Associated Press story about MetroFi: Portland

http://www.newsday.com/technology/wire/sns-ap-tech-test-muni-wi-fi,0,1997570
.story?coll=sns-ap-technology-headlines

From the article:
But a problem has cropped up: some users say it doesn't work.

One independent group hired by the city found the system provided more than
90 percent coverage within a certain distance to the network's access
points. Two local community wireless activists did a study of their own and
found just under 60 percent coverage.

I decided to check it out in a less-than-scientific study that involved
getting out of the office and visiting about a half dozen places to browse
the Internet or read e-mail on the go.

...

My first attempt to connect was at Pioneer Courthouse Square, a wide-open
space at the center of Portland's downtown where the service debuted in
December.

Despite a strong signal, it took me several minutes to make a connection.
Once it did, my Web browser -- Internet Explorer 7 -- loaded the MetroFi
welcome page without pause. And the sign-in process was easy. It even
included an understandable outline of privacy issues.

But when I tried to send my login information to begin browsing, I couldn't.
After 10 minutes of fruitless attempts, I gave up and instead latched onto
another free network's signal with ease.

At several stops within MetroFi's general service area, my computer
regularly detected the network and showed a strong signal, but I was unable
to log on.

...

And despite heeding the guidance, I had little luck connecting.

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