The five Southern California cybercafes I reviewed first started providing Internet connectivity after July 4 of this year. I'd like to credit Mark Dz's CyberCafe Guide for providing me with background information on cybercafes to begin research on this article.
Even Al Capone Would Have Liked This Place
Close to the Artesia Freeway, Al Cappuccino is located in an unlikely place—a large shopping center—but when you step into the cafe you enter a different world. Not your typical shopping center space, the cafe is L-shaped, with two entrances from two different courts of the shopping center. Original art for sale adorns the walls, with square copper tables and blue wicker chairs in which to sit, sip beverages and eat pastries. Three Internet- connected PC workstations with full Internet access are located by one entrance. Each workstation includes a NEC Multisync XV15, a NEC Powerstation V466, and a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard. All software and hardware were installed by Cyberian Expresso, a company that specializes in turnkey installation of computers in cybercafes. The cafe has a large "menu" of training classes for the Internet. A patron may attend everything from a 30- minute basic training to a deluxe, three-hour tour of the Web. Special topic seminars from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays are available as well. They even offer a luncheon special during the week: a sandwich and 30 minutes on the Net for $6! Computer time is $5 per hour before 6:00 p.m. and $6 per hour afterward. Membership in the Global Caffe Society (membership dues required, email address included) cuts $1 off the hourly rate.
Art is Art is Art
Situated in a corner of a large shopping center near Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, DP's Coffeehouse boasts a collection of varied and interesting art done by local artists. Online since July 1995, DP's has a 28.8 dial-up connection on one workstation with full access using Netscape. Computer time is $5 per hour. A full complement of coffees, beverages, and pastries is available for purchase while you surf the Net.
A value-added aspect to the one-workstation setup is the connection of an overhead TV monitor which permits anyone in the coffeehouse to view the computer screen. I recently attended a meeting, of approximately 30-40 graphic artists and Web developers, held at DP's. The overhead monitor definitely enhanced the Web demos, enabling the presenters to point out visual aspects to the large audience very effectively.
Not Only An Artists' and Writers' Haven
CyberJava, open since July 9, 1995, is truly a stop-off place for artists and writers, as well as business professionals, in the burgeoning Westside area of Venice on Abbott Kinney Blvd. Attracted by the fame and publicity (CyberJava was featured as a backdrop on television), I experienced déjà vu when I stood in front of the store. CyberJava is located on Abbott Kinney Blvd., slipped neatly between a lively Caribbean restaurant and an excellent vegetarian restaurant, A Votre Sante. This exact store, in fact, had once housed a restaurant whose cozy, warm decor has been replaced by CyberJava's plain slab floor and sparsely decorated walls. But CyberJava is far from sterile. Where customers once sat at tables by the front windows, there now is a string of comfortable, warm-looking divans and coffee tables for such high-touch pastimes as talking, reading, and coffee-drinking.
The rest of the room contains large tables upon which six computers rest—two MACs and four Pentium PCs. All of the computers have speakers and CD-ROMs, and can access the Internet through 28,800 bps modems and a dial-up link. Computer time at CyberJava costs 15 cents per minute, with a minimum of 15 minutes. Stay on an hour and it'll cost you only $7.50, which drops the per-minute price to 12.5 cents. A MAC-attached scanner is available for only $2.50 per image. In addition, the cafe offers other small-business services such as an Internet email address, laptop hookup and fax capability. To draw from the large pool of artists and writers in its community, CyberJava also permits customers to plug their own laptops into the electrical outlets out in the lovely sculptured patio/garden. Various Internet classes are held in a room above the coffeehouse.
Connecting the Neighborhood to the World
The Almost Paradise Cafe, located in a quiet, middle-class area of Long Beach since July 4, 1995, attracts an informal neighborhood crowd. Internet connectivity was accomplished with a "turnkey" computer installation of hardware and proprietary menu- driven software by CyberDiner Company with Netscape used as the browser of choice. In addition to the proprietary software, CyberDiner provides service when a problem occurs. As for hardware, they have installed seven 486 DX2/66 computers with 56 KB access, located in the middle on the right side of the restaurant, across from a counter. Each PC has its own 3 1/2 inch floppy with the ability to download files for subsequent use, including printing. Multimedia is available for special occasions such as cyber jam sessions, and will be available for their planned CU-See-Me setup. In view of all workstations is an up-to- date listing of interesting URLs on a whiteboard. Additionally, Internet classes are available, depending on demand. Patrons may sign up for Internet time at 16 cents per minute, but dues-paying membership in a "club" is not required for an email address. If a patron gets hungry while surfing the Net, Almost Paradise serves frozen yogurt, as well as gourmet coffee, smoothies and other beverages. Food with a tropical theme is served, including sandwiches for lunch and in the afternoon, and other healthful dishes for dinner.
Almost Paradise attracts a varied Internet crowd. At night teenagers can be seen "chatting" online with their friends alongside parents who have signed up for email accounts in order to correspond with their college- bound children. Every so often visiting tourists from other countries such as Holland and Germany have come in to retrieve their email while on vacation. Quite a heterogeneous clientele, I'd say.
A Worldly Presence
Located in a trendy block of antique stores, galleries, and restaurants on Main Street in Santa Monica, the World Cafe is patronized by an eclectic, upscale Westside crowd. The "Internet Tiki Kiosk," located in the jungle patio adjacent to the bar area, contains computers with Internet access. Six DX4/100 multimedia computers with fiber optic access to the Internet are arranged in a circular kiosk configuration under an umbrella. The kiosk design encourages informal conversation and interaction between Net surfers. Service rates for use of the computer are $8 per hour. If a patron becomes bored surfing the Net, he/she has other options such as sampling the unique cuisine (how about spinach pancakes with caviar and sour cream?), conversing in the bar, or enjoying the nightly music, which may be rhythm and blues or jazz piano.
What's in the Crystal Ball?
New cybercafes are opening as you read this, but of course there is much discussion as to whether the cybercafe phenomenon is a trend or a fad. Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, firm that analyzes business and technology trends, believes that the cybercafe venue has at most a two- to three- year life span. Whether cybercafes become the new nightlife of the '90s or not, they're a great way to explore the Internet and the World Wide Web—and the caffe latte isn't bad either.
CyberDiner Co.
999 North Hill Avenue
Pasadena, CA
DP's Coffee House
1835 Newport Blvd. #B122
Costa Mesa, CA
Cyber Java
1029 Abbott Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA
World Cafe
2820 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA
Almost Paradise Cafe
4148 1/2 Viking Way
Long Beach, CA