Eastside lake's free bandwidth

Looking for free bandwidth? Try Lake Sammamish.

An IBD Network panel asked the question last week: "Wireless Local Area Networking: The Next Big Thing?" WLAN systems, also known as Wi-Fi or 802.11b, are wireless high-speed Internet networks used in homes and offices.

Mike Wehrs, director of technology in Microsoft's mobility division, said that some employees did an "unofficial test where someone drove around Lake Sammamish and found more than 200 open-access points," meaning at least 200 homes with Wi-Fi networks, were unprotected. That means anyone with a laptop and software that can sniff out Wi-Fi networks could drive by and piggyback access to the Internet.

Wehrs said they mapped their findings but wouldn't share the information.A new law in town: Miller Nash, a law firm with offices in Seattle, Vancouver, Wash., and Portland, announced that its Web site took first place in a national legal-marketing contest, elbowing out 50 other law firm Web sites in a competition held by the Legal Marketing Association.

What clinched the prize? The ability to chat live with a member of the Miller Nash's client-services department.

The nominees for Webby Awards, the Oscars of the online world, were announced last week. Local nominees include Amazon.com for Best Practices and Commerce categories, Popcap Games for the Games, Redmond-based Lifeclinic.com for Health.

All work and play: Nintendo is taking its job search nationwide for summer video-game testers, to be called "Nintendo Street Team." Eight members will be chosen from six markets and treated to "48-hour Nintendo Boot Camp," also known as employee orientation, and share their experience with the world via job diaries, popularity polls, online chats, bios and photographs posted on the Web.

The "Street Team" employees will work only Fridays through Sundays visiting concerts, malls and summer fairs in their hometowns. Only one lucky employee will be allowed to keep his or her job at the end of the summer. The company did not disclose salary or benefits, other than getting to wear Game Boy Advance jumpsuits, which have several handheld game machines wired to the suits.

Bugging out: To celebrate the completion of its software version 4.0, Seattle wireless-software developer ViAir held a bug bash, a hunt for software bugs before the software is released. Employees were split into four teams: "Smoove Jazzie Gs" (mascot: Kenny G), "Metal Heavies" (mascot: Kiss), "Disco Dancers" (mascot: John Travolta) and "Punk Rawk Flawk" (Rancid). The person who found the most bugs was awarded the "Stuffed Baboon Bug Bash Mask of Victory."

Woe is Bellevue: Out-of-work software programmer/Web developer Mark Toews last week decided he had enough. Toews spent the week holding a sign "Will Code for Food" at various office buildings in hope of attracting job leads.

Toews said he received several leads in downtown Seattle and on the Microsoft campus, but left Bellevue abruptly Friday after being told by three separate people to "go home."

The gall!

On the record

Partnerships: Myrio, a Kirkland developer of software for digital TV, is bundling RealNetworks' RealPlayer with its interactive software.

New products: Seattle-based WatchGuard introduced Firebox Vclass firewall appliances for large companies.

Download, a column of news bits, observations and miscellany, is gathered by The Seattle Times technology staff. We can be reached at 206-464-2265 or by e-mail at biztech@seattletimes.com.