McDonalds to go Wireless?

crayongod writes "The AP, by way of AOL *yipe*, is reporting a pilot program by McDonalds to provide inhouse WiFi with the purchase of a combo meal. This sure will make roadtrips a lot easier." An hour of access per combo meal. Additional hours can be purchased for $3... or another zillion calorie combo meal. Mmmm. Healthy.

McSlashdot

Do you want fries with that?

Would you like...

a port scan with that?

future tired jokes....

"Would you like a drink with your order?"
"Yeah: CODE RED please.... AHAHAHAHAHA "
"*sigh* (another fucking slashdot wanker) Sorry sir we only carry Coca Cola products at McDonalds...."

FP?

WiFi and calories: talk about "the Cowboy Neal option!"

Dang it.

There goes another customer. :P

We're rolling out wifi all over the place, and McDonald's was going to be one of our targets.

Starbucks around here already said 'no' because they have an exclusive agreement with MSN to do it.

A year later not a single Starbucks around here has wifi. :(

Re:Dang it.

Pick on the local mom-and-pop establishments. I have had pretty good responses from local coffee shops. I'm also going to start working on bars too.

It doesn't hurt that my linux-based equipment is a LOT cheaper than commercial billing software.

Sweet!

Now I can get fat twice over.

Wireless @ McDonalds

I think a wireless experience at a McDonalds is very different from a Starbucks or a Borders. At McDonalds, my goal is to eat and get out, where at a Starbucks or Borders they encourage you to stay and socialize much more than McD's does.

I can see where it would be nice to have WiFi for your PDA to check email, but lugging my notebook in and getting my greasy fingers from my french fries on my laptop keyboard doesn't seem right.

I understand McDonald's business is hurting, but getting the tech crowd in isn't going to solve their revenue shortfalls.

Re:Wireless @ McDonalds

And oddly enough, McDonalds stores were designed to get people to leave as soon as they could

Odd colour schemes, uncomfortable chairs, etc.

Re:Wireless @ McDonalds

Here's the real kicker....McD's in Tokyo has already been providing WiFi. Except not with the retarded marketing scheme being pushed in the US. In Tokyo, you have an account with a major provider and McD's just provides the connection. The provider kicks back a percentage to McD's who now can compete directly with starbucks as a place where people can go for a coffee break and take work with them. No one really stays all that long; just long enough to tweak a spreadsheet while sipping a cup of coffee in a less crowded and possibly more convenient place than the local starbucks. I've noticed a lot of people coming in around the 9 to 11 mark when business is traditionally slow to read email and watch news on the 42in Plasma TV's thay have.

The idea works in Tokyo because McD's is really not doing anything outside of their core business. Network support is contracted out, so they just have to keep making cofee and food. The US side is trying to add sysadmin tasks to the McDonald's worker as well as bank on folks using a computer while they eat a big mac. The only reason why I go to McD's over here is because they still have the fried apple pies, not that baked crap the US stores have served for the last 10 years. I'm not going to buy a value meal just to get on the net when I can do it at work for free, or home for what I'm already paying my ISP.

Re:Wireless @ McDonalds

Yep, soft drinks are a huge money maker for food places.
You can usally get the dispensers for free or a cheap price, and then purchasing large quantities of syrup and CO2 is relativly cheap. For my parents stores we paid more for the cup and lid then the soda.
That is one of the nice things about the "combo meals" you get a huge increase of the number of people who were not purchasing sodas or who where purchasing smaller sizes, So you do the combos with the large drink but give no discount(some places give a small discount, most don't check the next time at a fast food joint) and is a really nice increase in the money flow.

Re:Wireless @ McDonalds

Actually, you might be suprised. One of the fastest growing segments of private computer users is the retired set. This suprises a lot of people but once you look at it it starts to make sense.

Most people retiring today have at least a basic familiarity with computers from their workplace. The retired set as a group also tend to have more disposable income that they can spend on computers. Yeah, the teenager might be all excited about technology, and know all about it, but can he afford it?. Lastly they have the free time to spend on the computer engaged in lesiure activities. They may not buy the latest and greatest games, but they e-mail, surf the web, etc.

Retirement communities are now having to take into consideration things such as computer labs, high speed access for their residents, and a generally more tech savy population than ever before. I think you would be suprised by the number of older people who would seriously consider taking advantage of this if McDonalds offered it.

