[ThinkInsane]

We got a big group of computer users here, so I want to pick your brains.

I'm in the process of opening a coffee house, in which I plan to have a number of computers. I was wondering what should I get. Should I spring for state of the art, or are last Gen. power PC's gonna cut it? I don't think I want to go to the added expense of iMac DV's, but I would go for earlier additons of the iMac. I've seen Rev. C's pretty cheap (I did just get a grape 266 @ Sam's Club for $700). And as much as I hate to do it, I'll have to add a couple of PC's. This is a college town, and the labs are split pretty even between Mac's and wintel, as well as the local high school that got a $5 million grant from MicroSoft (suprise, no more macs at the school).

I'll have it all networked to a T1, so the service will be fast, but do I need the more expensive computers? Everyones input will be helpfull. And hey, to all that reply, the coffee's on me!!

[sine -''-..-]

i'd say go with first gen iMacs, theyre fast, relitively cheap and pretty reliable.
I'm not sure of a "good" supplier of older iMacs, but there should be some around...
as for the PCs, you'll probably need a few MCSE sys admin guys to keep 'em ticking

[Misha]

I'd go for iMac 350s, personally, since they're not that pricey and offer more bang for the buck. Not to mention people can tell the difference between first and second gens and they'll be impressed if the shop has the latest machines.

But I'm not sure you want every iMac to be blueberry.

[slboett]

I'd start by using the right word - POLL.
That said, where do you live? I've wanted to open a coffee house for years and I've visited a local joint that uses all iMacs. Very cool idea, T1 and a small router. I think they charged too much though so that is something to lookout for.
I think it's a no-brainer, use iMacs. As Mac users we're always being treated as second- class citizens, so why not throw a little back! Easy, inexpensive and cool-looking. They take up very little space to boot (no pun!).
Good luck, and if you're near LA - look me up!!!

Scott

[ThinkInsane]

OK, I bought two iMac 350's yesterday, abd returned what I thought was a deal from Sam's Club. I'm picking up 2 B+W G3's today. I haven't decided on what the rest of the iMacs will be yet.

Scott, I'm in upstate New York, just north of Syracuse on Lake Ontario. Stop in if your ever in the area. Oh, and the "POLE" thing was strictly for Feather's benefit

And as far ass all my machines being blueberry? Well, I'll just paint 'em

[Anthony the PC lover]

I'd say go with the newest machines you can possibly afford, as people will be impressed with the power. Picture this; some student has a piece of crap computer, and he finds out the local coffee house has faster ones, he'll bolt like lightning to the place and make it a frequent visiting spot. You don’t want a guy who says "pppppt...I have a waaaay better computer at home, duuude".

I would like to say go with all iMacs in the shop, because the presence of those multi-colored beauties with balls would look awesome and give off an aura of power (make sure you get every color possible). It would look dumb to throw in a couple ugly beige crap PeeCees, as it would throw off the equilibrium in the room.

However, you are faced with the fact that those idiots who use PC (and never touched a Mac) will start pissing and moaning cause they don’t see any Windows floating around. Everyone knows these people, they are the ones who made fun of you when you all went out and bought your Macs. This is a problem I have no answer to, other than to buy some PCs and suffer there endless problems.

Well that’s what I think anyway.

Hey I live in northern Massachusetts, and I am heavily addicted to coffee, so maybe I will drop by some day! Where will you be located?

<center><img src=http://usa.venus.co.uk/weed/agifs/images72/javanim.gif></center>

[ThinkInsane]

Oswego NY. Get off Off 90 at Syracuse (Rt. 481 North, and take it to the end. If you drive into the lake, you went by my house by about 200 feet. The door is always open

By the way, as long as I'm looking for advice, what do you think is fair to charge for comp time? I was thinking $3 an hour. It's a buck cheaper than anyone else here is renting time. And they only have one or two computers with dial up access. Think Ten high end Macs and a couple of PC's with a T1 are worth three bucks an hour?

[This message has been edited by ThinkInsane (edited 04-18-2000).]

[Cipher13]

To help with the problem of the Wintels, how about a couple of iMacs running Virtual PC? That would keep the place looking nice (no ugly square beige boxes), and it may impress even some of the PC'ers. It might be a good idea to make the VPC machines a little faster than the rest, so those PC'ers don't complain how slow they are - maybe iMac DVSE? 400 G3 and 128 oughta run VPC like dream. I know it runs briliantly on a 333 iBook with 160 megs (not mine though).
Just a thought.

