Phones and internet and Wi-fi, Oh my!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Like many newcomers I'm in the process of planning the leap to the Lion's Den and I'm a bit confused about these things.</p>

<p>As far as I understand every dorm room comes with a standard phone (and 212 84.....number) and phone line. </p>

<ul>
<li>What about doubles & suites? </li>
<li>Do we get a broadband internet line too? </li>
<li>Can the room phones be used for long distance calls home?</li>
</ul>

<p>As for the wi-fi Network, is the entire campus, including dorms, covered? I read somewhere that NYC had a pretty wide and constant wi-fi network. </p>

<p>That would make high-speed internet free and pretty much everywhere, correct?</p>

<p>Thanks in Advance,</p>

2

<p>I'm here for the summer program and the I know that the Hartley and Wallach dorms do not have WiFi-you have to use an ethernet cable. Maybe this is just temporary.</p>

3

<p><a href="and%20212%2084.....number">quote</a>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>its 212-854</p>

<p>
[quote]
- What about doubles & suites?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>only 1 phone in the double </p>

<p>
[quote]
- Do we get a broadband internet line too?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>yes, one per person (so two in a double, one in a single)</p>

<p>
[quote]
- Can the room phones be used for long distance calls home?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>you get a calling card from AT&T with a number on it that you have to dial to access an outside phone line (besides 1-800 numbers) and they bill you for the calls. A current student can probably tell you what it costs (or probably not since everyone has cell phones) but ....<em>old man voice</em>.....back in my day it was 7 cents a call for local phone calls and ~ 10 cents a minute for domestic calls...international calls will probably be pretty expensive. </p>

<p>
[quote]
As for the wi-fi Network, is the entire campus, including dorms, covered?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>no, and if you get wifi in your room its just pure luck. Some of the dorms have wifi in their main lounges or random floor lounges</p>

<p>
[quote]
I read somewhere that NYC had a pretty wide and constant wi-fi network. That would make high-speed internet free and pretty much everywhere, correct?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>thats just very wrong....no such thing exists....there are wifi hotspots in like bryant park and columbus circle (and maybe very few other places) but it is nothing like what you are suggesting.</p>

4

<p>"its 212-854"</p>

<p>sorry more than 10,000 connections so it's become 212-854... and 212-853...</p>

<p>"yes, one per person (so two in a double, one in a single)"</p>

<p>there are no broadband lines, cables have to be bought, ports are present, and i think they've upped the number of ports, I had four ports for myself in a single. I think doubles have 4-8 ports.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the replies!</p>

<p>So how's the broadband quality in the dorms? I've been in camp dorms before where they were pretty chi-tay.</p>

6

<p>You might want to check out the residential life website for a list of amenities in each dorm (Columbia</a> University in the City of New York --> Students --> Living --> Housing and Dining --> Residential Life, or just Google).</p>

<p>As far as I know, no one really uses their room phones because they're so complicated, and no one ever really calls either. Most people just stick with their cell phones.</p>

<p>If you're going to be living in Carman, you'll need an ethernet cord. I would advise you not to buy the cord until you've moved in, though, so that you don't end up getting one that's too short or too long. There's a bunch of people going around in the first week selling ethernet cords.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
no, and if you get wifi in your room its just pure luck. Some of the dorms have wifi in their main lounges or random floor lounges

[/quote]
</p>

<p>buy a wireless router. they are like 40$ and if your room is next to a lounge everyone on your floor will thank you.</p>

<p>
[quote]
and i think they've upped the number of ports, I had four ports for myself in a single. I think doubles have 4-8 ports

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What dorm were you in?? My JJ single 2 years ago only had 1 port and my EC double last year only had 2.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
there are no broadband lines, cables have to be bought, ports are present, and i think they've upped the number of ports, I had four ports for myself in a single. I think doubles have 4-8 ports.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>there were always many ports in each room.... but they used to only activate one per person...maybe this has changed</p>

<p>
[quote]
So how's the broadband quality in the dorms? I've been in camp dorms before where they were pretty chi-tay.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Top 10 research university >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> camp</p>

<p>...columbia's internet is faster than whatever internet you have at home (its either T1 or T3 or something like that)</p>

<p>
[quote]
If you're going to be living in Carman, you'll need an ethernet cord.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>you'll need an ethernet cord no matter where you live. You'll also need it for the next four years so just invest in a decently long one > 15 ft and you should be set</p>

9

<p>
[quote]
buy a wireless router. they are like 40$ and if your room is next to a lounge everyone on your floor will thank you.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is one of the most dangerous things you can do. Anything anyone does on their computer when using your connection is going through YOUR PORT. So it'll show up on Columbia's IP logs as being associated with your room. If someone downloads pirated media through your wireless connection, and Columbia is forced to comply with a subpoena, your name is going to be associated with those downloads. While you won't ultimately be held liable for someone else's conduct, you could face a huge headache and legal expenses.</p>

