Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009

RSS |

Twitter

Beware 12 Scams of Christmas

Online schemes take advantage of the holiday spirit

Nov 21, 09 3:12 PM CST
WHAT'S YOUR VICE?

Twitter = Crack, and
Other Web Equivalents

YouTube is like shots of tequila; Gmail is caffeine

3 hours, 45 minutes ago
big brother

Vulgar Online Comment Costs Man His Job

He posts dirty word, then gets tracked via his IP address

Nov 20, 09 8:40 AM CST
TRAVEL

Anonymous Posters Bedevil TripAdvisor

Hotel ranking site shows dangers of crowdsourcing

Nov 20, 09 2:35 PM CST
BIG BROTHER

Cops Use Facebook to Bust Underage Drinkers

Phony 'friend' gains access to drinking photos

Nov 19, 09 6:19 PM CST
FARHAD MANJOO

Microsoft Office 2010:
Worthy, But Not Worth It

Why buy what you can get for free?

Nov 20, 09 9:45 AM CST
Your Boss Can't Read Your Email, Courts Say

Judges start to sympathize with employees in privacy disputes

Nov 19, 09 11:42 AM CST
JUDGE HANGS UP ON AT&T

Verizon Ads 'Sneaky' But OK

AT&T-bashing campaign can stay on air, judge says

Nov 18, 09 9:01 PM CST
Twitter Founder:
Murdoch Will 'Fail Fast'

Biz Stone thinks plan to put up online paywalls is folly

Nov 19, 09 12:00 PM CST
Facebook's
Most Annoying
Parents

Enough with the sonogram pictures and toilet training status updates

Nov 18, 09 12:12 PM CST
Secret Google Phone Is Real—Really

It's rumored to be a VoIP-only device made by Samsung or LG

Nov 18, 09 2:14 PM CST
Google Ditches
Mapmakers,
Hires ... You?

Google ditches industry giant for user content, and others follow

Nov 17, 09 9:56 AM CST
OPINION

'Unfriend' Is Scam,
Not Word, of Year

This is one big hacky trend piece, writes Adrian Chen

Nov 17, 09 9:08 AM CST

|NEXT STORY »

Coffee Shops Grow Weary of Laptop Users

Drink-nursing users told to make way for bigger spenders

By Rob Quinn| Posted Aug 6, 09 9:57 AM CDT|

(Newser) – The longstanding love affair between coffee shops and laptop users is starting to go off the boil, the Wall Street Journal reports. Big chains still let computer users linger, but a growing number of independent shops, sick of customers nursing a cup of coffee all day when seats are in short supply, have started restricting the use of laptops in peak hours, blocking power outlets or even ordering customers to power down.

Shop owners say things have gotten worse with the recession, with some customers even bringing in their own teabags to settle in for a day of using the shops' WiFi and hot water. Laptop users gripe that it's getting harder to find places to work, though some are sympathetic. "I used to be one of the abusers," one customer says, "sipping a $2 cup of coffee in a to-go cup for hours." Now, he says, he's started spending more cash and restricting his laptop use to off-peak hours.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

A customer works on his laptop as his iPhone lays beside it at a coffee shop in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson, File)

A customer works on her laptop in a Seattle Starbucks. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

A graduate student at Virginia Tech works on his laptop at a coffee shop in Blacksburg. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

We lower the light, and it's chocolate, wine and couples holding hands. What's the guy with the laptop doing here?
- Bahman Soltani, owner of a coffee shop that bans laptops after 8pm

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

11.20.09

The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun

11.19.09

Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention

23 comments

VIEWING:

Timinator2K
Aug 6, 09 10:08 AM CDT

Welcome to America where every good service gets abused by the few and subsequently terminated for the many. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Aug 6, 09 10:16 AM CDT

Speaking of abusers, huh? We have a handful of them here on newser too. ............ The solution to both is the same, IMO. Management watches and tells the customers/posters, "I'm sorry but you're abusing this space. Either buy something more/stop trolling and post sincerely, or we'll have to ask you to leave. ............... Then the "good service" is not terminated or ruined.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

Rob
Aug 6, 09 10:19 AM CDT

And greg decides, of course

IN RESPONSE:

kokuaguy
Aug 6, 09 10:34 AM CDT

So, Greg. What's the deal with flagging now? This nubie "Sonny_Crockett" was flagged yesterday for a remark that could be taken in a few different ways, and I assumed it must be quite racist on some level when it was immediately flagged. But it didn't have more than a couple of thumbs down when I looked at it. The wierd thing is that each time he tried to explain himself later on he was again flagged for no apparent reason. And which of the seven George Carlin words is going to get me flagged now?

