Top 10 Wireless Internet cafes in Ann Arbor for 2006

From the end-of-year-lists department:
Here's a list of the top 10 places in Ann Arbor to go with a laptop and get some work done, posted by Ed Vielmetti

1. Eastern Accents, Fourth Avenue downtown. Tea, bi bim bop, buns, and window seats with a nice view of the street. This is the home of our weekly Thursday a2b3 meeting.

2. Caribou Coffee, Stadium and Packard. Big south-facing windows look out and catch some of the winter sun, if there is any; in the summer time, pull down the shades so you can see. Now free wifi - it was pay only when it originallly started. Conveniently near home.

3. Sweetwaters Kerrytown. Comfy chairs near the east window and near power outlets. There's a lot of people around most of the time. Watch out for the Community High lunch rush. Wifi is relatively fast.

4. Espresso Royale Caffe, Main St. Cavernous, usually quiet, no windows. Find a seat along the walls to be near an outlet. A big round table is a good work area for groups.

5. Mallett's Creek Branch Library, Stone School and Eisenhower. The reading room has magazines, a fireplace, a view out the window and power outlets at every seat. Bonus: a few extra Ann Arbor District Library databases (including a geneology database) that's available online only in the building.

6. Panera Bread (multiple locations). Free coffee refills, decent if unspectacular sandwiches, and good connections. Their Sonicwall firewall can be irritating. Perfect place to land if you're traveling or if your rural western Washtenaw home doesn't have broadband.

7. Washtenaw Wash, Washtenaw Ave near Golfside. 24 hour laundry, big washers for your comforters and quilts, and good wifi. Print a $1 coupon from their web site and get 4 quarters to spend on your first wash.

8. Cafe Ambrosia, Maynard St. Graduate student hangout, power outlets at every seat, always busy. Saul and I were Sunday regulars for a long time when he was little. One of the best events bulletin boards in town if you're of a certain age. Check out the pictures of Ed and Mike and their kids. (Also in Evanston, IL.)

9. Detroit Metro Airport, Concourse A. $8/day (ouch) gets you Boingo service, ideal if you have a long layover or if you need to get some work done before the flight takes off. Power outlets are relatively plentiful in the main concourse, but if you need to get online in baggage claim and need power look for seats by the exit doors.

10. Cafe Verde, Fourth Ave next to the People's Food Coop. Fair trade coffee, local and organic vegetables, hot bar and salad bar, and yummy pastries. Note that you can buy fruit by the piece at the coop and bring it next door, so a $0.27 banana can get you in for some work time.

Note that this list is bound to change for 2007 depending on the success of Wireless Washtenaw. If their free service works well enough, you should be able to get online from a lot more places that don't have their own wifi links, and the idea of a specific "internet cafe" might change. Remains to be seen...