bay Area artist (tempted to put quotes around that) Thomas Kinkaid "kinda crappy" or "explosively crappy" or does he just like marking territory? SFist wonders. Technology comes in the form of new Mac goodness......

Last month, Mayor Bill White announced plans to build a wireless network to cover downtown and surrounding business districts. Last week, West University Place said it is also looking into going WiFi. Who’ll implement first? Our money is on West U. For West U., the implementation will be much easier because it’s a smaller area. Also, it doesn’t hurt that the city has a little more money behind it (the average income for a West......