IN RESPONSE:

Fondue
Aug 6, 09 10:52 AM CDT

Excellent comment Timi. I agree completely.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Aug 6, 09 11:05 AM CDT

kokua, why ask me? I complained about one of godawg's comments in the middle of a decent discussion being flagged. I don't know why or how it is happening. I'm personally still not flagging the borderline trolling from jay, citrix, or rightthing; I still flag only out of context insults, threats, etc. .............. And Rob, did you not read what I wrote? I said *management* would decide. They are not party to the discussion, unlike one of us, so they would have less conflict of interest. And being allied with the owners of the site, their over-riding goal would be maintaining a healthy discussion. If *I* were a manager, I would have shown CK the door after about the third troll. Jay would be warned now. The others would be shown a general message to all, if you want to know my personal opinion, FWIW. And I have moderated discussions before and had wonderful results, so I do know what I'm talking about. It is not just hypothetical with me.

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Aug 6, 09 10:27 PM CDT

@greg - who defines "abusing" the space? I happen to think any comment is a valid comment, therefore I consider none of them to be abuse. It's free speech, regardless of whether it is sarcasm without merit regarding the article (many lefties engage in it, too) or if it differs from a majority opinion. I can get as pissed as possible about someone else's comment, but I would never, ever want that commenter to be banned. I cannot go along with banning anyone for any reason. Even the gay bashers are welcome as far as I am concerned because they have every right to feel as they do. I don't agree with them and I'll debate them to my death, but I will also defend to my death their right to say what they want. The solution is not management watches; the solution is ignore the comments you don't like, don't respond to them, don't acknowledge them, give them the cutesy thumbs down to make yourself feel good if ya have to, but the ONLY solution is to control yourself, not others.

IN RESPONSE:

Reader60610265
Aug 6, 09 11:13 PM CDT

It's hard to keep and objective point of view , when in my opinion your forced to pick one side or the other . Your either lib or conservative on this site . Anyone who tries to take the middle ground or look objectively at both sides usually gets butchered by both sides . I would love to have a conversation on this site that doesn't degenerate into name calling or humiliating tactics .That however doesn't seam to be possible . So for now I'm just playing alone to see where this goes. When you find away to make this a level headed even tempered comment period instead of the shout down hour that it is let me know I'd like to participate..Until then it looks like it's everyone for themselves.

| 0 minutes ago

odowd80
Aug 6, 09 10:15 AM CDT

It was only a matter of time. Business owners have a right to make room for paying customers. The good news is that some public libraries are setting up wi-fi zones. Hopefully that trend will continue. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

ruserious
Aug 6, 09 10:21 AM CDT

Well, I kind of thought it was the point of a $5 cup of coffee to be able to sit around and use the internet and read the paper, etc. If you want a cup of coffee, you can brew it at home for a fraction of the price. You pay the extra money for the ambiance and internet...or so I thought? Reply

IN RESPONSE:

emptycalm
Aug 6, 09 10:35 AM CDT

No. That was true but they found out they could make more money if they didn't let those people stick around and take up table space. Anything to make more money.

