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Businesses The Internet

Cybercafes - A Dying Trend? 81

Posted by Cliff from the another-victim-of-the-current-economy dept.
A not-so-anonymous Anonymous Coward asks: "I've been considering opening up a CyberCafe for a while now, and I've been searching the web for cyber cafe websites. I've found several cybercafe databases, but was disappointed to find that a majority of the sites I found were either taken over by register-this-domain pages or hadn't been updated for a couple of years. Another Cyber/Gaming Cafe I found online announced today that they were closing. So are Cyber/Internet/Gaming cafes just another bubble the net will burst, or are they actually worth investing in? Any cafe owners with experience to point one way or the other? Where are the success stories?"
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Cybercafes - A Dying Trend? More

Cybercafes - A Dying Trend?

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  • Just like arcades? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by mnjames ( 457065 )
    I have never been to one, but I know people who do. I guess more people prefer to game at home on their PC/console. I don't blame them.

  • Not in America (Score:5, Insightful)

    by revmoo ( 652952 ) <slashdot.meep@ws> on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @11:51PM (#8245284) Homepage Journal
    I know that in many other countries Internet Cafe's are insanely popular, but this is usually because the cost of living is so low, and the telcom situation is so bad that having a computer and an Internet connection is only affordable by the upper-class, therefore people flock to these Internet cafe's to chat, check email, play games, surf porn, etc.

    In America, most people can easily afford a computer and an Internet connection, so Internet cafe's are really an answer lacking a question.

    I talk periodically to a friend online who's CS clan opened a LAN gaming center, and they have gotten pretty popular, in fact they are opening new locations. However, this isn't your typical Internet cafe, people come to hang out with likeminded individuals and play games with each other in person. It's not a financial issue as much as it is an entertainment issue.

    My suggestion? Don't bother. Unless you can find a niche to fill with your Internet cafe, there is nothing to stop it from falling by the wayside just like all the rest.

    • Re:Not in America (Score:4, Funny)

      by Mr. Piddle ( 567882 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:59AM (#8245844)
      Unless you can find a niche to fill with your Internet cafe...

      How about an adult cyber cafe with a T1 connection to each booth? The only difference between this and a regular cyber cafe is you go through more mops.

      • Re:Not in America (Score:3, Insightful)

        by HeghmoH ( 13204 )
        This is stupid and OT, but I can't resist.

        The T1 is totally obsolete as a unit of "wow that's a lot of bandwidth". It offers 1.5MBps which is often beat by common DSL and cable services. I suggest talking about T3s in the future, at least until we can get that much bandwidth into the home and consumer prices.
        • The T1 is totally obsolete as a unit of "wow that's a lot of bandwidth". It offers 1.5MBps which is often beat by common DSL and cable services.

          Yes, but a T1 is 1.5Mbps both ways. DSL is a recipe for unrequited love...
          • It's not so much that T1 is a superior technology compared to DSL. DSL can do high upload speeds too. It's that T1 is sold as a business service. So you'll get things like static IPs, no restrictions on hosting servers, dedicated bandwidth to the Internet backbone (or at least shared with fewer users). Back in the olden days, T1s could be sold with charges based on bandwidth usage, but that's very rare now. It's one flat rate, maybe $700/mo, even if it's maxed out all day long.
        • I'd rather have the reliability of a T-1 for my business than some business DSL account.

    • Re:Not in America (Score:3, Interesting)

      by alphaseven ( 540122 )
      In America, most people can easily afford a computer and an Internet connection, so Internet cafe's are really an answer lacking a question.

      I think the question is a little more complicated than that, like Toronto (as mentioned in this thread) has a ridiculous amount of 24hr internet places and also has some of the cheapest broadband and high penetration of home internet use in North America. Perhaps widespread home use spurs more use outside of home.

    • Unless you can find a niche to fill with your Internet cafe

      The premier niche around here is in tourist areas. Most people don't carry their laptops on vacation with them, so Wi-Fi access points are useless. A coffee+web shop with a uniform internationalized menu, decent overpriced java, and internet access located in a heavily trafficked downtown area is certainly a workable business plan, as evidenced by the thousands of "cyber cafes" [cybercafe.com] that still exist in a market ripe for consolidation.