Cipher13

[Feathers]

My sixpence or two-cents worth would be that regrettably yes, you probably do need a few genuine PC's, for portability of data back and forth(for customers) etc. I've seen PC cases that are quite good translucent Blue'n'white (I know this is sacrilige) so beige wouldn't have to spoil the overall "look" of the establishment, at least no worse than Thinkinsane standing behind the counter

On the Mac front, eight to ten machines?

4-6 1st Generation iMac or 350(2nd)
2 2nd Generation iMac
2 B&W G3/G4 Desktops/Servers

[Anthony the PC lover]

no way...get all G3/G4 iMacs ONLY. Then get about two of every color.

[ThinkInsane]

Well, I was only half kidding about painting the 'puters. As of tonight, one of my more artistic students has airbrushed the two Blueberry's I bought. I gotta say, they came out pretty cool looking. I got the idea in a cyber cafe' in Montreal. They had a guy there that would paint your tower for a few Canadian rubles (or what ever they use for money up there ).I'm leaving for Myrtle Beach in the morning, but when I get back, I'll post some pictures of them. I think I might get one more 350 and another G3 tower, the rest iMac DV's. And I'm still curious, is three bucks an hour unresonable?

As for the PC's I have seen some decent looking boxes. My work machine is a nice looking black job in a slim tower. That model will be alright in a dark corner, where decent people won't have to be offened by the sight of it.

Oh, and Feathers, once again "BITE ME"
They will come for the coffee and the Macs, but they will come back to see ME!!!!

[This message has been edited by ThinkInsane (edited 04-20-2000).]

[Cipher13]

On the PC front, how about a couple of iMac clones? They look terrible, but wont ruin the pattern and 'feel' in the place. And then the PC users will keep their mouths shut - they can't complain about not having PC's, and on top of that you have the delight of seeing them cringe whenever they see something that so blatently copies the iMac!
But seriously, what about the eOne (if they still make them) or eMachine or something.
If not those, what about the SG machines? They look OK. They will ruin the pattern, but not too badly. If you haven't seen them, they're black and bluish/purple. They come in towers or desktop models.
I can send a couple of scans if you want - I'm not sure if they have them on SGI's website.
They are priced relatively reasonably down under, but then again in Australia a G4 400 costs $3295 on its own!!
And I think that price is pretty good. The cybercafes here charge anywhere between $3/15 mins and $10/1 hr, but the service differs greatly from one to the other.
Maybe take it up a dollar, as it will make a difference to your profit, but wont turn people off much.

Cipher13

[Misha]

How about putting a couple of PC towers on the floor, tucked away out of sight (but accessible for that mandatory floppy that PC users can't live without) and then hooking them up to Apple displays...

[wlonh]

just make sure all your machines are running SETI@home when they are not otherwise occupied

[Anthony the PC lover]

3 bucks is a wonderful excellent price. Especially if it's a buck cheaper than the other places like you were saying. People will come flocking to your place.

Make sure you sell good coffee! What brand were you planning on using? What kinds of coffee were you gonna sell?

[Feathers]

Three bucks an hour is for nothing. Here on my planet, most places charge the equivalent of about seven bucks an hour, and some of them have about ten machines 10baseT to a lousy dial-up, I mean we're talking sloowwwww!!!

A T1 pipe for $3 and decent coffee.....hmmmmmmmmm!!!

I don't know what your market will bear price-wise, but I was in Chicago recently and the cybercafe I visited there (ALL MACS!) needed $12/hr or $7/half-hour.

Their main access was AOL...you had to have your own AOL account and you could sign in as "guest" from the cafe.

FWIW, I think $3/hr is very inexpensive, but, for where you live it might be right on the money.

peace, and GOOD LUCK!!
Linda

[Feathers]

The very best of luck, Think.

Maybe someday I'll get to complain about your coffee in person!!!

[ThinkInsane]

Thanks for all the advice. And as for complaining about my coffe, forget about it. We're carrying nothing but AA coffees, including Kona Peaberry and Jamaca Blue Mountain (Estate, not the crap JBM that sells for a mere $20 a pound, this is the quality product ). I'm planning on carrying 40 different coffees, regular, decaf, and that nasty flavored stuff that people insist on drinking. All provided by Kaldi Coffee Roasters ( www.kaldi.com )and Muai Coffee Roasters.Like Dennis Leary, I like my coffee coffee flavored!

