How, though? If it’s inherently unsafe, what’s the alternative?

Maybe it’s different in the EU then. Here, when cafes had internet, they offered a WiFi password for customers.

You’re right, except in British Columbia where all the most expensive highways were built. Not better, but affordable because Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna dgaf about the rest of the province and outnumber everywhere else. If we didn’t have all these tourist-focused roads, they’d have still torn up the rails and left us to drown.

You’re telling me Internet Cafes can’t exist? Yes, they’re not available, but they should be. And supporting industry of small business IT Security providers still do business with motels and hotels.

Maybe increase the standards of service requirements, but if not? Yeah, we need to find a way to make free WiFi that doesn’t demand you trust the operator will monitor for malicious users, instead of limiting safe internet access to our own homes at best.

Wait, are you implying it can’t be a choke point as an East-West route? Or implying it is a choke point for Edmonton? Or am I missing the point?

Yes, and tunnels too. The issue’s not just the temperature but the altitude, at least on the west coast, and lack of adhesion rail or deep bore passenger train tunnels on Canadian mountain routes. On the flat lands eastwards it’s mostly that passenger engines are built differently than freight locomotives that makes the difference.

The problem can be fixed, but is it worth it? Maybe. Sadly, no politicians here seem too interested in building rail services in BC, unless it’s to feed the KelVicVanSeaTac metro-economic machine.

I will say I was trying to make something resembling small talk, so I admit I’m wrong if you know otherwise. Just as far as I’ve seen, that’s what seems to be the truth.

It’s not just that. Trains don’t run as well or brake as efficiently in cold weather, they have slippery metal rails for a reason. That’s why we switched to cars and trucks too readily, and as sad as that is, I think we might need electric cars more than Americans ever needed any cars.

(That said, electric cars should be thanks to electrified smartroads, not stuffing the car itself full of computer hardware.)

Isn’t there an HST project’s route being prospected between Calgary and Edmonton?

Us? You-S-A tarriff’d the world!

<sincerity> I know you’re joking :P It’s legit a potential weakness actually. Trump could invade with very little resistance beyond the border, our population was too focused on trade by land and now we’ve had to reconsider our priorities. Also, the image neglects Edmonton’s existence. </sincerity>

And that’s why I trust no one! Oh, wait. I’m lonely and miserable.

I mean, we could switch to Linux distros (so that you can fine-tune DNS and VPN settings without corporate BS), but the intricacies that introduces to connecting to the WiFi safely are not casual in scope. Most people are better off buying a lightly-used Mac (or not, it’s been a while since people have been happy with Apple) or replacing their laptop with a Fairphone or Graphene OS phone than switching to Linux from Windows 10.

Windows 11+ however… is another story. Anything but letting the IngSoc Smart TV become the OS. The issue is that computers come bundled with Windows and so they use “Secure Boot” to trap you. You can’t use Secure Boot without Windows, and you can’t play many online games if you do not have Secure Boot (even if the excuse as to why is a filthy lie) so if you’re gaming you basically have to hope that Steam OS triumphs.

Best option is to just go to places where the wifi service is affordable but not free so that the operator needs to keep tabs on whether users are doing something other than browsing the internet or playing games (i.e. stealing people’s info or putting malware on their machine). Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any great demand for internet cafes anymore in my location.

<sincerity> Sorry about the other response I made being accusatory. I get the difference between self-deprecating humor about one’s family, and actual boomerang racism. Thanks for clearing things up. </sincerity>

Oh, sure. That’s fair. Just like how the US kicked the Natives off of their land. </sarcasm>

Yes, it’s not like poor people or children with abusive parents need library wifi to do anything important like looking up how to deal with life’s shit when their parents never taught them how. </sarcasm>