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Comment by therealmarv | Hacker News Reader

No power plugs (I think most effective) & time limited Wifi. A cafe is not a coworking space although when beeing in USA or more specifically in SF I have the feeling people think it's the same.

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A place near me limits WiFi to 45 minutes at peak times, which I think is best. AC outlets on the other hand are for more than laptops. If I'm going somewhere for a coffee, it's good to be able to charge my phone too.

> If I'm going somewhere for a coffee, it's good to be able to charge my phone too.

Here it's more common you leave the phone at the bar to be recharged if charging your phone is what you want.

Interesting. Do baristas check your identity or anything when giving your phone back? I'd worry about them turning their back and someone reaching over and grabbing it. There's a lot of crime in my area though - especially the "taking the phone out of your hand" kind.

Plenty of cafes in SF and the Bay Area actively encourage laptop use. (Rows of outlets, large tables, not a peep from the staff.) In practice, most people seem to leave within an hour, so it's kind of a moot point.

moot? Using and charging your laptop and phone for one hour can be very practical.

Why shouldn't it be if it fills some peoples need?

Why should a cafe not offer that if it brings them customers?

It's the owners decision to make. Not mine or yours, it's his/her business. And it's definitely not making everybody happy ;)

Because the owner can't pay rent and wages if all customers sit around the whole day working on their laptops and buying two coffees and a sandwich.

Customers are people who spend money. Someone who bought one coffee, but is taking up a seat all day is not a customer.

It depends on how many spaces the cafe has and how expensive rent is.

If the cafe has plenty of free space, then people working on laptops is extra customers and beneficial. If it has little space, then a person ordering a coffee every two hours is taking away space from more profitable customers who eat, drink and leave in 30 minutes.

I usually use my mobile connection remotely, it is much faster than WIFI. Is using store provided WIFI really that commonly used?

It is. A lot of providers in the USA prevent people from tethering their phone to their laptop unless they pay an extortion fee.

The hipster café across the street from me does this to discourage people from sitting all day. They have no outlets. Still, there's people there working all day long.

To me, when the battery gets low it means time to go. So I don't mind.

> A cafe is not a coworking space

This is, of course your opinion. To me, a cafe is an ideal co-working space. It encourages deep thought, the chance to collide with other smart people in my industry, get out of the house, etc.

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