The Rev. Phil Taylor does his best work nestled in the corner booth at the Panera Bread outlet here. The pastor has a traditional work space at his church in Troy, N.Y., with a large desk, chairs for meetings, a filing cabinet, shelves of religious books, pictures of his kids and a door for privacy. But when it comes to big projects, he hunkers down at a cafe where the distractions are minimal, the coffee is close and the Wi-Fi is free. More than 315,000 public Wi-Fi locations exist across the country to plug in outside the office. While hotels make up the majority, 15 percent of those hot spots are cafes like Panera, according to JiWire, an advertising company that focuses on marketing specifically through Wi-Fi networks. While in the cafes, 85 percent of wireless Internet users connect to the Web at least once a week, and 68 percent stay connected for more than one hour. The best part of logging on? More often than not, you don't have to pay to surf. About 55 percent of America's hot spots are like Taylor's favorite Panera location: free, according to JiWire, meaning no-cost wireless Internet. Critics say free Wi-Fi at cafes and restaurants may encourage squatting. Cafe owners and managers say that while that's possible, offering free Wi-Fi is good business. 'We are in the customer-service business selling bagels,' says Ken Greene, the CEO and owner of Flour City Bagels, the Bruegger's franchisee that owns 33 stores in upstate New York. 'We are not in the bagel business selling customer service.' If you're considering using a cafe as your regular workspace, check out these tips from Om Malik of Gigaom.com: -- Favor a single location. It makes it easier for your contacts to drop in for meetings. -- Learn the names of most of the baristas and take time to have a conversation with them. It helps build a human connection. -- Buy coffee or something at least three times a day. -- Tip generously -- up to $10 a day will ensure that folks at the store don't view you as a freeloader and a pest. -- Don't spread out your stuff and take up too much space. -- Invest in great noise-canceling headphones (to counter the loud background music). -- Keep your mobile phone on vibrate and leave the store for conversations. -- Make sure the number of people attending a meeting is fewer than four so you can circle a single table. 