  • Only Used By Travellers ? (Score:4, Informative)

    by MrDalliard ( 130400 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @11:56PM (#8245329) Homepage
    As a person who likes to travel, I've only found them useful to send e-mails home whilst away. I wouldn't see the point of going to one locally when I can sup my own coffee and have WiFi broadband from the comfort of my own sofa... :)

    That said, EasyEverything (http://www.easyeverything.com/), seems to run this venture rather well - although whether Stelios makes much of a profit from it is another thing. He has a shedload of the bright orange public net-access points all through Europe - and they're all pretty huge. Access is usually very cheap, at the equivalent of 1ukp/hr, but rates vary according to demand.

    This is a spin-off from the "easy" group, of which EasyJet is the main money earner....

    M.

  • From An American in Australia (Score:5, Informative)

    by thecampbeln ( 457432 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @11:57PM (#8245341) Homepage
    Internet Cafe's are relativity popular in Australia, least in dense backpacker-esque areas (Sydney, Gold Coast, Whitsunday's, etc). I've only used Internet Cafe's in these locations because I was unable to connect with my laptop. So I guess what I'm saying is unless you expect to get allot of foot traffic from travellers, I haven't seen a market for them (again, least in Australia though I'd believe the same would go for the US).
    • You should also take into account the local take-up of broadband. Other posters have pointed out that most homes have their own 'net connection, thus obviating the need for cafes, but an Internet cafe with a fat pipe offers considerable advantages over a home dial-up connection. Australian take-up of broadband is still pretty poor, so maybe this is a contributing factor.

      • You should also take into account the local take-up of broadband.

        That may be your niche right there... "Download & burn ISO's, $2", "Photo-quality picture printing, FAST DOWNLOADS, 50/image".

        But the point made ealier about having a niche really is the key... what do you offer that people can't get at home? Computers are ubiquitous in most parts of the US, as is broadband, so you have to make people want to come out.

        I guess what this gets down to is: make sure you have a sound business plan.


    • relativity popular in Australia, least in dense backpacker-esque areas

      That's what I'd expect.

      In large urban areas where broadband is available and cheap, home users can afford the same connection as the Cybercafe.

      Travelers have need for broadband, but hotels are providing this. Backpackers, OTOH, might not have a hotel room. I wouldn't take my laptop backpacking, either, but that's me.

      A conceivable market for Cybercafes is on the fringes of civilization, the outlying areas where broadband connections

    • I work in Chatswood, a CBD area north of Sydney. Due to Chatswood being a major business/community "hub" (major train and bus terminals), we have large numbers of schoolchildren passing through each day, and a lot of office workers passing through at lunchtime.

      There are around four to five inet cafe's I'm aware of, predominantly run by Koreans. There is a large population of asians in the area too, which contributes to the various cafe's success.

      Most of them are strictly gaming-oriented, and are successfu
    • Internet Cafe's are relativity popular in Australia, least in dense backpacker-esque areas (Sydney, Gold Coast, Whitsunday's, etc). I've only used Internet Cafe's in these locations because I was unable to connect with my laptop. So I guess what I'm saying is unless you expect to get allot of foot traffic from travellers, I haven't seen a market for them (again, least in Australia though I'd believe the same would go for the US).

      This matches with my observations. As a frequent travel to destinations bot

  • try something that makes sense (Score:5, Interesting)

    by xutopia ( 469129 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:00AM (#8245360) Homepage
    like a laundromat with two rooms. On for cleaning and one for surfing. And don't fuck up the OS. Install whatever you want, Windows, Linux(preferably if you want to save money) but by all means do not cripple your users with a totally locked down system.

    My worst nightmare was having to send a resume and not having a net connection at home yet (moved the day before). I had my resume on my palm but couldn't install the software to grab it on Windows nor was I allowed to boot using Gnoppix (wouldn't boot from CD). I had to go across town to a friend's house to send the damn resume.

    • Re:try something that makes sense (Score:4, Insightful)

      by clark625 ( 308380 ) <clark625@nOspam.yahoo.com> on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:30AM (#8245590) Homepage
      While I completely understand your point, part of me remembers the days when I had to deal with several computers that were completely open and people would seemingly intentionally screw up everything such that a complete re-install of the OS was necessary. Granted, there are some nice ghosting utilities out there now that will re-sync the machine after the person logs out or every night; but those aren't always the best solution for everyone. I tend to understand why some admins think it's perfectly acceptable to be very restrictive--it makes their lives slightly easier and hopefully don't have to also worry about the legal ramifications if someone uses a completely open box to do something illegal (because the site is probably somewhat liable for monitoring what goes on; and even if not it could rack up huge legal bills proving it). In the end, you might lose a few customers because of the restrictive policies; but if it lowers the costs of the service (including risks), it may be more desirable.

