Hi Jerry-<br><br>Those are the three 'mesh' portals the XO creates for itself wherever it goes. They aren't Internet connections, but they let XO's connect to each other.<br><br>What you're looking for is a Wireless Internet Access Point (WAP). It would show up on the neighborhood screen just like the meshes (but wouldn't be purple) and connecting to it gets you to the Internet.<br>
<br>The ones you've already seen are Wireless Access Points other people own. The lock means you can't use it without knowing their key.<br><br>There are two ways forward. You can find a wireless access point someone else owns and are willing to let you use, or you can buy your own wireless access point and connect it to your own Internet service.<br>
<br>T-Mobile has offered a 1-year contract of free Internet access at their wireless 'Hot Spots' to people who participated in the OLPC Give One Get One program. Many of these are at Starbucks coffee shops and the like. If you were doing this, you (or your granddaughter) would go to a Starbucks and the T-Mobile wireless access point would show-up on the neighborhood screen like a mesh portal.<br>
<br>Alternately, you could purchase your own wireless router. There are many different brands, most cost between $50 and $100. This presumes you already subscribe to a broadband Internet access service. Check the wireless access point compatibility chart here before you buy:<br>
<br><a href="http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Wireless_Access_Point_Compatibility">http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Wireless_Access_Point_Compatibility</a><br><br>If you think you already have a wireless access point, but it is 'hidden' so the XO can't see it, there are several technical solutions we could try. I won't bore you with those yet. ;-)<br>
<br>One other caution: the XO wasn't really designed for a broadband-rich place like North America; it's designed to connect to a School Server and get most of it's content from there. The web browser runs differently, and things like Flash (necessary for web sites like Club Penguin or WebKinz) won't work without a bit of technical setup. <br>
<br>Let us know how it goes.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 7:49 PM, Jerry Dossenbak <<a href="mailto:jerbet@fuse.net">jerbet@fuse.net</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">When I go to the neigborhood the only sports that
show up are the 3 mesh sites. There are no others. How do I
connect. Occasionally one locked spot appears but have no idea how I
go about getting a key. Have read the support page and honestly everything
is above my head. Could you help me and simple non-technical
language. This is for my granddaughter and although she enjoys using the
available activities she really would like to get on the
internet.</font></div></div>
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