I'm glad my price seems more than reasonable for leasing 'puter time. I got hooked up on a sweet deal for the internet service, so I don't see the need to rape the customers. Hey, everyone that knows the secret MacNN handshake gets a free large coffee and a Biscotti! Hell, make it a chocolate biscotti! I feel generous.lol.

[This message has been edited by ThinkInsane (edited 04-24-2000).]

[Anthony the PC lover]

Hey Think,
I'm headed for a road trip to New York City in June. It would be awesome If I could stop by and purchase a fine cappuccino and chocolate biscotti and then play with a fine Mac for a while. Will you be in business by June? I'd love to stop by...

[ThinkInsane]

Hopefully yes, I'm still doing renovations, but I would like to be open by June. Just so you know though, I'm five hours north of NYC. But if you got an extra day, swing on up.

How bout we all meet after Macworld closes 7/21 and drive up to Think's place together for the weekend?

[ThinkInsane]

The more the merrier

[wlonh]

i like mine black and hot

[Cipher13]

Like Vanessa Williams? Oh, you mean your coffee... My mind wandered off topic...

Silly me... :-)

Cipher13

[Anthony the PC lover]

I think that we be sooo cool if we all met at Thinkie's place for a coffee, but then again, it'll never happen.

Hey Thinkie, if I want a coffee here in Massachusetts will your place have a website where I can purchase a Mocha Latte online and have it shipped to me in 3-5 business days?

[wlonh]

i hear there's a new super-hermetic flavalok container powered by a coldfusion reactor to keep things warm over a period of 4 days... worth looking into!

[ThinkInsane]

Actually, I was thiking of building a giant straw so Anthony could stay in Mass. and sip his Latte here. But I guess the super flaver- saver hermaphrodite thing would be more practical

[This message has been edited by ThinkInsane (edited 04-26-2000).]

[Feathers]

And I've heard that Anthony would have no trouble sucking the coffee all the way through it!

[Feathers]

Originally posted by ThinkInsane:
Actually, I was thiking of building a giant straw so Anthony could stay in Mass. and sip his Latte here. But I guess the super flaver- saver hermaphrodite thing would be more practicle

Ok what did Think actually mean?

a) Practical

b) Particle

or

c) Testicle

Once again, answers on the back of a $20 bill!



[This message has been edited by Feathers (edited 04-25-2000).]

[ThinkInsane]

Feathers, what's your address? I need to know so I can come and kill you. I mean so I can send you a present. Yeah, that's it, a present....

[oscar]

Hey since this topic has changed more times in this thread then I can count (my unsoberness doesnt help, I'm sure) I thought I'd pass on this link: http://www.thinkgeek.com/brain/bazaa...mp;itemid=31c6

------------------
-See Yea!

[Anthony the PC lover]

I'm gonna use the giant straw to huck a giant super-loogie-spitball right in Feathers' eye!...and if the straw is long enough, I won't even have to get up to do it!

[ThinkInsane]

Update: Anyone want to by a bunch of macs cheap? I had a three hour meeting with the local chapter of the National Hysterical Society. This meeting mostly consisted of them teling me that my plans didn't meet their "historical vision" for the building ( a building, I might add, that I paid quite alot of money for, and even more in renovations cuase it's a piece of sh*t), and me screaming and threatening to burn it down and kill everyone I see. All in all it went very well. I are threatening to sue me I did find that it at one time was the site of a bordello. maybe if I opened one of those the Historical Society will be offended, and unable to do anything becuase it would fit the buildings history... Hmmmmm, just call me madam..

[wlonh]

r u freakin' kiddin' me?!?!?!

hey fun is fun and historical preservation is good idea, BUT... JEEZ!

they are outta their minds. but you knew that.

is there anything we can possibly do to help?

(((Think)))

I generally support the work of Historical Societies for preservation/restoration of buildings for appearance, etc., but I've not heard of one being able to stop the *kind* of business that went inside a historically-correct building. If the building is zoned for commercial use, what's the diff what's inside of it?

They should have been in contact with you before you BOUGHT the place, if they were going to restrict your business. The Realtor should have made you aware of any restrictive covenants that were tagging along with the property BEFORE you bought the place.

If you meet their demands with the façade of the building, such as maybe hiding any neon signs and putting out carved oak ones (or something like that), will they compromise with you on the interior?