    • So Very True! Locked Down OSs Suck! But... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by thecampbeln ( 457432 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:43AM (#8245694) Homepage
      Again from the American in Australia...

      There seems to be 2 kinds of net cafe's OS wise - fully open and locked down to the point of uselessness. As a traveller, I have a USB thumb drive with my documents on it. Sometimes you need to install its drivers and it's VERY annoying when you can't.

      But that's not to say that I approve of the wide open systems either... If I can install whatever the hell I want, so can anyone else (think keyloggers, etc).

      What I have often thought is if I ran one of these places, I'd give each user a removable hard disk to slide into their rented system. Once they were done, they'd return the hard disk and I'd re-image it at the front desk. That way you're guaranteed that everyone can do whatever the hell they want/need to on your systems but only while they are there.

      Of course you'd have the extra expense of having a few more hard disks then systems, a system up front to re-image disks, the removable trays themselves, the additional time for the users to startup and shutdown every time, lost/damaged/dropped/stolen hard disks... Needless to say there would be a few issues to work out, but all in all I think an approach like this would be the best for all parties involved (assuming you overcome the issues listed above of course =).

      Anywhoo... just my rambling ideas!

      • Wouldn't it be better to have the machines running from a network boot? You could use the HDD for installing programs temporarily and as a scratch disk. Reboot the machine and you have a fresh OS.

        I can imagine that would be slightly more work with Windows, but still possible (since it may not be completely cooperative).

        Another thing to consider is natually to try and anticipate the users needs so they don't need to install software. Or you could have a specific computer at the desk for installing software
      • This is a horrible idea! People have to get a hard drive from you?! C'mon on. people will steal them. people won't get why they need to do it. It's much easier to use deep freeze, and reboot the machine after each use.
      • Basically a good idea, but what I'd do it using software instead of hardware. Think of a locked-down workstations booting up into a minimal Linux desktop, where all they can do is launch VMWare and load up their own .vmdk image. The only thing the user has write access to is his own virtual disk image. The idea here is that the physical hardware is totally locked down, but the virtual hardware is wide open, giving you the best of both worlds.
    • I remember the cyber cafe half wasn't very busy. Well, the cafe did good business, but the computers seemed to sit unused. Still, YMMV.

    • I think you've almost got it. The point is the cafe portion, not so much the internet portion. I suspect you'll make more money selling coffee and soda than with internet access, so make sure the former is up to snuff. Or a laundromat or whatever else you have.

      Your post (xutopia) and the article question point at the 'bubble' from different sides. The idea of an INTERNET cafe is 1999; the idea of an internet CAFE is 2001.

      The cafe is the important part. The internet is a value add.

      That's at least three wa
    • The best way to do it is to use (with a windows environment, anyway) deep-freeze. It is software that restores the box to a pre defined image on every reboot. So, your users can do whatever they want on the system, when it is rebooted, the box comes up clean and sparkly. Worked pretty good in our labs at the U.

  • What about you ? (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    You didn't search these databases from a cyber cafe, did you ? You didn't post this slashdot article from one, did you ?

    There's your answer.

  • burst (Score:2, Interesting)

    by poindextrose ( 640377 )
    The net's not exactly bursting this bubble, it's computing that is.

    I used to go to the gaming cafes to play games my modest rig couldn't handle... at the time that was Tribes. Now, it seems just about any computer can do the basic things those cafes provide... a lot of people have DSL at home, and a decent chunk of bandwidth at work. And low-end computers and graphic cards keep getting less and less low-end. Personally, where I live, there are a few left, but they're all basically dedicated computers fo

  • No need (Score:3, Informative)

    by john_is_war ( 310751 ) <jvines@@@gmail...com> on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:03AM (#8245384)
    Well, they're probably dying in the US due to the cheaper and larger availability of high speed cable internet, not to mention the increased number of people owning personal computers. Maybe opening one up in a vacation spot so people who are visiting could pop in and e-mail friends/family, but outside the use of that, I can't think of anything.

