There's a reason they call them "drive-bys," you know...

Panera Bread
#15, Legends Shopping Center, KCK

802.11g
SSID: PANERA

Not bad as Panera locations go, what with conveniently located power outlets along the bottom of some of the booth seating. The one thing I'd quibble with-and I hope it's just something users will run into here and not systemwide, given that I don't stop at Panera as much as I once did-is the clickthrough page. Oh, I don't mind the page itself; it's good to be reminded not to take up a table for four with my gear, etc. It's that in order to click through the page, I have to enable JavaScript and reload it.

Savvy Internetters know that allowing websites to run scripts should be done with discretion, especially in today's environment with its emphasis on Web-based browser exploits delivering malware via compromised servers. JavaScript or its Internet Explorer equivalents should be turned off except when visiting a known, trusted site which requires them, then turned back off once that site is left. Yeah, it's a hassle, but in a decade and a half of surfing with browsers ranging from ye olde text-only Lynx (come on, oldtimers, how many of you remember that one?) to the latest version of Firefox, I've never fallen victim to a web-delivered exploit. It's the user's choice whether to be safe or sorry, but Panera really ought to be helping the odds here. It's possible for you to provide a clickthrough without client-side scripting, and you should.

Oh, and while I'm here, I was hoping I'd be able to deliver kudos to Books-A-Million for taking me up on my suggestion of a few years back that they offer free WI-Fi..but unfortunately, the network behind the open access point my finder saw carrying their corporate name is only free for members of their loyalty club, and play-for-pay for everyone else.

Great-I put my privacy at even more risk and allow my mailbox to be stuffed with even more dead-tree detritus in return for maybe a few cents off on the few books I buy each year, and however much-or little-"free" surfing I can shoehorn into my visit.

No, thanks. Ma Bell will pick up the tab for me at Barnes and Noble, and they're not as far out of my way as you are.