Many indie coffee cafes now restrict, or ban outright, the use of e-reading devices

RockdaMan · 02-12-2011, 04:45 AM

Crazy! But a nice piece of writing and a nicely expressed editorial.

Quote:

Many indie New York City cafes now heavily restrict, or ban outright, the use of Kindles, Nooks and iPads. Evidently, too many coffee shops in town have had their ambience wrecked when itinerant word processors with laptops turn the tables into office space. Sure, that phenomenon can be depressing — whether you’re a scornful lady who lunches or the nomadic freelancer who fields glares. And full-dress computers are perhaps too much personal furniture for cafes to accommodate. But banning devices the size of books, like Kindles and iPads, is going too far, and it’s anathema to the character and history of cafes.

Unwholesome things have always happened wherever people drink coffee together. They gossip and complain about powerful jerks; they read, write and scheme about their own comebacks. On the sidelines of those conversations — muttering, silently judging, chiming in — have always been loners who loiter with books and newspapers all day, ready to be recruited into conversation. This might come as hard news to would-be restaurateurs looking only to taste that sweet margin of coffee markup, but loiterers and readers must be part of the cafe equation. People who sit at bars are going to make out and brawl; people who sit in cafes are going to read and talk.

>SNIP!<

As for the fancy tech-unfriendly cafes that shut out writers and readers like infidels in Ottoman times, maybe they should just style themselves as restaurants, with tablecloths, silverware and full service. If you have to bus your own table, history teaches, you’re in a cafe — and you can read and write what you want.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/ma...er=rss&emc=rss

SlowRain · 02-12-2011, 06:46 AM

Maybe if some of these coffee shops didn't charge so much for a cup of coffee, people wouldn't have to sit there for hours on end just to get their money's worth (and I say that as someone who takes his coffee a little more seriously than the average person does).

But, if a paperback is okay, then an e-book reading device is okay, too.

jhempel24 · 02-12-2011, 07:04 AM

I'm glad I:

A.) Don't drink coffee

B.) Hate the coffee shop atmosphere, it's like hanging out in a Mac Store.

RockdaMan · 02-12-2011, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Hate the coffee shop atmosphere, it's like hanging out in a Mac Store.

WOW!

What does that mean?

tubemonkey · 02-12-2011, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

WOW!

What does that mean?

Probably something quite derogatory.

RockdaMan · 02-12-2011, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Probably something quite derogatory.

Yeah, I get that. I've spent time in both places, and I never seen any similarities between the two.

Kali Yuga · 02-12-2011, 08:15 AM

FYI, this isn't exactly "news" (tho' the article is new).

WSJ -- Laptop ban, 8/2009 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124950421033208823.html
NYT -- ebook readers http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/0...establishment/

Anyway.....

Though I am a techie and far from nostalgic, I am put off a bit that the patrons at my local cafe are staring intently at laptops, rather than reading or chatting with one another.

But, I don't support bans. If you don't want laptops, don't offer free wi-fi or outlets. Or tables perhaps.

RockdaMan · 02-12-2011, 08:48 AM

Luddites. As long as I'm reading and not working, playing games, or watching movies, how am I ruining the cafe shop experience?

Crowl · 02-12-2011, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Probably something quite derogatory.

Maybe it simply means there are a lot of macbooks and ipads at both places?

Personally, as long as these places indicate their policy clearly then that it fine with me, it just means that I know to go somewhere else to read my book and buy a coffee.

jerrywojo · 02-12-2011, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhempel24

I'm glad I:

A.) Don't drink coffee

B.) Hate the coffee shop atmosphere, it's like hanging out in a Mac Store.

How would you know to "hate" coffee shops if you don't drink coffee?

weird...

MrPLD · 02-12-2011, 09:00 AM

The problem really comes down to the lack of tables being turned, it's unprofitable and people walking past will see the place is already 'quite full' and walk on to the next location.

Exer · 02-12-2011, 09:05 AM

I don't drink coffee, but I play one on TV ... wait, wrong quote. I was going to say, I don't drink coffee at all, but ALL my friends do. Every single one of them, so I've seen the inside of just about every coffee shop and cafe in Alaska. Luckily the eReader-bias hasn't seemed to have migrated here yet. It always takes years for us to adopt the habits of you southern folk anyway.

