One thing I certainly miss about Seattle is the abundance of amazing coffee shops with free WiFi. Even when I had an office, I never missed the opportunity to camp out with my laptop at spots like Bauhaus or Vivace and get some work done among the hustle and bustle of the city.Now that I don't have an office -- the world is my office -- I have occassion to spend even more time coffee shop and airport hopping.
Unfortunately, not all cities are as coffee or WiFi-friendly as Seattle. I find myself spending more and more time at Starbucks, in neighborhoods where fewer and fewer coffee houses cater to laptop toting folk like me. In fact, it even feels like some of my favorite LA coffee shops intentionally withhold the WiFi!
So today I caved and bought a new toy. It's a tri-band 3G (UMTS/HSDPA) and quad-band GPRS/EDGE ExpressCard, and so far, I absolutely love it. Coverage appears decent, and speed certainly seems fast enough to surf/work. At around $50-$60 for the device (after rebate) and another $50-$60/month for the dedicated line of service, it might seem a little pricey. But hey, compared to a lease on office space, I'd say it's a fair bargain. ;-)
