Posted on 03/04/2007 4:29:27 AM PST by jalisco555
WI-FI service is quickly becoming the air-conditioning of the Internet age, enticing customers into restaurants and other public spaces in the same way that cold “advertising air” deliberately blasted out the open doors of air-conditioned theaters in the early 20th century to help sell tickets.
Today, hotspots are the new cold spots.
Starbucks became the most visible Wi-Fi-equipped national chain when it began offering the service in 2002. Now, at more than 5,100 stores, Starbucks offers Internet access “from the comfort of your favorite cozy chair.”
Before you pop open your laptop, however, you need to pull out your credit card. Starbucks and its partner, T-Mobile, charge $6 an hour for the “pay as you go” plan. Day passes or monthly subscriptions are available but can be used only at Starbucks stores and other T-Mobile partners like Borders bookstores.
McDonald’s offers Wi-Fi in more than 8,000 of its 13,700 stores in the United States, giving it wider reach than even Starbucks, and it also charges for access. McDonald’s doesn’t charge as much: it asks $2.95 for two hours. You can’t apply your T-Mobile subscription there, however, because McDonald’s works with other partners.
Metering and charging for a service, of course, is the prerogative of any business owner in a free market. One will always find entrepreneurs willing to try new ways to profit by erecting tollbooths in front of facilities that had been freely accessible.
In the past, this took the form of coin-operated locks on bathroom stalls. (You may have first encountered these at a moment when you were least ready to praise the inventor’s ingenuity.)
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
All of their salads, soups and especially soup in a bread bowl are good. Their version of a thin crust pizza (forget what it's called-it's available after 4 PM) is also good. Their "you pick two" combos are also pretty good-bowl of soup and a small salad or 1/2 sandwich.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,129127/article.html
Free WiFi can be dangerous.
Their Turkey Artichoke panini is v. good. So are most of their other hot sandwiches. The Vegetarian Black Bean soup is good, as are their other soups. The best bang for your buck is the "you-pick-two" where you get any two of soup, salad, or half a sandwich plus a side for $6.39, I've never had their coffee, but my husband likes it. Their tea is too frou-frou. All in all, it's a safe lunch bet. Relatively healthy ingredients, but still calorie heavy.
As for their bakery side-- meh, very average considering how much they charge. Their sweet bagels are nice, though, and they'll slice them into conveniently snackable bagel chips if you ask nicely. Oh, and their Asiago bread and Cinnamon raisin bread are evil. Eeee-vil, I tell you, especially toasted and buttered.
Do they have breakfast? Right now I'm thinking about heading out to the Cracker Barrel, their breakfast with the steak and the apple stuff sounds good.
LOL! But electricity in the airport is something that the airport has to supply and we all share and which is billed to us in our ticket price through airport fees. If people are willing to squat on the floor next to the cleaning equipment (that's what they use those outlets for) and quietly read their e-mail or watch a movie for five hours while their flight is delayed, the airports are probably already saving on crowd control costs...
I didn't post the link. Not guilty, your honor.
If they're charging you 2 buck for 20 minutes you need to put up solar panels!
They do baked egg souffles, but I've never tried them. The asiago bagel is good, but the others are either too dry or too sweet for breakfast, IMO. Their danishes, muffins, scones, are just average. Get thee to a Bob Evans!
Another good bet is to drive around until you find a family-owned type restaraunt with a packed parking lot. You will be assured of a fantastic breakfast.
One would think. But it's been a long time since air travel put the customer first.
The Panera's near us, offer free Wi-Fi and I love their panini sandwiches. It's a much better deal than Starbucks, especially when you are not a coffee drinker.
Their coffee's not bad, either. And being a coffeeholic that's important. I never linger at Starbuck's, just get my caffeine and leave.
Yes, they do a big business at breakfast time.
The main problem with WIFI access being free is not that you're using WIFI it's that the people usually buy one cup of coffee or whatever and sit and take a table up for hours.
You're paying for taking up a table more than using WIFI.
I always get chicken salad on a croissant without sprouts and avacodo extra mayo and tomato and a bread bowl of cream of chicken wild rice soup.
Actually thanks. I've been debating what to get for lunch. Panera is right across the street from church.
Sometimes before church depending on which mass we go to we get bagels with spread (hubby gets vegetable spread I get plain) and orange juice.
Today we're going to 11 oclock mass so we'll get lunch afterwards.
Wifi is not a life or death need. Then don't use it if you don't want to pay.
Neither is air conditioning. People lived for millenia without it. But I'd rather sit in an air conditioned theater. And I'd rather go to Panera over Starbucks.
Geez...I thought this was about wireless broadband but the thread has turned into a Cooking Channel show on where to gget the best breakfast...
Just get a Aircard for your notebook.
I spend $50 a month for my Aircard (Cingular 3G network) and never worry about a connection anywhere. Even though I have a LAN connection at home, I still use my aircard on my PC....
No additional charges anywhere...not in hotels...airports ...or coffee shops...
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