Peg Leg's is latest to offer wi-fi
BY B.J. DAVIS Gulf Breeze News bjdavis@gulfbreezenews.com

Paul Stefon/Gulf Breeze News Jaine Parr of Gulf Breeze enjoys the great view of Lafitte Cove behind Peg Leg Pete's on Pensacola Beach along with the ability to surf the web using the restaurant's new free wireless access.

In addition to award-winning seafood and a true Pensacola Beach restaurant atmosphere, Peg Leg Pete's now offers wireless Internet.

"I set up the webcam at Peg's, and in order to get it to work, I had to install a router so that I could access it from home. This router just so happened to have wireless, which I disabled," said network administrator Grant Corbin. "Later on I got the idea that perhaps Peg Leg's could offer some sort of wireless internet. Tourists come to the beach and either stay in a hotel, motel, condo or rented home. Of course the hotels usually offer some sort of Internet connection, but the condos and rented homes most likely do not have any sort of Internet connection."

Corbin said that this day and age, individuals are more reliant on the Internet to stay connected to friends and family, and this is definitely evident when those individuals go on vacation.

When diners log on, they are welcomed with a disclaimer.

"I installed a third party software on the wireless device so that I could block file sharing and [pornography]. It also had some wireless features," said Corbin. Corbin mentions that web surfers using the wireless, or "wifi," should still be cautious because the wireless network is wide open.

"People just need to be aware that wireless, even if encrypted, is not the safest thing to work on for secure sensitive information," said Corbin. "It is however perfectly fine to surf the web, check news, send and receive email, send pictures to family and friends, etc."

Other than a handful of Pensacola Beach hotels, wireless access at restaurants is a new concept. Owner Scott Amberson is pleased with the new feature of wireless Internet for diners.

"I think it's great to be one of the first restaurants on Pensacola Beach to offers such an amenity. It's a nice addition that locals and tourists alike will be able to utilize and enjoy," said Amberson.

The wireless is still in the early stages and improvements are expected to continue.

"I've learned quite a bit from this and will continue, too, as I work on improving it," said Corbin. Corbin is a Pensacola Beach resident and is the webmaster of pensacolabeachtoday. com, a website for locals and visitors to learn about the beach. Corbin recently installed a webcam at Peg Leg Pete's that can be viewed from the website along with several others.