Oh, lay off Arlington. I grew up there; it's not all like the Clarendon Grill. Also, Common Grounds is literally across the street from the Clarendon Metro. Oh, and Yahoo claims that the Java Shack -- also in Clarendon -- offers wifi for $7 a day (http://mobile.yahoo.com/wifi/search?hsid=40188). Come to think of it, Dremo's offers it too (for free), although what with it being a bar (and possibly not open during the day) I have no idea if anyone actually uses it.

Couple corrections/addenda: Murky VA no longer offers sandwiches, and for that matter I've not seen a smoothie made since their conversion from Common Grounds. Still a fine place, though. Coffee and espresso has improved muchly under the new management.

Also, it's worth noting that the wireless at Love Cafe is out constantly, marring an otherwise lovely spot to surf and nosh.

Murky Coffee, by the way, has by far the best coffee in DC.

Another for the list: Sparky's Espresso Cafe, on 14th St NW just north of R St. I've been by it several times but never tried it.

Sparky's is good, and has the advantage (over all the others above besides Tryst, as far as I know) of serving booze. However: the music is always too loud, and seating is uncomfortable for groups of more than three.

For those whose stomping grounds trend a bit further north, the excellent Mayorga Coffee Roasters location in Silver Spring (near the intersection of Georgia Ave. and East-West Highway) offers free wifi. And all the Starbucks have that T-mobile jazz.

Here's a great site listing a bunch of wifi hotspots in the area: wi-fihotspotlist.com/browse/us/2000231/2013271/

Actually, KARMA at 19th & I - NW has the best coffee (no wireless, however).

UVa grads will be happy to learn that Greenberrys now has franchises and company stores in the metro DC area (mostly on the Virginia store. I believe wireless is free. Good coffee too!

FYI - the Warehouse Cafe on 7th Street also has free wi-fi. It's a nice place.

Kabob Palace on Eads (just of 23rd) in Crystal City has free wi-fi, and I think St. Elmo's Coffee Pub on Mt. Vernon in Del Ray has it as well.

College Perk in (northern) College Park has free wireless. They have great quesadillas.

New Deal Cafe in (old) Greenbelt has free wireless. In fact, the wireless is free in Roosevelt Center, though it's been too cold to sit outside and use it (in my opinion).

Tryst recently announced that it's going to be turning off their WiFi after 8:30pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

windows cafe at first and rhode island nw has free wifi.

Rappahannock Coffee (http://www.kyycoffeeinc.com/), on Columbia Pike in Arlington (a block from the original Bob & Edith's), has free wireless WiFi and Ethernet. They also have live music on many Friday evenings.

Sparky's is great, but the WiFi is not free.

The coffee at Java Shack tastes like dirt on top of the wireless not being free. Avoid at all costs. The word "Java" went out of style quite some time ago too.

Mocha Hut, a new coffee place in the Ellington Apartment building on U and 13th, has free wi-fi, okay coffee, good muffins and breakfast/lunch items.

Tryst is not no longer a wi-fi spot on the weekend - their T-1 is off starting Friday evening till Sunday night. Too bad.

Hey, did you ever make it to Murky when they were starting out on Wisconsin in Georgetown? Charming little place. There wasn't even standing room for even three customers at a time, not two if someone was overly large or carrying something sizable. But the coffee was as excellent then as it is now.

But my real reason for comment is to talk about Mayorga, in Silver Spring. The actually space inside Mayorga can't be beat. There is tons of space and nice, comfortable chairs. There is also a quiet room. It is a short hike from the metro. I am not going to vouch for their coffee. It is decent, but not my personal favorite. The wi-fi works really well, and during the day it is mostly people on laptops you will see. You can get a really good sandwhich for lunch if you order well.

It can get loud at night, though, as they often have live band or poetry performances. Also, I think there is a discount for coffee or something if you go see a movie at the AFI Silver Docs theatre before you go.

I'm at Big Hunt right now typing this on their wifi. Not the fastest, and I happen to be the only one on a Sat night (yeah, I'm a serious geek) but the good beers & tunes help. Their wifi runs through the Internet jukebox system & its free.

Woops, just remembered that Wonderland Ballroom, at 13th and Kenyon NW also has Wifi. Can you sense a theme to my free wifi knowledge? Yes, I drunk email often.

St. Elmo's Coffee Pub does indeed offer free WiFi: http://www.stelmoscoffeepub.com/ Usually you can find a quiet spot late afternoons. And if you come in the mornings you can find a spot and camp out as long as you make a purchase. Very friendly staff with a wide selection of breakfast and lunch items.

You can't seriously mock Arlington when it has the best coffeehouse (Murky) in the entire metro area and is the only place that reminds me of my native Seattle. When I moved here I expected DC would have tons of great coffeehouses, and have been severely disappointed - coffee is usually terrible, baristas don't have a clue (might as well visit the automation line at Starbucks) and atmosphere is terrible - some combination of no couches/comfy chairs and bad music (like top 40). I was particularly disappointed by the coffee at Love Cafe, but their bedhead pastry was good. Tryst has excellent coffee but it's not really a coffeehouse since it has wait staff and whatever you order requires a tip, and besides is ridiculously busy at all hours.

Caribou offers 1 hour of free wifi to everyone, and you can get a little code from the barista when you get your coffee to extend that for another hour.