  • Product of the ever lowering prices on computers. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by GrandCow ( 229565 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:05AM (#8245393)
    Cybercafe's were made back when computers were $3000 and many people just wanted email. Now that you can get an emachine for $300 and internet access for $10/month (or free in many places), the whole idea is rather absurd. The internet by definition is not a social meduim (in person. over the actual net is a different story)

  • Diversification (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Smartcowboy ( 679871 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:26AM (#8245555)
    I know a couple of cybercafes that are ISP at the same time.

    I know one who do web-hosting, PC repair, furniture selling, english/french/spanish translation, web-page and business card conception, typing job, ect.

    One I kwow has pool tables and become a bar with a DJ at night. They also have shows and movies and exhibitions.

    The cybercafe is only one of their activities. Diversification let them survive.

  • Can you make a profit (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wrenkin ( 71468 ) <alex...cooke@@@utoronto...ca> on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:42AM (#8245682) Homepage
    There are a lot of cybercafe's in Toronto, and it seems most are run by Koreans (I imagine because they're so popular there. The billing software at the Persian owned cafe near my house is entirely in Korean, not to mention that before they upgraded to XP they were running Korean copies of Win98!).

    I go there for lan gaming with my friends, sometimes after hanging out at the bar next door. We did a 2-session overnight Diablo 2 run. It's often packed, with kids, even at 4am (along with the occasional drifter viewing porn). The ones in Chinatown near the University are also busiest at night. The successful ones are all open 24 hours.

    There are limits to their 'success', however. Even packed all day, the places are usually pretty dingy, and after a new one opens will all new computers the hardware isn't upgraded all that often (if ever... other than headphones. One I went to apparently bought a batch of Canada 3000 in-flight phones after the airline went bankrupt). I don't see how they can afford to. The rate for students downtown is C$2/hour, with uptown rates around C$3/h after a one time C$5-10 membership (the downtown ones don't try to pull that). I guess they make money on the junk food and Jolt, but still. I once applied for work at one, and they tried to offer me below minimum... for an overnight shift. Maybe it's different in the States. In Washington I went to one that charged US$10 to check my mail!

    I remember when the first high-concept cafe (long since gone) opened in the area it was $10/h, had magnetic user cards, per-second billing, Macs.... now competition has reduced things to basements full of eMachines with Geforce2MXs.

  • Not cyber cafe - LAN gaming arena (Score:5, Insightful)

    by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:50AM (#8245761) Homepage
    The successful US "cyber cafes" don't market themselves as "cyber cafes." There are no food served, no drinks, and the emphasis is squarely upon videogames. The Adrenaline Zone [adrenzone.com] recently opened up here near Harvard, and it has been doing brisk business with LAN gaming and online gaming. You can surf the web if you want to, but unlike a traditional overseas cyber cafe, nobody does. You wouldn't even consider writing a paper at one.

    The key to their success is probably that while everyone in the United States can find a hand-me-down computer that can run Windows 98 enough to surf and 9.95 per month for internet access, not everyone is willing to shell out the 100 dollars for a performance graphics card and another 50 dollars monthly for the DSL required for gaming (if it is even available in their area). You really do have to make a technology investment to play Unreal Tournament 2003, and so people turn to LAN gaming centers.

    In other words, forget the food. Forget the printers. Forget selling 802.11g cards under the counter with crumpets. Buy a solid batch of Athlons with Radeon 9600 Pro cards, turn the lights down really low, and aim for the unwashed masses. You'll be glad you did.

    • Re:Not cyber cafe - LAN gaming arena (Score:4, Informative)

      by chris_mahan ( 256577 ) <chris.mahan@gmail.com> on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @01:22AM (#8245994) Homepage
      I have to agree.

      I go so I don't hear my wife bitch.

      I also go because I don't want to buy the games, and I don't want to have to upgrade my machine every 6 months to run the latest and greatest.

      Besides, the place I go is $2/hr. And for playing BF1942 DC or EoD with 30 foos, itz da bomb!

      They sell sodas and chips. No coffee.

      And, btw, I hate to have to wait on a waiting list to get to one of their 70 computers.

    • hybrid: arcade and hacking; why it didnt work (Score:5, Insightful)

      by phloydphreak ( 691922 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @03:08AM (#8246550) Journal
      hey.