&lt;joke&gt; If you install AOL on any of the Macs, there will be enough cyber going on that your biz will likely be able to qualify as a brothel. &lt;/joke&gt;

Let us know what we can do to help!

Linda

[ThinkInsane]

Well, here's the deal. They aren't against the type of business per say. The want me to restore the building to it's original appearance before they will sign off on it. Here's the catch, this building was built as an armory in 1835. In 1923 the forth floor burned and had to be torn down, the third floor was capped and became the roof. They want me to rebuild the top floor and the eloborate facade that sat on it. That's at least 200,000 dollars I'm looking at, and it ain't gonna happen. I even donate to these as*holes. The nerve. my only hope is my lawyer doesn't think code enforcment will go for that kind of construction, due to the age of the building and structural stuff. I'll let you know what happens, and thanks for the support!

[Feathers]

I thought the time-out was fifty years, so that you should only have to go back(now) to 1950 or thereabouts, irrespective of the "original" date, for the very reasons that you describe, fire, flood etc.

My uncle in Rockport(MA) has a similar problem with his home residence, he can't even repaint it without permission!!!

PS - (Bouncing up and down) What's my present? What's my present? What's my present? Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

[Anthony the PC lover]

ThinkInsane,
As I am a member of the Sicilian Mafia, and a friend to you, I can assure that your problems will be taken care of. Tomorrow morning you will note that the historical commission guys will be well in your favor of the new cybercafe. You will also note they will be in wheelchairs, possibly the result of several blows to the knees. If I am mistaken, and they still remain persistent in their beliefs, I assure you they will encounter a loud surprise the next day when they start their cars and suddenly become fiery spattering chunks of charbroil. Problem solved--continue building your dreams.

Sincerely,
Don Antonio

By the way on the internet cafe issue, (ok I'm a newbie to these boards and a little behind), it would be good to go all Macs, though don't overcharge, I've seen some recently go under, even cheap ones(6 bucks for fast-but not T1). Anyway, what would I now, I only live in a town a 600 people year-round anyway.

[Feathers]

Originally posted by Kato:
By the way on the internet cafe issue, (ok I'm a newbie to these boards and a little behind), it would be good to go all Macs, though don't overcharge, I've seen some recently go under, even cheap ones(6 bucks for fast-but not T1)....

I don't want to attack a new member or anything but...

You might consider reading the entire thread before posting a reply. The PC/Mac and price things have been well covered.

Conversely,

Originally posted by Kato(continued):
Anyway, what would I now, I only live in a town a 600 people year-round anyway.

- don't be so quick to put yourself or your opinions down, dude.

PS - Think, sorry I missed that Dragonlance thread, got so fed up with the PC/Mac debate thing, I never returned to it. And I think a PC user's bad spelling speaks for itself!

[ThinkInsane]

Ha! The Hysterical society can all line up and kiss my ass. I think I found me a loop hole! The fourth floor and the facade were NOT original to the building. They were added a few years later as the building was expanded. My lawyer guy says they can't do nutting cuase that wasn't original equipment. Hehehe I love lawyers, even if I feel the need to shower after speaking to one! I'll keep you posted. I hope it all works out, I really like this spot, and can't find another to siut my needs. Plus, the UPS guy brought me three PC's, and I don't want to get stuck with those! EWWWWW!

[Feathers]

Excellent news! So you can climb down out of the bell tower...slowly...and put the rifle down...gently does it...

[ThinkInsane]

Well now, I guess that would depend on wether or not I can see your house from my bell towere, wouldn't it

[ThinkInsane]

wooo hoooo looks like we's back in business. And to top it off, a shiny new lime imac came in the mail today, things are looking up. Antonio, I might still have your Guido friends break thier knees, just out aof spite



[This message has been edited by ThinkInsane (edited 05-04-2000).]

[Misha]

I think ThinInsane should bring some barrels of coffee down to MWnyc and brew them up for MacNN readers.

[wlonh]

after all we've had to put up with from him, you're d*** right... he'd better come across with da goods...

or it's curtains!!

[ThinkInsane]

Tell me where and when, and I'm on my way!

[Feathers]

Originally posted by ThinkInsane:
wooo hoooo looks like we's back in business. And to top it off, a shiny new lime imac came in the mail today, things are looking up...

How many Macs have you got in total?

[Anthony the PC lover]

I NEED some coffee! Get that Thinky-ass moving!