Internet Cafes

[Deleted]

So.....there have been a number of times when I have had to resort to using internet cafes whether it be because of internet woes or I am traveling and, as I don't travel with a computer,I seek out internet cafes.(Not to be confused with places that offer free wifi).
Recently,I was in this same situation.
I was so struck by the number of regulars that my neighborhhood internet cafe entertained,it really was a kind of social network for them as well as a place to get really good coffee and do whatever work,play etc. they needed to do via internet.
Personally,I prefer internet use in the privacy of my home both for the privacy aspect and the fact that I am an early riser,like to use the internet spontaneously without having to schlepp over to someplace. In other words,I don't care for it at all.
While traveling ( in the U.S.),I found a really nice place in Miami Beach that I frequent when I go there to visit.
NYC afforded very little I found in the way of internet cafes,or maybe I just couldn't find them.(One time I had to resort to a Burger King on E86th Street. )
Here in NOLA they are quite popular. Many students but also a whole variety of different people really use the one near me.(Some do have there own laptops and others use the computers inhouse as was my case).
I'm curious as to what internet cafes are like in other places around the world and if y'all have had occasion to utilize them.
It really is a culture unto itself here it seems.

[bixaorellana]

I truly do not care for using an internet cafe, although I was forced to for the first few years I lived here. (that's because it was so hard to get phone svc -- no phone, no internet). My preference is exactly as yours, for the same reasons.

At any rate, internet places vary hugely in comfort, support, efficiency, etc. around here. Often they're noisy and don't have regular computer tables and chairs. Apparently teachers give homework that requires the computer, a cluelessness that boggles the mind. That means that any one computer will have a large clump of school kids around it, eating, shrieking & generally acting like kids.

Another thing I dislike about public internet places is that usually there's music, whereas I prefer quiet for reading and writing.

I remember finding a true cafe internet place once, in downtown Oaxaca. The lighting and decor were very pleasant, there was a smell of freshly brewed coffee, the furniture was comfortable & the computers spaced far enough apart so that one wouldn't feel encroached upon. Yaaay, I thought, as I sat down and begin to browse ....... and close a pop-up ...... and close a pop-up ........ and close a pop-up. I took a deep breath and looked around. Every single screen in the completely occupied place had pornography on it.

[Deleted]

Oh how awful Bixa!!!! Jeez!!!
The one I go to here is real comfy I have to say. The smell of the coffee which is the best in NOLA I think is a plus.
I get to use the computer free as I know the owners and the barristas and have done a number of favors for them over the years.
That all said,the music.....I am at the mercy of whatever the particular barrista working decides he or she wants to play.
I love Tom Waits for the most part,but not real loud while I am trying to post,keep my train of thought and be creative all at the same time.
One barrista in particular,(this was a couple of years ago,the place was then open 24 hours which was fabulous for an insomniac like myself),would decide to blast f'n Metallica and here I am ready to lose my mind.It definitely drove me out of there.
Other times there would be delightful music and ambience but it is so unpredictable.
Gratefully,there are not a load of school children in there either doing homework.

[rikita]

i used to always go to internet cafes - the first time i ever used the internet (to get an email address to stay in touch with my long distance bf) was in 2000, the first time i got an internet connection at home was in 2005 or something like that... and after that of course were times when my internet at home didn't work, when i lived in other countries where i had no computer with me, when i traveled, etc.

i also used the university internet places, but there you had to wait quite a while to get a computer, had more limitations as to what you were allowed to do at the computers (like, no chatting allowed), and they closed a lot earlier. in my highly addicted times, i found an internet café that was open till 6 a.m., and i was usually the last one to leave... that one had a women's room which was a bit more comfortable (the porn thing was quite popular with a lot of the men there, too) and a non-smoking area (i had to decided between women room and non-smoking area though)...

generally i didn't mind, it was the normal thing for me - the only problem really was the smoking, i remember sometimes sitting next to people in smaller cafes without non-smoking areas, that would light one cigarette after the other, and completely ignore my coughing etc. ... and well, of course having to go there, and walk home late at night afterwards was a bit annoying...

we had to go to the internet cafe again when we returned from india, as due to some complications it took abotu two months until we had a connection at home again... wasn't used to it that much anymore, and was really glad when we finally had our own connection again...

did i mention that i spend A LOT of time on the internet?