      I have been going to lan arcades since '98. I think they are healthy and totally necessary during the high school years as a place to get out of the house and not be doing illegal (well... not TOO illegal) activities. During college, its a place to meet up with old friends and begin giving back to the owner for all the time and fun he has given you, by hacking his machines. After college, its a place to remember with nostalgia, and hack your own boxes from.

      in my area, a new lan arcade opened up looking for those kids who like gaming and like learning. They are trying to get the pro-gamers on the weekends and nights while offering computer networking classes and hackathons during the daylight hours (4-7). The real appeal to this new arcade is its seperation of smoking and non-smoking sections. This is a very big draw, considering the social aspect of the gaming scene. Going through 2 packs of cigs in a night with your friends is not a cost effective or healthy activity.

      However, this new arcade is faltering for 2 reasons.

      1) too close to another arcade: kids are very loyal to their gaming arcades. At every arcade i have frequented; everyone knew the owners and everyone knew each other. The facilities of other arcades might be better, but the purpose of gaming at those locations is friends; the friends arent there. Find a spot without an arcade near and you will be money.

      2)draconian installation procedures. Counterproductive. They are trying to entice hackers without giving them access to anything beyond their java overlay. This also keeps users from damaging the machines with poor installation choices. In the end it is better to simply wipe the machines weekly and reinstall images on all machines than limit your users... because keeping them from installing programs will drive them away in droves.

      wow. that was alot longer than i thought it would be. hope it helped!
    • > 100 dollars for a performance graphics card

      Heh. $100. Performance graphics card. Funny. :)
    • A couple of my friends who are really heavy into counterstrike used to LAN at a couple of places like that around here, as well my friend used to work at a local BattleZone, and one thing I noticed on the occasional outings with them is that the purely computer gaming places didn't do so well.
      What I saw instead was that a lot of the places we went that seemed to be busy and nicer places in general offered a place for people to get together and play D&D or Magic or for the younger kids to get together a

  • Another reason... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Incongruity ( 70416 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:53AM (#8245783)
    In many markets (Chicago, and Minneapolis/St. Paul, esp., both from my limited experience), many more places are starting to offer free wireless net access and that makes it less likely that the multitudes of people with laptops will head out to specifically internet cafes.

    Examples include Dunn Bros. coffee in Minneapolis/St. Paul, they give away wireless at almost all of their shops, and here in chicago, even brew-pubs like Goose Island are getting in on the act. And who could forget the likes of Starbucks and their wireless AP's (though not free, I believe, still cheap)

    In short, the specialty of providing internet access is loosing its high bar to entry and thus is becoming an easily integrated part of many other business plans.

    • Other examples in the U.S.: Panera, Borders bookstores, Cosi. Even Mcdonald's is chiming in, but they're hardly reknown for their coffee. IMO it's a great time to start your own cybercafe. National chain coffee places / restaurants haven't completely filled out. Plus, interest rates on loan are likely only to go up from here.

      There's always room for the locally owned and run coffeehouse. I'd give preference to cozy, local shops over sterile national chains, particularly when I want to hang out a good po
  • The trend I've been seeing in the US is to have cafes with wireless access points. In most, they are free. Some want money - of these, the two types I have seen are a subscription service and a jar for people to throw a couple bucks in on their honor if they use the internet access. I've never paid for subscription service - most just want too much money. I'm not going to spend $12/month (the cheapest I've seen) to surf the internet for half an hour or an hour while I drink my coffee. The places I've s
  • Just not the way you might think. The American variety that are sucessful just provide a network and internet access integrated with other products/services (often a coffee shop). Consider the integration of the grocery store with the gas station, department stores, and for that matter the modern "mall". What was once a single shop has become a conglomeration of businesses banding together to give you more reason to come to their location than make several stops elsewhere. Not just to make more money, but t
  • If "CyberCafe" = Place for teens and younger to play Counterstrike, then you could have a good go at it.

    The Keys:
    1) Be in a city and have a 7-11 (or equivalent) near your store.
    2) Hire kids that are just slightly older than your target demographic, and that the target group like, to work the shop.

    If "CyberCafe" = Place to use the internet, then you better be in a developing country. People in the US either have internet access, or they go to the Main Library to use it. Or, they don't care about it. (

    • Re:It depends on what ou want to do... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by AKnightCowboy ( 608632 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @08:52AM (#8247561)
      2) Hire kids that are just slightly older than your target demographic, and that the target group like, to work the shop.

      Don't forget, large breasts and tight t-shirts on your waitresses will appeal to most of your target demographic (11-85 year old males). Whatever you do, do NOT hire geeky teenager boys to work at your cybercafe. You'll just drive business away elsewhere. Look into providing topless wait service for the over-18 Counter-Strike playing crowd. Depending on your community though they may be prudes about this.

