This is worse.

Disturbing story from the Kansas City Star about a homicide last summer.  Apparently the victim was sitting in his car in a restaurant parking lot using the establishment's Wi-Fi (either after hours or while only the drive-through was open) when he was accosted by a robber apparently attracted by the glow of his laptop's screen.  The victim resisted and was fatally shot; the stolen computer was eventually tracked down and suspects arrested.

While my sympathies are totally with the victim and his loved ones, I feel this should serve as a cautionary tale.  If you wouldn't feel safe walking alone or stopping your car somewhere at a certain time, you probably shouldn't whip out a laptop then and there either.  I imagine this poor fellow didn't have access at home for some reason, which is why he was out and about at that hour.  Anyone else in that same situation ought to consider that cheap dialup (or free dialup from NetZero, if you're running Windows and can get by with ten hours a month) is still around and can serve as a stopgap for your at-home hours.  Don't have a landline phone at home anymore?  Check with your cellular provider to see what they offer with regard to getting either your phone or both it and your laptop online, or perhaps look into the growing number of prepaid/pay-as-you-go mobile broadband options.

Incidentally, I can't think of any 24-hour venues that are unwired and offer inside service around the clock, which may be safer from a crime-prevention standpoint.  Can anyone else?