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Ever get tired of having to ask your friends for their WiFi credentials so you can make sure you aren’t guzzling on your mobile data? They often don’t remember their SSID, and the passwords are so obscure that they sometimes have to reset it just to allow you to hop on. One group is trying to eradicate that issue, and they’re hoping to do so with Pylon.
Pylon is a combination of a base station, an NFC sticker and an app that will allow people to connect to your home’s WiFi network with the single tap of a button. The base station hooks up to your modem or router, and the sticker is placed wherever is most convenient for you (typically by the main entrance). The solution also works with non-NFC devices, with the accelerometers inside the base station and your phone being used to determine when a “bump” happens.
It’s not about simply connecting to a WiFi network, though. Pylon aims to give the owner of the network total control over who accesses it. You can give your visitors free reign if you want, but you can also set a time limit for each and every person that hops onto your network.
For instance, you can add your friends and neighbors to a “party” group and set that entire group to have access for just 3 hours (because, you know, those neighbors are totally going to keep stealing your geebees after they go home). You can even kick someone offline entirely whenever you so choose.
Pylon could also be great for businesses, and the team has stated that they’re already working on solutions that make more sense for businesses such as displaying offers and deals on a user’s phone whenever they hop onto the network.
So how much? When? These are all questions bound to be pouring into your head by now. The cheapest you can grab one right now as of the time of this writing is with an $85 early bird pledge. There are only 63 of those left, so get in on it while you can.
Beyond that, the cheapest normal price is $100 for the base and sticker (and the free app download that comes with them). The team is also offering package deals with beacons to allow your guests to easily connect to your connected speakers, as well as several solutions for businesses.
Pylon says they’ve been working on perfecting this technology since 2011, and are finally ready to release it to the masses. All they need is the cash to deliver to the manufacturers who are already lined up and ready to create these bad boys once the project is funded.
They’re quite shy of their $60,000 goal with just $8,100 pledged, but they have until March 1st to make up the rest. Be sure to spread the word if it’s something you want to see succeed, and pledge a few bucks if you want one of your own. The fist deliveries are expected in June.
[via Kickstarter]
“you must construct additional pylons”
Thank you for creating games with such an enduring legacy, Blizzard. Also, hahaha.
I’m not really sure why we need a Kickstarter for this. I have a QR code and NFC sticker on my fridge and in my office for guests to use my WiFi. Cost me nothing but paper and ink. I guess being able to create segmented groups with restrictions and limitations is nice though.
i agree…I have a NFC tag on my fridge as well..my friends..tag it to activate their WiFi and password is written on a Post-it on fridge..works pretty well as is..I have charter’s 30mbps..plenty of spped and bandwidth so capping my guests is not issue here
I agree too. If someone wants to do anything that this offers, they can already do it themselves for less than $100.
this is insanely expensive, just set a long password that is a phrase you can remember,
also most new routers let you kick people at least manually, and my linksys smart router lets me control restrictions with an app on my phone, that even works on 4g away from home, if you really care that much
a lot of people just run a guest network anyway
I’ve been using the QR code method for a while now too, and it works just great. The only hiccup is that everyone needs to have a barcode/qrcode scanner app installed first, since Google removed it as Google Now built-in around a year ago.
If it was cheaper I’d Consider but I can’t imagine paying $85+ for something you can make with NFC or qr codes
Give a try ABA WiFi Share & ABA WiFi Connect !
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abamobile.abawifishare