Downloading a large file. Can I have some bandwidth?

fade · Aug 20, 2011

Okay, the backstory is that I've been living in one of those extended stay hotels for 2 months now while waiting for my house to sell. I need to download a large file, but the internet here stinks. I let it run all night last night, and it finished, but the file was corrupted. I don't want to wait another 14 hours to find out the same is true again. If it matters, it's a legit copy of Windows 7 from the Microsoft Store (which by the way does not friggin' post md5 sums for some reason--you're just supposed to cross your fingers and hope the download was correct). I'm in Houston. I've heard some rumors that McDonalds has high speed internet, but according to numbers I've seen around the web, it'd still take 4 hours or so. I suppose I could wardrive and piggyback, but that's kind of ethically gray, and I wouldn't know where to go to begin.

Any suggestions on where I can go to borrow a fat chunk of tubes for an hour or two?

Chad Sexington · Aug 20, 2011

University campus? Bribe a student with a free meal at the food court.

Espy · Aug 20, 2011

Public Library? Starbucks?

No matter where you go though I doubt it's going to be very fast. Bring a book. Or if you are at the library that won't be necessary.

figmentPez · Aug 20, 2011

Chad Sexington said:
University campus? Bribe a student with a free meal at the food court.

The bribing may not be necessary. When I worked at Lone Star College Kingwood, the computer lab was open to the public, as long as it wasn't already filled with students. (Which still may not work for Fade if he has to download to his own computer. If he can use another one and transfer with a flash drive he's fine.)

sixpackshaker · Aug 20, 2011

There should be plenty of hotspots around. Yes McD's around TX do have WiFi. Also check some more "sit-down" type establishments, like a Denny's or a popular lunch hang out. I am not up for Google Foo, or I'd start a search for you.

Schlotzky's
Try the Medical Center, that is a very wired corner of town.

fade · Aug 21, 2011

Ugh, I let it go all night again, and it's corrupted again. I haven't really had this problem with large downloads before. I've downloaded large files overnight on this very connection of the same or even larger size. It's like it's the Microsoft Store.

sixpackshaker · Aug 21, 2011

Corruption seems to go hand in hand with M$...

fade · Aug 21, 2011

I wonder if I could go to the actual physical MS store in the Galleria and get them to download it. It's only a couple of miles away. Because, you know, copying the OS wasn't enough. If I couldn't see the Windows logo, I could swear I was in an Apple store. They even dress the same, complete with lanyard name tag.

sixpackshaker · Aug 21, 2011

If M$ copied that from Apple, that means that Xerox did it first.

If you are near the Gonorrhea, you should be near a good hotspot even if M$ can't/won't help you.

Chad Sexington · Aug 21, 2011

sixpackshaker said:
M$

Didn't we as a society finish with this years ago?

fade · Aug 21, 2011

I got it. I went to the MS Store. They let me use their internet connection, which was really fast. It took 14 hours to download in the hotel, and 40 minutes in the MS Store. I played xbox for 40 minutes while my macbook pro sat out in plain sight downloading stuff in the MS store. It felt a little like wearing an American flag in enemy territory.

Espy · Aug 21, 2011

Seraphyn · Aug 22, 2011

If you're running their legit software, I doubt any Microsoft employee would give a shit on what hardware it runs. Now running Windows on a Macbook at a linux conference on the other hand..

fade · Aug 22, 2011

Well technically, I wasn't. I was running Lion. I was just downloading Windows.
Added at: 18:42
And you're right...no one really cares. It was just kind of like a big middle finger in a funny way.

fade · Aug 22, 2011

Wow, the Mac App store is NOT being filtered by the hotel proxy, on the other hand. I just downloaded KOTOR (which was on sale) in like an hour, and it was a lot larger than the windows download. I could probably exploit that, but getting caught would probably mean no internet at all.

fade · Aug 22, 2011

Wait no...it's everything. The restrictions are gone for some reason. My computer is connecting at the high speed, too. Of course it would happen after I go out to the mall to download.

sixpackshaker · Aug 22, 2011

I think it was the need sensor on the router...

fade · Aug 23, 2011

No it's the proxy itself, because my PS3 was never able to connect before, because it couldn't render the ToS portal. That's gone, and the PS3 connects. I suspect something is down, and the hotel may not even realize it.