-1

| 0 minutes ago

Timinator2K
Aug 6, 09 10:38 AM CDT

"...stop trolling and post sincerely," Ahhhh, lighten up, greggy. Your "Free Speech ONLY for "The Sincerely Enlightened" leanings are showing. I see you've been tagged with " Is 'shonangreg' being offensive? Report Abuse"...which I, The Troller, would never do...how did you ever earn that? I had to severely rattle some cages to earn that badge of honor. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Aug 6, 09 11:20 AM CDT

I'm light enough in the conversation. I'm not light when dealing with abusers -- bullies, discordianists, or trolls. They serve no purpose to society and when their behavior is called out, they refine their protests if they ever had one and begin to communicate. Dissenting opinions should not be censored; they should even be protected (which is not being done here, BTW. Dissenting voices are not being protected. Non-abusive posts are still being flagged by misguided vigilantes on the both the Left and the Right...) You really mis-read me, Timinator. I want *more* voices here. Some order and whip-cracking by the owners does result in less repression of expression by stunting the occasional mob mentality of the group. ............. And I know I've been flagged. I have written people off here as not being worthy of discussion anymore, and I told them publicly. I imagine they flag me every chance they get after that. I knew that could happen from the outset. Still, some things need to be said. ............................. And still, there is an elephant in this room. I have not fully called it out. No one has, I think. But the shadow of this elephant is the mass belief that non-censorship of expression results in the greatest freedom of expression. We can see from the town hall meetings being crashed by birthers and obama haters that this is not true. This is the closest I ever came to understanding CK' s "liberal fascist" claim. People here are fooling themselves by saying they support full freedom of expression. CK saw the hypocrisy, and he called the liberal unwitting fascists out on it -- again and again and again ad absurdum. He never dropped out of character, but he was always a pain in the ass who didn't quire know either how to describe the elephant.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Aug 6, 09 11:30 AM CDT

The hypocrisy I mentioned. It is analogous to someone denying their homosexuality, and then losing their job and family because eventually they break and get caught screwing theirmeth dealer in the back of their church, or in the mens' room at the airport. It is a country vowing never to fight an offensive war again, but not teaching their history honestly. They will eventually have to fight because they cannot use force naturally, and it will be worse for all than if they had just tried to control themselves from the beginning instead of pretending they could remove aggression from society. It is the nice guy who vows never to say a cross word to anyone only to end up shooting everyone in his workplace in an incompetent fit of rage. ...... These examples may not be perfect, but in this specific case on newser, no one of a reasonable mind will really follow through on their public avowals to tolerate free speech absolutely. They are fooling themselves, and censorship will work its way in somehow. The mysterious flaggings here being a case in point.

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Aug 6, 09 10:29 PM CDT

The only bullies are those who wish to ban anyone. Short of a physical threat being made by one person to another, I see no reason to ban anyone. I do not like censorship, period. I am an adult and if I read a comment I don't like, I either reply with my position or my sarcasm or I ignore it and move on. Why, I'm even able to ignore without an ignore button! Fancy that!

| 0 minutes ago

Sonny_Crockett
Aug 6, 09 10:56 AM CDT

@ Kokuaguy - I've have participated in web forums and thread post websites for years, and have never been flagged so repeatedly or all at once. I again will not apologize for the comments I made but WILL defend my right to free speech or to even make a joke (that was not intended to be racist). But, this is just another example of letting people think they have the freedom of choice, when in reality it's this: The Merovingian from the Matrix put it best - " Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without.. " But it's those who oppose or have an opinion that is different from those with power who are punished. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

paul123
Aug 6, 09 11:17 AM CDT

Haven't read all of the posts that have been mentioned, and they may have or may not have been racist. I can say this though: Conservative opinions are generally not well tolerated on Newser. Unfortunately, those with a conservative opinion are largely rude and obnoxious, which doesn't help things. Corona King comes to mind...

IN RESPONSE:

ruserious
Aug 6, 09 12:22 PM CDT

I agree with you paul123. The reason I joined Newser was to hear dissenting opinions from my own, to challenge my beliefs to make sure I believed them for the right reasons. However, I have yet to hear more than a handful of posts with a dissenting opinion that are constructed in a respectful, meaningful manner. I have not heard the word "retarded" used as a adjective so many times since high school as I do every day here on this website. I thought we were supposed to be adults discussing events and informing ourselves, and it just seems to be a bunch of name calling and bullying. Wow, grow up.