Oh, and for the person who said cafes are like a Mac store, goodness, I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel like the only light in these shops is the soft ambient glow coming from the dozen or so Apple logos on the back of laptops.

RockdaMan · 02-12-2011, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crowl

Maybe it simply means there are a lot of macbooks and ipads at both places?

Oh, he must dislike colleges and a lot of other places too.

Crowl · 02-12-2011, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

Oh, he must dislike colleges and a lot of other places too.

Colleges have other reasons not to like them, the whole being filled with students thing for one.

jerrywojo · 02-12-2011, 09:12 AM

Perhaps its a gross misunderstanding of technology. I have a Jetbook and have had people ask me "is that one of those Ipad thingys?".

So its quite possible in some situations you may find coffee shop owners confused,stubborn, suffer from Neo-Luddism, or all of the above.

I'll go out on a limb and theorize that demographically the average age of the owners who ban readers is above 50.

Doesn't really matter anyhow there are plenty of shops in urban areas who do allow e-readers.

02-12-2011, 09:05 AM	#12
Exer I see Russia! Posts: 205 Karma: 234787 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Alaska Device: Etch-A-Sketch	I don't drink coffee, but I play one on TV ... wait, wrong quote. I was going to say, I don't drink coffee at all, but ALL my friends do. Every single one of them, so I've seen the inside of just about every coffee shop and cafe in Alaska. Luckily the eReader-bias hasn't seemed to have migrated here yet. It always takes years for us to adopt the habits of you southern folk anyway. Oh, and for the person who said cafes are like a Mac store, goodness, I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel like the only light in these shops is the soft ambient glow coming from the dozen or so Apple logos on the back of laptops. Last edited by Exer; 02-12-2011 at 09:06 AM. Reason: I can't spell anything with more than 3 letters.

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02-12-2011, 06:46 AM	#2
SlowRain Addict Posts: 311 Karma: 9553 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: a Canadian expat in Taiwan Device: HTC 10, Asus Phonepad	Maybe if some of these coffee shops didn't charge so much for a cup of coffee, people wouldn't have to sit there for hours on end just to get their money's worth (and I say that as someone who takes his coffee a little more seriously than the average person does). But, if a paperback is okay, then an e-book reading device is okay, too.

02-12-2011, 07:04 AM	#3
jhempel24 Wizard Posts: 2,157 Karma: 7068605 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, B&N Nook Colro	I'm glad I: A.) Don't drink coffee B.) Hate the coffee shop atmosphere, it's like hanging out in a Mac Store.

02-12-2011, 08:15 AM	#7
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	FYI, this isn't exactly "news" (tho' the article is new). WSJ -- Laptop ban, 8/2009 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124950421033208823.html NYT -- ebook readers http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/0...establishment/ Anyway..... Though I am a techie and far from nostalgic, I am put off a bit that the patrons at my local cafe are staring intently at laptops, rather than reading or chatting with one another. But, I don't support bans. If you don't want laptops, don't offer free wi-fi or outlets. Or tables perhaps.

02-12-2011, 08:48 AM	#8
RockdaMan Banned Posts: 1,644 Karma: 213512 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: On the other side of over there Device: Pandigital Novel, Kindle G1 (broken), iPod Touch	Luddites. As long as I'm reading and not working, playing games, or watching movies, how am I ruining the cafe shop experience?

02-12-2011, 09:00 AM	#11
MrPLD Author's pet-geek Posts: 933 Karma: 1040670 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: North Queensland, Australia Device: Kindle 3 Wifi, Onyx Boox M96	The problem really comes down to the lack of tables being turned, it's unprofitable and people walking past will see the place is already 'quite full' and walk on to the next location.

02-12-2011, 09:12 AM	#15
jerrywojo Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 40 Join Date: Apr 2006	Perhaps its a gross misunderstanding of technology. I have a Jetbook and have had people ask me "is that one of those Ipad thingys?". So its quite possible in some situations you may find coffee shop owners confused,stubborn, suffer from Neo-Luddism, or all of the above. I'll go out on a limb and theorize that demographically the average age of the owners who ban readers is above 50. Doesn't really matter anyhow there are plenty of shops in urban areas who do allow e-readers.