Got free wi-fi?

So I figured that the best way to kick this thing off would be to head out into the Village and environs and post from a free wi-fi hotspot, since the MV is laptop-enabled and all. I was aware of the free wi-fi over at Vermont Hills Coffee, but was wondering if there are any other wi-fi spots in the Village.

I hit up Wi-Fi Freespot dot Com to check it out, and found out that both Sip D'Vine and (surprise) Renner's Bar and Grill both claim to have wi-fi, along with the aformentioned Vermont Hills Coffee. Vermont Hills' website is "under construction" but the home page has their hours, and really - what else do you need from a coffee shop website?

My desires were thwarted however, when I arrived at Vermont Hills and found them closed for the day! They're normally open on Sundays, but must have planned ahead to thwart the Villager on this particular day. I think I will go back and check it out Monday morning though, since I must have a cup of coffee to start the day and making it at home when I'm home alone, which I am this week, is just too much work for one.

Of course, the Starbucks in the Village also has wi-fi, but it's not free. They have a T-Mobile Hotspot which requires a subscription. Now, I've used T-Mobile's hotspot service all over hte country and it's great, but unless your office is paying the bill, the MV believes that at least in Portland, there's simply no need to PAY for wireless access.

I'm sure there are other wfi-fi spots, and also sure that if I were to take a quick wardrive around the village streets I'd find a number of personal wireless routers. Most should be WEP-encrypted like mine, but in reality you could probably camp on quite a few.

This by the way is a great site for locating wi-fe free access: Metro Free Fi dot Com. The others I have used are Wi-Fi Freespot dot Com and there's also the Personal Telco site, but I'm not linking to it, 'cause it confuses me and also requires registration.

So I thought I'd be starting out with a review of Vermont Hills Coffee, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Until then, if you know of any other Village-area free wi-fi access points, please drop me an email and let me know the details!