      P.S.: Yes, I'm entirely serious. Big breasted women bringing me Pepsi would be the only thing that would make me come into your cyber cafe. I'll check my mail on my 3G cell phone or wait until I get home to browse the net.

  • A good friend of mine's Internet cafe was closed down a year and a half ago by RailTrack in the UK: http://www.hyperactive-cafe.co.uk/ [hyperactive-cafe.co.uk].

    • While I feel sorry for your friend's loss, please realise that RailTrack is not/was not ever owned by the UK Government.

      RailTrack was a private company, and after its collapse, its assets were taken over by Network Rail, a not-for-profit company that's sole purpose is to run the railways as efficiently as possible and at maximum benefit to rail passengers. Unlike RailTrack, any money that Network Rail makes is ploughed back into the system, and not one penny is paid to any investor in the form of dividends
  • Im assuming from the posts already that cyber cafes in the US are like those in the UK and slowly going out of business as people get bband. However ive spoken to people i know about internet access in other countries and they seem to think cyber cafes are the way to go. A friend of mine wanted to set one up in spain and still thinks this is a good market, as is portugal,italy, and most of eastern europe. For those of you the other side of the pond, I know places like venezeula, Guatemala etc all want inte
  • Korea has the highest broadband penetration.
    Korea also has massivly sucessful PC Bangs. Korea is a gamer society as well. So the conclusion I'd come to is, don't worry so much about the Cafe aspect, or the Cyber aspect, but the gameing and arcade aspects. Make it cheap, your main audience is probably High schoolers and college kids, choose location carefully, etc. Draconian rules are stupid. A place here in Cincinnati is now charging $1.50 an hour just to BE in the building... That's not even counting
  • I've only used a couple of internet cafes in the US and UK, and they were all terribly expensive. Maybe they have a big bandwidth bill or are trying to recoup equipment costs. PCs are cheap enough now that that shouldn't be as bad.

    And the coffee is usually expensive too.

    (Never been to a gaming focused place).

    Don't overcharge for coffee/food or get boring on the comfort/decor, that's why I'm at the cafe and not at home or the library!

  • Very very difficult (Score:3, Insightful)

    by SmallFurryCreature ( 593017 ) on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @09:21AM (#8247734) Journal
    I used one before I got broadband to keep the costs in check. I knew exactly how much I was spending. I stopped when I got broadband because quit frankly I have better hardware and better booze at home.

    There are quit a few here in Amsterdam (holland) and they do vary.

    • Cyber cafe's, they are just bars with a few pc's. Typically used by tourists and people who for some reason don't have a phone line but do got money. Foreign workers staying in hotels are regulars. Cheaper then what a hotel charges. Some are fun as a bar.
    • Phone shops. Amsterdam has a large immigrant population and shops provide cheap phone calls back home. Most also have internet access. Mostly used by young immigrants. Not very welcoming to outsiders.
    • Copy shops. It is a student town and students need to copy things. They typically have a couple of machines that can be used for desktop publishing but also have internet access. Expensive because of the hardware but good if you want to work.
    • Of course there is the easyaccess place wich is pure tourists.

    So what do I think that works? Well depends on the people in your area. If there is a large group of people without access at home then you can easily open a store in a central location. Add a small bar. A place where people can get a drink and access the net.

    If people do got access at home you need to supply a very good reason for them to come to your place. Very fast access could be one but this costs lots of money. A fun enviroment could be one but sitting behind a computer is ultimately a single experience.

    You could attempt to setup a gaming center if you got the money. But it would be very very difficult to keep the place open. Open to the general public I mean. New clients can easily be discouraged if you don't provide a welcoming atmosphere. And I don't mean just in the bar but also in the games going on.

  • Come on, the whole concept is ridiculous. Why would you want to have a cafe with computers on each desk. People come to cafe's to eat, drink, or chat (the soundwave protocol, not with computers).

    While public internet access surely is a good thing for e.g. travellers, I never understood why people thought there was a big market for it, and given the lack of success for most internet cafes, it certainly seems like this feeling was right.

    Just look at it this way. When the cost of the computers, furniture a

  • Consider if you will this true scenario ...

