Spartan Daily

New SJSU Wi-Fi Plus app makes for easier log-in

Spartan Daily, Spartan Daily

The constant, familiar window that pops-up every time a student wishes to use the Internet on the SJSU campus can now be easily avoided for those using the Android operating system, thanks to a newly developed application called "SJSU Wi-Fi Plus."

“I was motivated to write the app because I had been given an Android phone that had no data plan, but did have Wi-Fi,” said Scot Close, creator of the application. “I could use it on campus, but I got tired of having to enter my ID and password every time I wanted to connect.”

According to Close, web developer at SJSU, the application encrypts the password and saves it in the phone, so the next time that person connects to the SJSU wireless network they can log in by pressing just one button.

“This would definitely save me some time logging onto the campus Wi-Fi,” health science major Bob Jackson said. “I might have to look into purchasing the application.”

The application is simple: enter your user name, usually your student ID number from your Tower Card, and your SJSUOne password. Your information is saved for next time, reducing the time it takes to login. 

“The main benefit of the app is that it lets you log in to the network easily, without having to type your ID and password,” Close said. “It would be useful for someone with an Android tablet that doesn't have 3G.”

When a person is trying to connect to the Internet from a coffee shop or the bus, they usually open a web browser and try to go to a webpage.

Then, instead of loading the page they were trying to open, a different page pops up forcing them to log in or click a button agreeing to network terms. If you only want to use Twitter, or another app on your phone or tablet, you don't necessarily want to do that, according to Close.

“The application will automatically open your web browser to the page where you can connect to the Wi-Fi network,” Close said. “You still need to click the button, but it saves you a little time.”

The application itself is available for purchase on the Android phone for 99 cents.

In addition to creating SJSU Wi-Fi Plus, Close developed the SJSU Class Finder, an application that allows students to search for open classes by subject, GE area or what days of the week the class meets.

“Last year, I created a paid version of (the Class Finder) that had other features, like showing classroom locations on a map,” Close said.

The creation of any application can be time-consuming and tedious before the final product is ready to be unveiled.

“If you don’t have any programming background, you would have to learn that as the first step,” said Patrick Roteman, secretary of the Computer Science Club. “That can take anywhere from a really short amount of time, where you’re learning as you do it, or it can take you a couple of months depending on how quickly you learn and how much time you devote to it.”

Individual members in the Computer Science Club develop applications on their own or engage in group projects for certain classes.

“One of the classes was working on was a website that the whole computer science department would use to get projects from small contractors, like the police or fire department,” Roteman said. "These departments would hire students to develop a website, specifically for getting people together."