This is hard to believe, but

[Tõnis]

... I'm at my usual Starbucks, normally a haven for Dell's, Sony Vaio's, and Mac's, and there are five other Thinkpad's on site (besides than my own)! Incredible!

Tõnis

[Harryc]

[TheRedFox]

Isn't it lovely when that happens. at the local coffee shop near my house there were normally lots of Dells, and a few macs, but there were three thinkpads there at once, one time when I was there. recently the number of Macbooks has gotten way out of control.b

[jamerslong]

Isn't it lovely when that happens. at the local coffee shop near my house there were normally lots of Dells, and a few macs, but there were three thinkpads there at once, one time when I was there. recently the number of Macbooks has gotten way out of control.b

apple has been invading the coffee shops alot lately..

[mattbiernat]

im working on a theory of mine on what kind of people use macs and spend their time at starbucks

[hausman]

You mean people who can afford to spend 2x or 3x as much for a notebook computer with snob appeal can also afford to spend 2x or 3x as much for a cup of coffee with snob appeal?

How then to explain what all the ThinkPad users are doing at Starbucks? <ducks>

[jdhurst]

I go to Starbucks, and to Second Cup (my favourite), and to Tim Horton's (least favourite). I subscribe to Mobility Pass (iPass) and Starbucks is supposed to support a wireless connection with Mobility Pass authentication but it has never worked. .... JDH

[dr_st]

Why is that surprising? The prices for new Thinkpads have been steadily declining since Lenovo took over. In fact, prices have been dropping for all laptops, but somehow I feel that it happened more for Thinkpads. They are now more affordable than an average "consumer" laptop was 3 years ago.

As for Starbucks... Well, I really like their Frapuccinos. Nothing else really. But these Frapuccinos are nice... I miss them... The only reason why I feel disappointment that Starbucks flopped here in Israel.

One thing where Israeli cafes rock, though, is WiFi access. It's FREE everywhere they have it. Most places in the US I tried required a subscription to one provider or the other...

[goofyGAguy]

One thing where Israeli cafes rock, though, is WiFi access. It's FREE everywhere they have it. Most places in the US I tried required a subscription to one provider or the other...

My local Burger King is totally free.

[Tõnis]

I certainly felt like I was in a parallel universe.

How then to explain what all the ThinkPad users are doing at Starbucks? <ducks>

I can't even begin to speculate; perhaps it was just a fluke. I can speak for myself. I like the "culture"; mine is near Brown University in a nice part of town and (during school) there are always lots of students, especially graduate students, present. Also, it has a wonderful outdoor patio which works weather-wise around these parts around 60% of the year. I'll take Dunkin Donuts any day -- that's breakfast every morning -- when it comes to the blend of coffee, but I do enjoy relaxing at my Starbux.

I go to Starbucks, and to Second Cup (my favourite), and to Tim Horton's (least favourite). I subscribe to Mobility Pass (iPass) and Starbucks is supposed to support a wireless connection with Mobility Pass authentication but it has never worked. .... JDH

I think the Starbucks I go to charges for by the day for internet access -- $10, I think, but I see people using it. I, myself have never tried it, because I bring my own Sprint USB modem which is probably faster. I did click on their router once to see if I could get on, and I thought the connection to the sign in page was kind of slow (perhaps due to the number of people using it?).

Why is that surprising? The prices for new Thinkpads have been steadily declining since Lenovo took over. In fact, prices have been dropping for all laptops, but somehow I feel that it happened more for Thinkpads. They are now more affordable than an average "consumer" laptop was 3 years ago.

Perhaps it's some new strategy to gain more market share. Seems good ...

As for Starbucks... Well, I really like their Frapuccinos. Nothing else really. But these Frapuccinos are nice... I miss them... The only reason why I feel disappointment that Starbucks flopped here in Israel.

I like the Frapucinos, too, but usually I'll get the iced Americano or the iced, sweetened passion tea (herbal).

Tõnis

[jdhurst]

<snip> I think the Starbucks I go to charges for by the day for internet access -- $10, I think, but I see people using it. I, myself have never tried it, because I bring my own Sprint USB modem which is probably faster. I did click on their router once to see if I could get on, and I thought the connection to the sign in page was kind of slow (perhaps due to the number of people using it?).
<snip>
Tõnis

That's the very problem - every one of 500 cafes and hotspots all think that I am going to pay this kind of freight for access. Mobility Pass is supposed to do this for one low unified price. It doesn't work, so I shall probably cancel it. I too can get a USB modem from Rogers, so that is probably how I shall probably go.
.... JDH

[dsvochak]

You won't see me in a Starbucks because I wouldn't pay that much money for a cup of coffee. Are there too many Starbucks? For those who haven't seen it, this:
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/ind ... eoId=41926
and this:
http://www.gergltd.com/users/isaac.gerg/starbucks/