Re:Wireless @ McDonalds

I think a wireless experience at a McDonalds is very different from a Starbucks or a Borders.

Right -- Starbucks and Borders are all about a business model that went out of its way NOT to push people in and out of the door as fast as possible. Borders, and the Barnes and Noble "superstores," were very much reactions to B Dalton's buy-your-Stephen-King-and-get-out-of-the-cashier's -way approach.

B Daltons is still around, though, just serving a different audience. Makes you wonder how well Mickey-D's knows its own business model -- or how seriously they're looking to change it.

(This'd maybe make sense in McDonalds' franchises at highway stops, for traveling types?)

Re:Wireless @ McDonalds

B Daltons is still around, though, just serving a different audience.

B. Dalton's is also owned by...guess who? Barnes and Noble [barnesandnobleinc.com], thank you for playing. BN bought 'em and kept 'em around to serve as their shopping mall/mass transit hub (like Union Station, Wash. DC) outlet.

Trib

Re:Wireless @ McDonalds

Just like any other resteraunt, McDonalds has busy times and slow times. If you linger in a slow time they don't care anyway, and if you linger to/through a busy time your going to need more food anyway.

Your incorrect that people don't linger. Most people don't true, but a few do. McDonalds is used as a meeting place by some groups. I once walked into someone presenting a buisness plan at 10:30 at night in a McDonalds. The restaruant was perfect, open that late, free, and provided coffee. (It was none of my business so I didn't linger but it seemed to be a potential startup that didn't yet have investers)

Access is provided one hour at a time, so it seems like they are trying to provide for the [business] crowd that comes in for lunch and needs to get some work done. This is the perfect way to target salesmen, they tend to spend most of their time behind customer firewalls that won't let them check email at the office. Run to McDonalds for lunch/supper (when you are not buying the customer lunch...) and catch up on the office news.

Re:Wireless @ McDonalds

I agree, I see this being more of a play for salesmen who are on the road (and increasingly using web-based CRM tools like Salesforce.com) and business travellers who want to check on things quickly while on the road. As a systems analyst who occasionally makes road trips to from Indiana to Wisconsin, I would definitely take advantage of this along the way...

Lingering customers helps McDonalds

I think that customers lingering in McDonalds will help quite a bit. A McDonald's "Meal" only stay with most people for under an hour, so after a really nasty dump, you're hungry again! If I were to stay there for 3 hours using their wireless, I could easily eat 4-5 combo meals and not gain a pound!

Right.

Do the geeks who would be excited by this really need another reason to eat junk food and sit on their butts while Web surfing?

Re:Right.

Heh, I'm eating fat free yogurt and a granola bar (outta milk, no raisin bran for me) while I'm web surfing. And sometimes I use my stationary bike while I surf.

Who says a geek can't be healthy? :P

In any case, WiFi in a fast food restaurant? Doesn't make sense. Airport - sure. Coffee Shop - cool. McDonalds - uh, why would I be stupid enough to pull my laptop out there and watch some kid spill ice-cream or coke on it? And since when did a fast food restaurant want you to hang around?

It's a publicity gimmick, and a stupid one at that.

FAST food

It was my understanding that MacDonalds like to get their customers out as quick as possible, so they don't take up the seating for too long. I have heard stories here in England of people being asked to leave during busy hours because they were taking too long finishing their drink or something similarly ridiculous.

I'm not sure how offering an hour of Wi-Fi access would help this, unless they expect us to stand outside and use it.

Re:FAST food

Have you ever looked at the chairs in McDonalds? A lot of research went into the design of those chairs. They are intended to become uncomfortable after 10 minutes, to discourage people from staying too long. Sure you can get an hour of 'net access for $3, but after 20 minutes you aren't going to be able to stay in the chair unless you're so fat your nerves don't actually reach your skin...

Think of the lawsuits...

Your kids can now get fat and surf porn at the same time. A lawyers dream come true

MAC?

Renders new meaning to the term MAC-address.

Re:MAC?

I think you mean... McAddress? :)

The next time you walk into a McDonalds

Be sure to ask the cashiers, managers and the person cleaning the restrooms if they truly "love to see you smile."