    A couple of weeks ago I went for an interview at a large video games company. Having spent several days preparing screenshots, code samples and the rest of my portfolio, I completely forgot to include a copy of my current CV. Only trouble is , I didnt realise until I'd left the house and was nearly in London. Imagine turning up to an interview without a copy of ones own CV... tut tut tut. I dont have a laptop, let alone a portable printer so i was in the shit! ,
    An

  • Cyber-bar concept with a twist (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RobertB-DC ( 622190 ) * on Wednesday February 11, 2004 @12:30PM (#8249612) Homepage Journal
    I had toyed with the idea of a cyber cafe, until I ran the numbers through a spreadsheet and realized there was no way I could come anywhere near my current salary workin' for the man. Harder work, longer hours, and less pay makes RobertB a dead boy.

    But one idea that came to mind was to set up in Dallas' pseudo-punk Deep Ellum [smartpages.com] strip, where the preppies dress goth and gawk at each other. There would be booths with Internet terminals, a nominal quarter-hour fee, and overpriced drinks.

    Here's the twist: the bartender controls several large-screen TVs, which he/she can connect to whichever surfer is most interesting at the time. Like a DJ, the barkeep would be able to adjust the "mix" -- maybe some softcore porn on one screen, a CNN ticker on the other, and someone's hacking session over in the geek corner.

    For added enjoyment of the crowd, add picture-in-picture: the surfer, and what they're checking out at the moment. Why is the guy looking at porn so bored, and why is the hot chick reading Reuters so...

    Of course, not everyone would want to surf with the world looking over their shoulder. No problem -- for a small additional fee, the bartender would be blocked from showing your mug... a little more to block your surfing altogether.

    Just a crazy idea! I'll stick with the steady paycheck, for now.
  • I live in a heavily traveled tourist area fetauring mostly shopping that caters to youn families and seniors. We are a very small town with an amazing amount of hotels. I think that there are 5 in less than a mile and at leaste 10 within 10 square miles. The first 5 I mentioned are directly off the expressway. During the weekends all these hotles will sell out and during the week we do a good trade in buisness travelers because we are located halfway between Saginaw and Flint MI. Only one of these hote
  • Except for -- as noted by other posters -- dedicated gaming cafes, internet access alone is not a particularly compelling reason to go anywhere. It's too cheap and pervasive to be much of a commodity unless you have a captive audience, as in airports, or you offer all kinds of additional bells and whistles, like Kinko's, and frankly, I don't know how successful that end of their business is.

    Most of the successful places I've seen in this market would be successful without it. Back in my hometown (Nashville
  • a cyber cafe isn't really a sound bussiness...

    A normal cafe with free internet terminals may be more sucessful... (Web access only)

    Internet should be used to attract customers and you should make your money off coffee and food sales.

    Internet is so cheap and the norm these days no one is going to pay to use it.

    Also offer free wireless access to attract users with their own laptops.

    Another service could be a lan party room which you could charge for...

    Or have a room with a few high end machines loaded w
  • Have you gone to your local library lately. Chances are, they will have computers that have internet acces but are locked down pretty tight. I am able to view internet news, apply for jobs, and chat all through the Library's computer lab. And its free, I don't even have a library card.

    If I were to go to the local interent cafe/gaming center I'd have to pay $5/hr. That's reason enough to make me look for alternatives.
  • I think it got to the point where ordering broadband became a whole lot cheaper than what you'd spend on computer time, drinks, and gratuity if you went out in search of faster net access. I would occasionally go out to a cybercafe here and there when I had dialup, but now that I can get 1.5/256 ADSL for $27/month, there's just no point

    I frequent a little bar/sushi joint that's tucked away behind a popular street in my city. They've got a few computers there they rent out at 11 cents/minute, and in my go
  • Take a look at Click's [clickscyberbar.com] in Iowa. It's doing really well.

    Disclaimer: Click's is owned by my mother.

  • I live in a big city in Europe, and I used to use them to look at my work e-mail sometimes, but now I am afraid of keyloggers. There is no policy in my firm about not using these (we have OWA), but maybe there should be, we are all moving to SmartPhones and the like anyway now.

    I like to surf in them sometimes though. While in airports waiting for example. And I find looking at the bulliten (sp) boards is a good way to find out what is happening locally.
  • The problem with running an internet cafe is that I dont believe that anyone actually makes money with the cafe itself. Ive known a few people now that have run cyber cafes.. and all of them used the cafe as a place to do computer tech work, where most of their money came from. all of which found that it was more money to drop the cafe guise once they get the computer tech business up and running. The problem with running cybercafes is that you have to do high volume to get cheap prices from food distrib

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