10

<p>But if you haveT1-T3 broadband in every room why would you need Wi-fi? You're already guaranteed rock steady internet access 24/7.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
But if you haveT1-T3 broadband in every room why would you need Wi-fi? You're already guaranteed rock steady internet access 24/7.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>people like to roam with their laptops i guess....i'm sure it comes in handy if you're sexiled or something</p>

<p>also...i agree with C02 on the point that setting up your own wireless router is a bad idea.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
This is one of the most dangerous things you can do. Anything anyone does on their computer when using your connection is going through YOUR PORT. So it'll show up on Columbia's IP logs as being associated with your room. If someone downloads pirated media through your wireless connection, and Columbia is forced to comply with a subpoena, your name is going to be associated with those downloads. While you won't ultimately be held liable for someone else's conduct, you could face a huge headache and legal expenses.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>1) Considering the RIAA has won ONE lawsuit (in Minnesota, dont get me started on the absurdity of this case), and the fact that columbia is supposedly going to mimic harvard soon (law school to offer pro bono advice to anyone sued by the RIAA), I think worrying about this is ludicrous.
2) Before you come close to hitting a watch list for illegal downloads, you will get a warning from the IT dept about your downloading habits being too extravagant.<br>
3) Anyone accessing your router will be behind the same IP. Luckily, this has been tested in court already, see point 1 for the outcomes.
Open</a> Wi-Fi: The Best RIAA Defense? | Listening Post from Wired.com
Computer</a> Security Expert Testifies that the RIAA Can't Identify Users by IP Address
MediaSentry</a> role in RIAA lawsuit comes under scrutiny
4) The vast majority of RIAA lawsuits are about distribution, NOT downloading. They only really attack you if you share your library.
5) Back to the downloading point: a wireless connection is always slower than the wired connection. I don't think anyone will sit in the lounge and download 500 songs at a reduced rate because the olympics are on.
6) Look up ourtunes. And tell all your friends about it! Since it's an internal thing, it's not tracked by the RIAA or anyone else.
7) If you are REALLY paranoid, there are plenty of ways you can stop p2p sharing on a router. Blocking all extraneous ports is one way, adding handling rules is another. Neither are hard to figure out how to do.
8) Add a wpa password to it and only tell the people you like the password!</p>

<p>By the way, if anyone feels strongly against the RIAA, look up the Free Culture club at Columbia. :)</p>

<p>Also, cant resist the Minnesota case because it's so absurd: How</a> the RIAA tasted victory: a perfect storm which might not be repeated: Page 1</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
1) Considering the RIAA has won ONE lawsuit (in Minnesota, dont get me started on the absurdity of this case), and the fact that columbia is supposedly going to mimic harvard soon (law school to offer pro bono advice to anyone sued by the RIAA), I think worrying about this is ludicrous.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>How many lawsuits they've taken to verdict is irrelevant; they've forced many many people to settle with them -- i.e., pay them money. Bad point.</p>

<p>
[quote]
2) Before you come close to hitting a watch list for illegal downloads, you will get a warning from the IT dept about your downloading habits being too extravagant.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You can be targeted by the RIAA regardless of what CU IT thinks of your internet usage. CU IT doesn't report people the RIAA after they've given you a warning; the RIAA gets logs from illegal downloading sites, sees that CU IPs are used, and them gets a subpoena for Columbia. Another bad point.</p>

<p>
[quote]
3) Anyone accessing your router will be behind the same IP. Luckily, this has been tested in court already, see point 1 for the outcomes.
Open Wi-Fi: The Best RIAA Defense? | Listening Post from Wired.com
Computer Security Expert Testifies that the RIAA Can't Identify Users by IP Address
MediaSentry role in RIAA lawsuit comes under scrutiny

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Exactly what I said -- you'll win, but you still may have to deal with the hassle and expense of legal proceedings that you'll inevitably get dismissed. Who wants to deal with that?</p>

<p>
[quote]
4) The vast majority of RIAA lawsuits are about distribution, NOT downloading. They only really attack you if you share your library.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Someone in your dorm who is using your wireless network can share his library. And the traffic is linked to your IP. Another loser point.</p>

<p>
[quote]
5) Back to the downloading point: a wireless connection is always slower than the wired connection. I don't think anyone will sit in the lounge and download 500 songs at a reduced rate because the olympics are on.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>So your contention is that nobody who is accessing your wireless network will download illegal music because the connection is slightly slower?</p>

<p>
[quote]
6) Look up ourtunes. And tell all your friends about it! Since it's an internal thing, it's not tracked by the RIAA or anyone else.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Telling people about ourtunes doesn't preclude someone using your wireless network from uploading/downloading illegal media in a manner that the RIAA can track. Another bad point.</p>

<p>
[quote]
7) If you are REALLY paranoid, there are plenty of ways you can stop p2p sharing on a router. Blocking all extraneous ports is one way, adding handling rules is another. Neither are hard to figure out how to do.
8) Add a wpa password to it and only tell the people you like the password!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>One should do both, at a minimum.</p>

