As I write this, I'm in a coffee shop on my laptop, and I am trying to connect to the free wifi network they offer.

Every time I select their network from the wifi applet drop down menu, it connects for a second and then disconnects.

At the same time, I have my Android phone with me, and it connects to the coffee shop's network without problem. There are a couple of people around me also using the same network with no issues. I asked the staff to check and as far as they can tell there is no problem with their router or anything.

I have tried rebooting, but it has not made a difference. I have double and triple checked that I am using the correct WEP password.

As an added wrinkle, when I connect to another network, it seems to connect (although I can't use them because they are paid gateway services).

So I'm able to ask this question now because I have tethered my laptop to my phone, but it's slow and a workaround, not a solution.

All indications are that it's a problem with my computer against this one network. Why would that be and how can I fix it?