I assume by free wireless, you are referring to
legal free wireless (shake your head yes -- trust me on this one). The best thing to do is to check out out Google and several of the free wireless access search sites such as
wififreespot.com. Other good places to look are Panera Bread and Schlotzsky's Deli. They have been rolling out free Wifi access the last couple months.
As far as your other questions -- poke around the site and learn. There is several years of information here to read and digest -- and remember the search function is always your best friend.
Bill