As a working mom, I have my little iBook with me a lot. I carry it along so when I have a mommy break and find myself with free WiFi, I get on and do a quick email check. Since I work from home, most of my work-related communications is done through email. It makes it convenient to stay in touch.
I can break away from activity books and Play-Doh for a five-minute email fix and it keeps my projects moving along. When I have serious mommy downtime at night, I do the bulk of my work.
Using WiFi out of the house is so easy and can sometimes provide the email fix I need when I am out for hours at a time. When Panera Bread opened a café near my house I thought, "Hey, a new place to grab a healthy salad and bowl of soup". What I got was a lot more. Not only could I get that salad, I could get a really healthy grilled cheese sandwich for my kids with organic milk and free WiFi!
Access Fees
Many places don't charge for the service, they have it to entice people like me to choose their establishment over another, and it works. If you haven't looked into it, check out your favorite coffee house or café and hopefully you will find it there.
Network Security
You may have heard that these public networks are not secure. There is definite legitimacy in that. Most will tell you that their network is as secure as any open public access network can be. Just be sure that if you are sending confidential data that you are on an SSL-encrypted web page.
Equipment
Don't be overwhelmed by equipment. As I said before, it's a breeze. All you need is a laptop computer or PDA, a standard Internet browser, and a WiFi (wireless) Ethernet card. In most cases, the card comes built into your laptop, but if not, you can easily install one in the PCMCIA slot on the side of your computer. If you have purchased your laptop recently, it probably has everything you need built in and will actually alert you as it sees an available WiFi network.
All current Apple laptops have built-in wireless antennas so you just turn the computer on and your computer will find a WiFi network for you. However, if you are on an older Mac, you will need to install an Apple Airport card.
Connectivity
Once you have your WiFi enabled computer, just open a web browser and most locations that provide free WiFi will greet you with a welcome page. There is often a Terms of Use agreement and once you click "accept", you are ready to surf the web, it's that easy.
So, whether you find yourself in need of a quick email fix or a longer WiFi lunch, check out your local coffee shop or café and you will probably find the connection you are looking for.