I'd say the answer is "Yes, too many"

[Tõnis]

I too can get a USB modem from Rogers, so that is probably how I shall probably go.
.... JDH

I've been very happy with mine, which I got through Sprint a few years ago, but check out and beware of the "terms" that come with the various plans. Back when I got mine, Sprint was telling prospective customers that the plan included "unlimited" data usage. The other major companies (Verizon, AT&T, etc.) all had 5 gig caps and other ridiculous restrictions .... like surfing only/no video. Sprint was telling it's prospective customers that anything goes (gaming, youtube, all of it), until, last year it changed the TOS for new accounts limiting them to 5 gigs and slyly added a note within the bills of existing accounts which stated that Sprint reserves the right to cancel customers (no early termination fee even if the customer cancels within a set period of time) or throttle throughput speeds for those who exceed 5 gigs. It's my understanding that new accounts are getting billed for going over with some bills quickly getting into the thousands of dollars. Okay ... for accounts like mine it seems to be mainly a paper tiger at this point, but I did think it sleazy of Sprint to build a customer base for itself by touting "unlimited" and then changing the terms.

It seems the major companies like to put out propaganda describing how 5 gigs is a lot (billions of emails, etc), but, in reality, with today's graphic intensive websites and other applications it's really not so much. I use video calls a lot and I was using about 12-15 gigs a month, but that was before I figured out how fast my home cable was. Before I got my first notebook (Lenovo 3000N100), I was using an old HP desktop running Windows ME (It still works ). I had gotten the USB modem at the same time I got my notebook, and I never bothered to try it on the home cable; I just used the USB modem all the time, even at home. I couldn't believe how fast the USB modem was! But, though it's pretty fast, the home cable is faster. When I found out about the Sprint cap, I bought a router and was blown away -- I guess it was really my new, fast notebook which, in conjunction with the cable, made the internet so fast. Now, my Sprint usage is around 5 gigs, maybe a little less. Yes, most of these major companies are now telling people that the "mobile broadband" was never intended to be someone's primary connection, but (I guess), for many people in rural areas it is.

Anyway, JD, I realize you're in Canada, but I hope some of this is useful. Sorry for the tome. More discussion and gripes about this subject can be read on this site: http://www.evdoforums.com/

Tõnis

[Tõnis]

You won't see me in a Starbucks because I wouldn't pay that much money for a cup of coffee. Are there too many Starbucks? For those who haven't seen it, this:
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/ind ... eoId=41926
and this:
http://www.gergltd.com/users/isaac.gerg/starbucks/

I'd say the answer is "Yes, too many"

It does seem that, like many companies, they did some silly things. I can think of a few locations in my area where there's a Starbucks in its own free-standing building and one in the grocery store (or Target) in the same parking lot or across the street.

While people often like to poke fun at Americans and their $5 cups of coffee, my sister just moved to a certain tea-drinking nation (the UK), and I was amused to find out that where she is (2 hours outside of London) she can get a cup of instant coffee at the tea(?) shop for an equivalent amount of money; the real stuff is not readily available everywhere.

Tõnis

[hausman]

Mobility Pass is supposed to do this for one low unified price. It doesn't work, so I shall probably cancel it. I too can get a USB modem from Rogers, so that is probably how I shall probably go.

US Starbucks stores offer 2hrs free access via AT&T if you use a Starbucks gift card. You mean they don't offer anything similar to Canadians?

[As you can see, I don't spend much time or money at Starbucks.]

[killer]

We have excellent coffee in the UK ... but not everywhere. Unfortunately instant coffee became too popular a few years ago and the blight has stayed because of convenience.

Mind you, at least we can produce a decent cup of tea. British and Irish tea is the best in the world because we still use leaf tea, a teapot, and boiling water.

That said, the world is changing and now more tea bags are sold here than leaf tea. One imagines in a few years we'll all be doing the same as the uninitiated and using a tea bag in a cup with hot water.

I blame TV advertising. Stick with the BBC and a good cuppa.

Time for another 'tea party' protest perhaps? This time in Boston, Lincolnshire?

[goofyGAguy]

Time for another 'tea party' protest perhaps? This time in Boston, Lincolnshire?

I like this kind of Tea Party...

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2009 ... /1055/NEWS

[Radioguy]

Starbucks aside, TPs are the #1 laptop I see being used while riding on public transportation.

[Marin85]

Starbucks aside, TPs are the #1 laptop I see being used while riding on public transportation.