Re:The next time you walk into a McDonalds

um... we don't. Really, we don't care. I have no idea who those people in the commercials are. They've never worked at a McDonalds before I swear. Oh, and to dispel a myth. the guy cleaning the restrooms or sweeping the parking lot is often the highest paid non salary person in the store and gets better benefits and actually works less. most days I just do the crossword then go home.

Hmmm...

A few things:

1) Anyone worried about greasy keypads? We all know how Micky Dees burgers are often dripping with grease. If some inept user were to eat with his laptop open, or even any user trying to type after a meal...

2) Some McDonald's don't want patrons staying for more than a half hour (case in point, McDonald's in the North Side of Pittsburgh). Would that policy be changed if you get an hour of access with an Extra Value Meal?

3) Would they have to change their slogan to "Over 1 Billion Geeks Served?"

And finally, 4) If a ton of geeks started patronizing the place at once, would that created a sort of inverted Slashdot effect?

I like the idea, personally. More power to them ^-^

Re:Hmmm...

2) Some McDonald's don't want patrons staying for more than a half hour ...

I'm actually working with a local coffee shop in Philly to set up Wifi access. We are using custom software that will cut people after 2 hours, and turns the access off when the place it busy at night. She just didn't want to turn the place into a giant office.

Why?

Who goes to McDonald's with the intention of hanging out? Personally, I don't want to be seen or recognized when I'm plucking down a few dollars for some cardiac arrest food.

Finally, something for adults!

I've got kids.

It sometimes snows in Chicago, or gets darn cold. Especially in the winter.

At which point I am quite happy that there is a McDonalds down the street with a playland. I can take the kids there and cut them loose for an hour or so to burn off their energy. It's a great thing.

McD has been very family orientated for quite some time now, giving us a place to let our brats romp about, while we eat a McCoronary and pass the time. Having the ability to hook up to the net while my kids are going down the static electricity slide is a great thing. I'll be able to do something that entertains me, if I can ignore the screaming of the kids.

Already a lawsuit in the wings

I can see the lawsuits now:

Spilled hot coffee - melted my keyboard; shorted my laptop

Greasy fingers from French Fries caused marks on screen & keys devaluing laptop

Internet access points were under heat lamps causing data not to be secure

So anyone can connect to this lan?

This could be harmful for McDonalds. What if a customer says something like "Its full of worms" talking about Klez?

Live at McDonalds

Technically there is now no reason to ever leave McDonalds.

*whiny simpsons teenager voice*

Sir, would you like an IP with that order?
Should I super-size your bandwidth?

Honestly, I'm wondering what the training implications of this will be.

the marketing possibilities are endless!

The Access Point Burger

Two all-beef patties lettuce, tomato and special sauce with a pair of fries sticking out from the top at either end

WANBurgler Special - A.K.A. The Unhappy Meal

An edible, fiber optic light source on the burger (yes, they make edible fiber optic light sources [collisiondetection.net]) shines when it detects kismet or netstumbler scans during your WiFi session

Sounds

like an opportunity for a lot of sacked dot commers to say they work in IT again

Its a microsoft plot, of course

They want to silence the slashdot crowd. So, free internet access with a big mac, who does that target? people like us... make us get fat and die, no more MS bashing.

Next they will announce 'free' broadband for a week with the purchase of a carton of smokes.

Nice...

Now if they'd offer hot showers and bunks, I'm all set.

Mechanism?

The article was light on detail, and I don't know enough about wireless, so I guess I'll ask the /. community: How will a cashier "give" you an hour of access? Will there be a code printed on your receipt? Is there an easy way for a user to configure his/her PC to gain access to an otherwise closed wireless LAN for a limited time? Or do I have to open my laptop at the counter and read off my MAC address (the people in line behind me would love that)?

Re:Mechanism?

Since the article was fairly light, I'll give you a scenario:

You buy a meal from McDonalds. "Would you like Internet Access?" the 15 year old hottie asks you.

"Um...sure," you say, your laptop getting heavy on your shoulder.

She hands you a card (or perhaps its printed on the receipt). It has an IP Address, a subnet mask, and a gateway. Hopefully there would be instructions nearby, with settings for Macs, Win95 - WinXP.

They could specify IP addresses that are good for only one hour, and to keep up with the load they could also use different subnets. The NAT used in the router would take care of IP leasing issues, and there should be no DHCP (or else you'd get free 'net access just by turning on your laptop and WiFi card).

