[Ti] Wireless Internet with power points?

[Colin McDonald]

on 22/12/02 19:42, Robert Nicholson at robert at elastica.com wrote:

> So, my experience has been that in Starbucks in the USA (Seattle) you
> can jack in power and nobody says a word. Especially if you're ordering
> drinks etc. Trying doing that in Thailand and you get a completely
> different attitude. (They are worried about the power charge here. Not
> worried so much as see it as something that should require payment
> before use.) ... So it's not all that Laptop friendly if you don't
> carry spare batteries with you. I'm curious to know what it's like in
> the UK. A british friend of mine once told me he was accused of
> "stealing electricity" when he plugged in his laptop in a Cafe around
> Manchester. I'd expect similar treatment in other parts of the country
> too.
> 
> Here in Bangkok, Thailand they offer free wireless internet in Siam
> Discovery as a promotion from Copperwired (Applecenter) and another
> company. Anyway, whilst the service is pretty slow it works but the
> management at that complex strictly forbid customers plugging into the
> vastly available power sockets used when vacumming the floors.

This sounds like the old stories people in Glasgow tell about Edinburgh
hospitality - " Ye'll have had your tea, then"  is now "ye'll have had your
battery charged" - a statement, not a question.

I would like to think that in Glasgow we would offer you a cup of tea AND to
charge your battery.

TRUE STORY: When I left my TiBook charger in work over the weekend recently
and didn't discover this until a got a low battery warning, I phoned up the
local  Glasgow Apple dealer (ScotSys) on Saturday afternoon and they
promptly offered to charge my battery while I went shopping.  (No charge for
the charge). Now that's what I call service!

Coiln McDonald