Coffee Vs. Wi-Fi: Pick a Side

Highly technical computer gizmos - we love to say gizmos - are usually considered nerdy. According to WCVBTV, coffee geeks are fighting back against computer nerds in order to reclaim coffee shops from Arlington to Cambridge.

You could be in Starbucks or a java joint like Barismo in Arlington and there are college-age people nursing a lukewarm drink as they waste time on the Internet work hard on a laptop computer. This trend is hurtng business, some shopowners say, and they're reacting to it.

"We don't let people use wireless during our busiest times. They don't care whether you are with young children, or your elderly grandmother. They are not going to give up their seat," said Guss Rancatore, who owns Toscanini's in Cambridge.

Channel 5's report also revealed the innate nerdiness of coffee people. Two quotes:

• "The holy grail is stable brewing temperature," said Justin McRae of Hi-Rise Cafe in Cambridge.

• "He's settling the grounds, then making a small divot. Now he's making concentric pours so it radiates outward, " said Barismo's co-owner Jamie Van Schyndel.

Regardless, it's still pretty easy to find cheap Wi-Fi. Just don't ask us to get too technical into how Wi-Fi works. We'll always accept free coffee, though.