having read about this a little while back, it finally hit me. warchalking as a concept is pretty cool on many levels.
"warchalking" started out in london recently. it is derived from concept of a hobo language in 30s used by hobos to let them know where free food was available. in this modern case, it is free networking we're talking about. piggy-backing off of wi-fi and other types of home, business and other wireless networks. basically people mark spots on the street where you can find network access nodes with a laptop or a handheld.
remarkable thing is this one guy, matt jones thought of the idea and started talking about it on his blog, since then it has spread rapidly, NYtimes and ZDNet contacted him. funny, b/c tech companies have been touting wireless networks so long, but it takes some guy (or real people) to actually figure out how to put this technology to use.
matt's blog:
http://www.blackbeltjones.com/warchalking/
ZD article:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2118000,00.html
Wired:
http://wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,53638,00.html