Hi Mike, and welcome back -
Your comments about Internet Cafes are interesting. I found it easier to access an Internet Cafe in Puerto Vallarta than I did in LA: it was certainly a better deal, and a better-understood concept, in Puerto Vallarta. Frankly, the only such place I could find easy access to in Santa Monica, had 2 or 3 computers, a lineup, a kludgy, difficult-to-use mouse mechanism, and a very high usage rates.
My upstream post, and the reference to kids to whom such access will be a norm, had two aspects to it: wired, and wireless connectivity. I think there will be, in time, a split in the market, along those two lines. One will be able to achieve a certain minimal-to-quite-good level of connectivity wirelessly (depending on how many others are online), or, one may choose a cafe, such as the ones you speak of.
I think the success of these cafes, internationally, derives from two factors: first would be the cost of wired connectivity in Europe, and other places. The second factor is a societal difference: in Europe, even before the Internet, the tradition of sitting in a cafe, reading the paper, enjoying a discussion, or just wiling away an afternoon, watching the world go by, is well-established. The idea is not so prevalent in North America, and I, like you, will be interested in any comments readers have on the observed success (or lack of same) of these new 'net malls.
Regards,
Jim |