Sounds fairly simple to me, but the hype is probably louder than customers who actually want this.

Re:Mechanism?

I think a more likely approach is a custom forwarding setup, like cablemodems do today. When I attach any new computer into the hub for cable access, I get a valid DHCP address right off the bat, but it won't forward any non-web packets, and all websites lead me to a page asking for a login and password.

I've seen variations on this theme at the university I attended and apartments I've stayed at. (1) It's a lot easier once the infrastructure is in place, and (2) McDonald's does NOT want to deal with 1000 customers who have no clue about how to type in their IP address, and (3) It would stay compatible with the other types of WiFi networks you commonly see (ie, no manually switching your settings as you enter or leave McD's).

Anything to avoid improving the food

I just hope the girl who can't figure out why I gave her $12.05 for a $6.55 lunch order isn't going to be responsible for getting the MAC of my Airport Card into the access control system.

What billing mechanism?

I just wonder what the billing mechanism will be for this service.

The article seems to suggest that the billing will be done on a per-burger basis i.e. you buy your burger, you get a little card with a pin# on it, and you then connect to the LAN.

This seems to suggest an anonymous means of surfing (all for the cost of a burger) - an approach that would land McD's in difficulties within hours of launching the service.

The other approach is a 'customer-registration' service, and I for one am not sure I need McD's to know where I (burger-swilling-geek that I am) live.

Gives new meaning to the term "Big MAC"

So will there be big MAC addresses?

Chubby

Wow WIFI at Micky D's, i'm getting a chubby...

Oh wait...i'm just getting chubby.

-ted

Re:mcdonalds food

Personally, I find it odd that it would be stamped that, since beef is graded as follows:

Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter, and Canner.

Eggs and Poultry are graded with letters, but hey. Poultry only goes to C, of course.

You even provide a definition of Grade D beef! That's so nice of you! Really impressive, too, since it doesn't exist.

Educate yourself. [usda.gov]

And stop pretending, and spreading your bullshit, okay?

or another zillion calorie combo meal?

Would that be a peta-bite? ...oh... oh... I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop myself...

Has McDonald's truly thought this out?

What about the pr0n issue? Do they want a bunch of people sitting in their restaurants looking at pr0n? No doubt they will be doing some content filtering.

OTOH, I can see McD's as the new hangout for Quakers. Instant catered LAN party, and the participants have to buy at least one burger an hour to keep playing.

Easy to abuse?

We all know that spammers live in trailer parks and flips burgers at McDonalds to make money to buy new accounts when the old ones are nuked. Now, if you can get one our of IP for the price of a burger I expect all of McDonalds IP range to end up in SPEWS faster than you can say "do you want fries with that?" Any ideas how to avoid this?

This could actually be very cool

If you put all the "McD is fat/incompetent/dangerous for laptops" comments aside, it's a really neat idea.

Imagine this is distributed worldwide: Internet access for everybody! About time!

You have to buy a bigmac (you don't have to eat it though), and you get one hour of surf. It's cheaper than most European cybercafes...

Plasma Menus

I was in McDonalds the other day [bengarvey.com] and the standard menus above the cashiers were replaced by hi def plasma screens with the menus printed on them. They also had ads running for their various food items. It looked fantastic, although I try not to eat there on principle.

It would be great if someone hacked into their wi-fi network and change the menu items to include more exotic items:

French Fries $2.49
Chicken Nuggets $3.99
Grimace Testicles $1.99

Why charge for it?

I don't see thousands of people flocking to McDonald's to use their WI-FI network. Why not just set up the Wi-Fi let people use it as a perk for just being there. Don't force them to buy something first, that just complicates things. More often than not, if a peroson is in McDonald's (or around it) they will buy something.

Later if internet trafic became a problem then they could impliment a pay or buy something first model.

Wrong Crowd Goes to McD's (This Will Fail)

WiFi in McDonalds is going to fail. There is a HUGE difference in the average customer that goes to McDonalds vs. the average customer that goes to Starbucks. Fast-food like McD's is targeted mainly towards the poor, and how many of these people have wireless devices that could utilize WiFi (digital divide anyone)??? Even ignoring that fact, when was the last time you were in a McD's and thought "cool place, I think I'll break out my laptop and work for a while"???

As someone said earlier, it is just a poorly conceived publicity gimmick!