Not so here. Sony Vaio seems to be even more preferred than the MacBooks. Beside the MacBooks, one can see here a lot of Toshibas, and then maybe a few ThinkPads

[TheRedFox]

I don't go to starbucks regularly. not really sure why. probably because the aforementioned local coffeeshop is slightly cheaper, slightly closer, and I like giving business to local businesses when I can. but yeah. I've never actually seen pay wifi at a coffeeshop before. I have however seen pay wifi at borders bookstore and McDonalds.
anyway, at the coffeeshop I normally go to there used to be almost all Dells with a few toshibas and maybe one Compaq or something, but in recent times I've seen two or three thinkpads, and a ton of MacBooks and a few MacBook Pros. from what I understand Starbucks is like an Apple club (from multiple sources).
not that it's related, but has anyone noticed that more than half of the people you see at the Apple Store have goatees?

[Mike Blake]

Tõnis,

Wow, you're actually from Central Falls? When I went to high school in Pawtucket, we would have snarkily remarked that no one in Central Falls owned a laptop, but may have stolen one.

I'd guess the nice Starbucks you mention must be the Wayland Square one? That it is a good one; I was surprised that when they built it they included a little parking lot.

When I first visited the UK, there were many little cafes, some little more than walk-up windows, serving nice strong espresso and cappuccino, and I grew to love the latter. But when I revisited a decade later, there weren't as common.

As to seeing lots of ThinkPads, I recently went to a little conference at Harvard, and it seemed like they were the #2 choice after MacBooks with students, but a strong second. I'd never seen so many all at once in public.

[Tõnis]

... but has anyone noticed that more than half of the people you see at the Apple Store have goatees?

Have you seen the McDonald's commercial that pokes fun at the whole coffee shop/goatee scene ("McCafe," I think?) I saw it on youtube. If I get a chance to look it up I'll post a link ...

Tõnis

[Tõnis]

Tõnis,

Wow, you're actually from Central Falls? When I went to high school in Pawtucket, we would have snarkily remarked that no one in Central Falls owned a laptop, but may have stolen one.

I'd guess the nice Starbucks you mention must be the Wayland Square one? That it is a good one; I was surprised that when they built it they included a little parking lot.

When I first visited the UK, there were many little cafes, some little more than walk-up windows, serving nice strong espresso and cappuccino, and I grew to love the latter. But when I revisited a decade later, there weren't as common.

As to seeing lots of ThinkPads, I recently went to a little conference at Harvard, and it seemed like they were the #2 choice after MacBooks with students, but a strong second. I'd never seen so many all at once in public.

Yes, Mike, CF, "the square mile city," has been my home for six years. But, alas, I am not originally from the Ocean State; I grew up in Massachusetts, about an hour south of Boston. I presently live right near the CF/Valley Falls line, and I can walk to the Cumberland town hall in about five minutes.

And, yes, you are correct. The Starbucks I enjoy is in Wayland Square. I haven't been around long enough to remember when it was built, but I did read that before it was built there was just a grassy lot there. I'm also familiar with your Warwick Starbucks and it's drive-thru window (in the Best Buy plaza).

As for Pawtucket/Central Falls, I like being situated about five miles from a small but nice metropolitan area and the Attleboro shopping area. Perhaps I'll see you around!

Tõnis aka Tony

[Mike Blake]

Have you seen the McDonald's commercial that pokes fun at the whole coffee shop/goatee scene ("McCafe," I think?) I saw it on youtube. If I get a chance to look it up I'll post a link ...

It must be this, the "McDonalds Unsnobby Coffee Commercial": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg87E1tjTOE ...it's pretty funny.

It reminds me of the earlier Dunkin Donuts commercial showing people stumbling over terms like viente, machoccino, shaken not stirred and so on, and contrasting it with "I'll have a large coffee, please."

[Mike Blake]

Tony,

Don't forget CF's other nickname (besides "Sparkle City), the Square Mile of Smiles.

Yes, for many years the Starbucks location in Wayland Square was an empty lot, chained off so no one would park there. I couldn't figure out why, in a place starved for development-ready property as the East Side. Legal entanglements, I'd guess. Perhaps Starbucks was large enough to throw money at the problem until it went away.

The Starbucks off Route 2 is not the one I usually go to in Warwick. If you know the intersection of Airport Road, West Shore Road and Warwick Avenue, which delights in the great old New England name of Hoxsie Four Corners, there is a very handy Starbucks with drive through on the Airport Road side between the Hess gas station and the D'Angelo's sub shop. It's only been open a few months.

[t140568]

A few weeks back I was in Starbucks/Barnes&Noble and saw a lady using a ThinkPad. Naturally, I stopped and asked her what model it was (T4x) and how she liked it. She said she loved it, but didn't know what model it was, just that it was a ThinkPad. I said I owned one and complimented her on her's. She was surprisingly friendly for someone being approached by an inquisitive stranger... especially since I'm not the most friendly-looking guy. Maybe the friendliness and general happiness come from years of ThinkPad ownership?

[TheRedFox]

I have seen the McCafe commercials. funny stuff.