Reactively, a number of coffee shops and restaurants are turning themselves into Wi-Fi zones, allowing patrons the freedom to nibble and sip while they surf in public.

"That's the way society's moving - everything is done wireless now," says Symposium Cafe operations and training manager, Matt Whitehead.

Originally from Canada, Whitehead travels constantly with his job and embraces the fact that taking care of business via the World Wide Web is now a vital feature of his existence.

"For example, I've always done tele-banking though a 1-800-number, but now with the wireless technology, I switched all my banking online," he says. "It makes it a heck of a lot more convenient for traveling business people like myself."

Symposium has only been open for a month or two, and although they've done little to advertise as a Web-browsing domain, word of mouth has traveled fast because there aren't many alternatives in the Spartanburg.

"We have a lot of customers that realize we're a hotspot, come in find a nice little corner pull out the laptop, order dinner and get the job done," Whitehead says.

That's another benefit of the Wi-Fi age, Whitehead says. "Being able to conduct business meetings and conferences at the restaurant of your choosing - granted they provide you with a wireless network."

The Symposium Cafe
8161 Warren H. Abernathy Hwy., Spartanburg
864.208.0245
www.symposiumcafe.com