20050612 Seattle Coffee Shop Turns Off Weekend Wi-Fi

Digital Culture: Seattle Coffee Shop Turns Off Weekend Wi-Fi by Jennifer Ludden

All Things Considered, June 12, 2005 · A Seattle coffee shop pulls the plug on its wi-fi network. How have the caffeinated Internet-junkie customers reacted? David Latourel, the manager of Victrola Coffee, fills Jennifer Ludden in on the details.

Web Resources: Victrola Coffee Web Site

From the Victrola Web site:

Apparently it's one of those sign of the times stories and is inspiring ridiculous amounts of attention from the press. We're not the first cafe to do it (our friends at Joe Bar started limiting wi-fi hours some time ago). Victrola has always been a tough place to find a table, especially on weekends, so limiting the wifi is pretty much a no-brainer.

Nonetheless, the news stories we're seeing are full of controversy and hand-wringing about the demise of cafe culture and the menace of wi-fi zombies. It's all pretty overblown. All this attention for something other than our awesome coffees is rapidly losing its charm. Reporters keep calling, emails are flooding in, and people are getting into some mean spirited debates in online forums.

Isn't there a war going on or something more important we should be worrying about…? Like coffee…?

Victrola Coffee is located on Seattle's Capitol Hill. Victrola Coffee

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4700256

Wi-Fi, Washington State – Seattle, Information Technology, Media Commentary