<p>
[quote]
By the way, if anyone feels strongly against the RIAA, look up the Free Culture club at Columbia.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Also see Electronic</a> Frontier Foundation | Defending Freedom in the Digital World</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
How many lawsuits they've taken to verdict is irrelevant; they've forced many many people to settle with them -- i.e., pay them money. Bad point.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>They "force" people to settle? No. Not at all. They have scared many people into settling because most of the people they targeted were young and had no idea that the RIAA had no legal basis for suing at all. A bad point? No, it's completely legitimate since even if by some chance of the sky falling you do get sued, the chances of you losing are little to none. For proof of that see point 3.</p>

<p>
[quote]
You can be targeted by the RIAA regardless of what CU IT thinks of your internet usage. CU IT doesn't report people the RIAA after they've given you a warning; the RIAA gets logs from illegal downloading sites, sees that CU IPs are used, and them gets a subpoena for Columbia. Another bad point.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I never said anything about CUIT reporting people, you pulled that out of your a**. I merely said that the RIAA only tends to target high volume users. Yes there are exceptions but the vast majority are not. Watching your bandwidth is not a "bad point"</p>

<p>
[quote]
Someone in your dorm who is using your wireless network can share his library. And the traffic is linked to your IP. Another loser point.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes, they can. Which means you should be blocking ports as I said below.</p>

<p>
[quote]

So your contention is that nobody who is accessing your wireless network will download illegal music because the connection is slightly slower?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yep, pretty much. Despite what you might think, people are not all that stupid and respond to incentives pretty well. Given 2 connections, 1 faster and 1 slower, the former leads to quicker gratification (less time spent) at a very small price increase (leaving your computer in your room as opposed to the lounge). The economics is pretty simple to work out, I trust you remember your principles of econ well enough?</p>

<p>
[quote]
Telling people about ourtunes doesn't preclude someone using your wireless network from uploading/downloading illegal media in a manner that the RIAA can track. Another bad point.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You're just showing your age and looking ignorant here. Again, it's about incentives. I don't want to post anything incriminating so I won't explain it but lets say the benefits outweigh the costs here when it comes to what you can get through ourtunes vs. the open internet. Also, DC++ is an on again/off again thing internally.</p>

<p>You're welcome to disagree with me on my points, and I'm sure you will, but you'll still be wrong. Times, they are a changin.</p>

15

<p>
[quote]
They "force" people to settle? No. Not at all. They have scared many people into settling because most of the people they targeted were young and had no idea that the RIAA had no legal basis for suing at all. A bad point? No, it's completely legitimate since even if by some chance of the sky falling you do get sued, the chances of you losing are little to none. For proof of that see point 3.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The chances of you losing are little to none, AS I SAID. The chances of you having to waste your time and incur legal expenses (not to mention the hassle) are clearly not little to none. Why would you incur this risk for the sake of the kiddies in your dorm?</p>

<p>
[quote]
I never said anything about CUIT reporting people, you pulled that out of your a**. I merely said that the RIAA only tends to target high volume users. Yes there are exceptions but the vast majority are not. Watching your bandwidth is not a "bad point"

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Unnecessarily putting yourself at risk because you think it's likely that CUIT would notice high bandwidth coming from your IP before someone using your IP gets on the RIAA's radar is a bad point. </p>

<p>
[quote]
Yep, pretty much. Despite what you might think, people are not all that stupid and respond to incentives pretty well. Given 2 connections, 1 faster and 1 slower, the former leads to quicker gratification (less time spent) at a very small price increase (leaving your computer in your room as opposed to the lounge). The economics is pretty simple to work out, I trust you remember your principles of econ well enough?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Or maybe they'd rather download illegal software on your IP than their IP so it's slightly harder for them to get caught? Maybe they don't care whether the song downloads in 30 seconds or 1 minute? Maybe they want to sit in the lounge with their friends rather than by themselves in their rooms? All sorts of incentives motivate people, and we're all speculating. The point is that it's stupid to unnecessarily put yourself at risk because you think people won't download illegal software on a wireless connection.</p>

<p>
[quote]
You're just showing your age and looking ignorant here. Again, it's about incentives. I don't want to post anything incriminating so I won't explain it but lets say the benefits outweigh the costs here when it comes to what you can get through ourtunes vs. the open internet. Also, DC++ is an on again/off again thing internally.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You keep talking about costs and benefits and incentives, but fail to weigh the costs and benefits of unnecessarily putting yourself at risk for the sake of granting your dormmates access to your wireless internet. Are you maintaining that the pecuniary and non-pecuniary costs of defending yourself after being wrongly targeted by the RIAA are zero? Are you maintaining that the risk of that happening is zero? And what do you consider to be the value of giving your dormmates access to your wireless connection? It is you, not me, who is wrong.</p>

16

<p>^this is some serious paranoia, The only thing I agree with is: don't leave yourself liable to dorm-mate activities because there is nothing to gain from it. The chance that anyone at Columbia gets caught by the RIAA through your wireless connection, is ridiculously close to zero. </p>

<p>Basically this whole debate becomes completely academic if you password protect your wireless, so that's the bottom line.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
The only thing I agree with is: don't leave yourself liable to dorm-mate activities because there is nothing to gain from it.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is really the bottom-line.</p>