Omaha WiFi

Caffeine Dreams

2006-04-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

I'm blogging from Caffeine Dreams, loacted on 4524 Farnam Street. This cafe is quite the popular hangout being situated near the local college and hospital campuses and offering free wifi. Local clubs and groups can often be seen here holding their meetings. The unique brick building was a burned and abondoned bar, but was turned into its coffee shop form in 2000. The interior is open and eclectic with free form metal tables and high chairs throughout. Local artwork and photography decorate the brick walls. A section of the cafe has a few couches for those affraid of heights and prefer to sit closer to the ground. This cafe is unique in that it also has an outdoor wooden deck. Another plus is that they are open late, Friday and Saturday until 1:00 am. Perfect for those night owls.

Music can vary. I have left in the past because I couldn't stand the music blaring over the speakers. It is often quite loud and not to my taste. The food is nothing to brag about and a friend of mine who drinks a lot of coffee said their coffee is mediocre at best. Their iced mocha ($3.08) tastes like other mochas in the omaha area. Menus can be viewed online.

I had a little trouble connecting the to Caffeine Dreams network at first. It first connected with limited or no connectivity, then tried forever to acquire a network IP. After about 3 minutes, my computer connected automatically to the network with an excellent signal. The router is Wireless G enabled. Connection speed is the best I've tested so far at a whopping average of 1.2 Mbps (970kbps lowest, 1.4Mbps highest).

Overall, if you're looking for a place to chat with friends or hold a club meeting or doing a lot of surfing, Caffeine dreams is great. However, plan to go elsewhere for food and bring a good set of insulating headphones.

Address: 4524 Farnnam St
Phone: 932-2803
Hours: M-Th 6:30am - 11:00pm; F-Sat 6:30 - 1:00am; Sun 8:00am - 11:00pm
Credit Cards: V, MC
Connection speed: 1.2Mbps average

Jave N' Ice

2006-04-14T13:13:00.000-05:00

Since the last two posts were at places that I frequent regularly, I thought I would try a place that I had never gone before. Today, I'm blogging at Java N' Ice, located in Rockport Village on 108th and Center. I've always drove past it, wondering what they had to offer, and when I noticed they have free WiFi, I decided to come and check it out.

As the name implies, this shop sells coffee and ice cream, an addicting combination. The gelato display next to the cash register was tempting me as I ordered my 12oz iced mocha latte ($2.29) - but I resisted. The store used to be a Baskin Robbins, but has since switched owners, switched ice cream brands (Ashby's) and added coffee (locally roasted MJ Java) and other desserts. The space is nice and open, but is smaller than it looks from the outside. There are around eight sitting areas, each with 2-4 chairs and a counter along the window to sit at. The sitting counter and the 4 tables along the walls have outlets. There are also 2 small club chairs and a stand-up piano in the corner, if you wish to jam out Chris Martin style while eating ice cream, I guess. As I'm writing this, two boys are setting up to jam out on their acoustic guitars. I can respect a local business supporting the local young musicians.

The place is clean and well kept. The hard wooden chairs, however, make it hard to see myself staying here for more than an hour or two. The music over the speakers is pleasant, an upbeat jazz mix, heard overtop of the constant hum of the large ice cream freezers. The owner did mention to me that he's replacing the ice blender with a quieter one, which, quite honestly scares the crap out of me in at some coffee shops. I'm glad that they are being attentive to noise levels needed for a pleasant studying/working/surfing environment.

Signal strength is excellent, but my computer connected to a random linksys router first and I had to switch over the JavaNIce network. Connection speed is 48 Mbps. 2wire's speed meter rates the connection an average of 113.5 kbps (lowest 84 kbps and highest is 147 kbps).

Overall, it was a pleasant stay. I'd come back again. BTW, I do recommend the gelato ice cream - I just couldn't resist.

Hours: M-Th 6:00am - 9:00pm; F 6:00am - 10:00pm; Sat 7:00am - 10:00pm; Sun 10:00am - 9:00am.
Phone: 399-2010
Address: 2812 S. 108th Street
Credit Cards: V, MC, D, AE
Connection speed: 113.5 kbps

Blue Line Coffee Cafe

2006-04-13T11:07:00.000-05:00

I'm currently blogging from Blue Line Coffee, located in the Dundee area. My fiance told me about this great cafe and gave me a little piece of her chocolate banana bread she bought there. "They have great coffee too - it's Fair Trade. And I think they have WiFi." From that instance, I was hooked. This is a very cool place to get caffeinated and surf the web. A very bohemianisque flavor exists here. The music is quite pleasant, XM satellite radio jazz. The prices are very reasonable. My usual order of a medium Mocha and 1/2 loaf of bread (this can constitute a meal) is under $6. They use Torani chocolate for the mocha which gives it a distinctive taste, setting it apart from mochas at other cafes. Service is excellent, no artificially perky attendants with green aprons asking you if you'd like to try their new jellybean flavor frappucino.

The crowd consists of locals, students, and professors. I feel smarter after hanging out here. Maybe it's because the owner used to be a professor of philosophy, two professors removed from the one who developed the big-bag theory. Yes, the one.

Come early, because space is limited, as are the electrical outlets. Connection speed is not bad, around 148kbps on average using 2wire's speed meter (highest was 205, lowest was 97). The router is wireless G enabled. Signal strength is excellent. My computer is setup to automatically connect to an available wireless network, and connected to a linksys router first, giving me low signal strenth. Be sure to switch over to the Blue Line network and you're set to surf.

Hours: M-F 6:45am-8:00pm; Sat 7:30am-8:00pm; Sun 8:ooam-6:00pm
Phone: 402-502-6707
Address: 4924 Underwood Ave. (google maps)
Credit Card: V, MC
Connection speed: 148kbps

Camille's Sidewalk Cafe - Lunchtime

2006-04-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

Just a quickie. I ate lunch at one of my favorite wifi joints in town, Camille's Sidewalk Cafe on 78th and Dodge (351 n 78th st). It has a decent selection of caffeinated drinks and various pastries, meals, and wraps - their Original Breakfast wrap and Zenergy wraps are worth getting. I enjoyed the BBQ chicken pizza today. I usually go in the morning, before the lunch crowd gets there. During lunchtime 12-1, the place is packed, and noisy. Most folks are the business crowd and moms with kids but you can spot the 2-3 students with their laptops in the corner or along the wall (the only place to plug in a power cord), trying desperately to block out all the comotion around them. All other times of the day, the place is pretty quite and makes for a pleasant surfing/studying envrionment.

Connection speed is good and steady. Signal strength is at the max and I've never lost a signal. Only once I wasn't able to connect to Camille's wifi and borrowed their neighbors, the Teasmith.

And of course, if you have anything to add, please leave a comment and share!

Welcome!

2006-04-11T15:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome fellow Omahaians. I am starting this blog (sorry, adding to the gazillion blogs already out there) to hopefully talk about and review Omaha coffee shops with free wi-fi. I spent some time last year in Boston and on my free time, I enjoyed hanging out at the coffee shops people watching and surfing the web. What helped me find the ones with wi-fi was this website which reviewed various coffee shops in Boston. So I came back to Omaha and thought, Omaha is a growing city with its fair share of coffee shops. Why not have one for people in Omaha? So here it is in all its glory.

Okay, I've got a wicked headache now and it's too hard to think of stuff to write. I've got to get coffee...