Internet access is insanely expensive. FedEx Kinko’s charges $0.20 per minute. A coffee shop on Denny charges $0.14 per, but the first 30 minutes is free with a drink. This other copy place in Capitol Hill charges $0.10 per, which is the best I’ve found. I think I spent $24 yesterday for computer rental and internet access. True, I had more tasks than normal–from changing my address to getting my credit report to uploading pictures of Heather’s twenty-eight-clawed, polydactyl, skittle-picking-up, opposable-thumbed cat Darwin (only managed one, the connection at FedEx was SOOO slow).
At these prices, if you can’t afford the upfront cost of a computer, you simply can’t afford to access the internet. I’ve read about the "Digital Divide," but I never quite undestood the economics until computer-less and homeless in Seattle.
Go to the public library! Most access is free. Usually you have to bring only the semblance of residency to get a card. The letter that assigns you to the executive residence with the greaat view. Bring the proof you’ll have a job in town. Of course that only may be good in Redmond. But try it.