In my attempt to check out different WiFi hotspots in the metro–after all, what good is an unlimited AirborneAccess account (care of Bayantel DSL) if you can’t surf to your heart’s content?–I realized that there are places that advertise “WiFi zone” but have, in reality, crappy coverage.

AirborneAccess’ hotspot list for Mandaluyong includes Figaro Coffee, but when I tried to log in from there, I could not sustain a signal. I was getting “very low” to nil.

All that after already paying for my cup of Cafe Americano (I needed to plug in and boot up and detect the network, so I thought why not order while booting up)!

So I moved elsewhere, this time not trusting any “WiFi zone” banner or the (empty) assurances of a store/restaurant manager. I proceeded to Nacho-Fast at the lower ground floor, fronting Mercury Drug. I remembered that Dome (beside Nacho-Fast) was listed as an AA hotspot, and I thought I could link up without having to pay anything more expensive than PhP 50 for food or drinks.

Got lucky that the Mexican food joint was offering 50% off on the second purchase of rice bowls, wraps, pizzas or tacos, and treated myself to a snack worth PhP 45 and freeloading on their AC socket for a couple of hours.

At any rate, the entire Shangri-La mall is actually listed as an AA hotspot, so if your gadget’s batteries are good (mine are dead!) it might pay to sniff around for a good signal before settling down somewhere to surf.

Next on my WiFi discussion list: iPig: a personal VPN handy for surfing on those unsecure public hotspots (bad name, but good service).

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