You may have heard that Nintendo recently released the first games for the Nintendo DS that support gaming over a wifi connection. Unfortunately, because of the way our wireless authentication works at AADL, wifi devices require a web browser to be registered. This obviously shuts out the DS.

The solution was to build an advanced wifi management tool into our website that allows patrons to keep track of their wireless devices. This service is available only to registered cardholders and does not replace the existing registration process. It is an additional tool.

The existing process required users to associate the device with our SSID, open up a web browser where they are redirected to an authentication page and prompted to enter their library card number or guest access number (they get that from the staff in our computer labs). If you register or have registered using that method, your device will still show up on the wifi management page which looks like this:

You can then update the device description so you can easily identify which device is which:

The Nintendo DS is a great example of a whole new breed of non-traditional wireless devices that are coming to market. We can expect to see wifi VoIP phones, watches, cell phones, PDAs, other gaming platforms, you name it and they won’t have web browsers or any way to authenticate with our system. They shouldn’t be shut-out from using our wireless service.

If your library has open access without any authentication, these devices probably won’t pose a problem. But if you do have authentication in place, you may run into issues. Ask your IT departments if you’re not sure.