IN RESPONSE:

Radzyn
Aug 7, 09 12:00 AM CDT

Funny, I thought most of us joined because Newser allows us to be lazy about browsing the news. Scream all you want about dissenting voices and freedom of speech and blah-de-freakin-blah, but what it all really boils down to is this: you thrive on the griping and bitching and lefty this and righty that. You're all too scared to go out and do something about your pent up feelings in real life, so you come here and take out your daddy issues on the rest of us. Your whining makes me chuckle. Your anger makes me laugh. Your pompous self righteous indignation makes me weep for the species, and maybe poop my pants a little. Honestly, kids, lighten the hell up. Let's ask the site designers for an ignore button, and if you're so narrow minded that you don't want to hear what anybody else has to say, then ignore 'em. Until we get that option, DEAL WITH IT! This ain't China, we get to say what we want, because we're free to do so. Freedom of Speech is the freedom to say what the f* I want to say when the f* I want to say it, and if you don't like it, you're free to f*ing ignore it. (this is to pretty much to all of you sheep too scared to step outside of the lefty-righty mindset and tell other people what you really think, not what you're told to think. thank you, and goodnight. bitches.)

| 0 minutes ago

ruserious
Aug 6, 09 10:58 AM CDT

By the way, I would love to go to the coffee shop owned by Bahman Soltani, in the quote. Coffee, chocolate, AND wine? Yes please! Reply

| 0 minutes ago

EmilyJ
Aug 6, 09 11:26 AM CDT

In France they charge you more if you drink inside versus take-away. That seems like a viable solution if this is a serious problem. Although it would have to be a big player like Starbucks to initiate it; mom and pop shops would lose their customers immediately. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Spudsy
Aug 6, 09 10:27 PM CDT

There is some evil in my soul that makes me want to grab an expresso pot and beat those dudes I see cruising the internet at coffee shops. Maybe I am just judgemental. I blame it on my religious upbringing. Recipe for disaster that stuff. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

oldgoat
Aug 7, 09 5:09 AM CDT

I can't blame the business. Afterall these people are costing them customers while spending nothing themselves. I'd give them a time limit and then turn off the outlet. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

View all 23 comments »

coffee • recession • WiFi • laptop • cafes • coffee shop

from our news partners

'New Moon' Sinks Teeth Into $140.7 Opening Weekend
(1 hour, 33 minutes ago)
Jenna Fischer Knows As Much About Her 'Office' Baby As...
(5 hours, 14 minutes ago)
Jon Gosselin Brings Roses to Successful Divorce Meeting
(8 hours, 10 minutes ago)
Michael Jackson Glove Sells for $350,000
(8 hours, 51 minutes ago)

Next on the docket: Case No. 1950cv05050: Mouse vs. Duck...
(25 minutes ago)
The coolest Human-Powered Road-Going Viking Boat you'll see today [Cool]
(54 minutes ago)
Kid with terminal cancer is close to death and doesn't...
(1 hour, 17 minutes ago)
Georgia's Supreme Court made it legal for 16-year-olds to fark...
(1 hour, 28 minutes ago)

First Look At Xeno Lovegood From The Deathly Hallows
(Nov 21, 09 8:48 PM CST)
New Moon Has Best Opening Day Of All Time
(Nov 21, 09 11:41 AM CST)
Writer Hired For Underworld 4
(Nov 20, 09 4:44 PM CST)
Brad Pitt Producing Dark Void Video Game Adaptation
(Nov 20, 09 4:36 PM CST)

Associated Press

Virginia coffee company owner pleads guilty in $16 million fraud scheme to...
(Nov 12, 09 5:03 PM CST)
Venezuela moves toward control of coffee companies
(Nov 10, 09 11:28 AM CST)
Lawmakers seek to ban laptops, other devices in cockpits after airliner incident
(Nov 3, 09 8:48 AM CST)
Peet's Coffee & Tea buying Diedrich Coffee for $213 million to enter single-serve...
(Nov 2, 09 6:30 PM CST)

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most important stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Coffee Shops Grow Weary of Laptop Users