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Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

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Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#101

Post by SwellJoe »

code_duck wrote: post #72
SwellJoe wrote: post #39

I have a 3G/4G modem with unlimited use (from Clear), and no longer consider WiFi availability as an important part of the decision making process of where to work. I'm currently camped in the desert in Southern California, 35 miles from the nearest "big" city (Brawley, which is not very big, but it does have a Walmart). But, I never have been able to work in coffee shops. I can't think long enough with all the distr…

In the past I have lived or died by Starbucks and Caribou - driving around Omaha or some random town in Colorado trying to find public internet access. Now that I have a phone with national internet access, truly mobile internet is going to completely change how I work when I travel. The rest stops with wifi have been fun finds in the past. There's one 50 miles west of Omaha for instance with decent wireless internet…

My Kindle was priceless in Canada. It has free 3G web browsing, even internationally...so, when I was stopping for the night, I'd do a search for "free wifi (city-name)", and punch the resulting address into the GPS. The Kindle browser is completely unusable for normal browsing (it's like browsing from 1994), but it's acceptable for that one query.

I've found that rest stops with WiFi are rarely in working condition. I'm not sure why it's so hard for public hotspots to be kept operational, but apparently it is, as I'd say 75% of the ones at unattended locations are simply not working. I've learned to never expect WiFi to work, even if it is advertised on the sign or on the website or whatever. The same is true of campgrounds, 80% of which claim to have WiFi but only about 40% of which actually have usable speed and reliability. I'm tempted, being a nerd, to just go around fixing campground networks, free of charge. But, usually, I just use my 3G/4G modem. I'm getting 500kbps-1Mbps here in the desert, which is completely usable.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#104

Post by mberning »

Semiapies wrote: post #95
JacobAldridge wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"but I was completely pissed off that my tax dollars go to support that." People who can't afford a few hundred dollars for their own computer and the monthly bill for internet access? If you're looking at porn in the library, it's because you can't do it anywhere else, not because you're abusing tax dollars. Would I like the poor, the disadvantaged, the isolated to be using the library resources my taxes pay for to…

And they're paying into the library too with their taxes, poor or not.

They may or may not, but I would put money on a majority of them not paying income tax due to the large number of homeless and vagrants.

But that is beside the point. Paying taxes does not give you the right to a) break the rules (surfing porn IS against the rules) and b) causes an environment that is not conducive to the intended use (i.e. a filthy environment that drives away legitimate users)

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#105

Post by freddier »

I tried, I honestly tried. The result was they have really uncomfortable chairs and the bandwidth is really bad. The silence and concentration is good but I have a headset anyway.

The chairs are not really a deal breaker, but the bandwidth totally is.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#106

Post by mberning »

kensan wrote: post #60
mberning wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came here to post this very thing. When I was working downtown I decided to go to the library during my lunch break. To my surprise there was almost nobody in the library actually reading. However, there were people on every single computer workstation. Glancing over the screens I could see a variety of pornographic images, facebook and myspace pages, and youtube. The library is a great resource, but I was complete…

`In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”` - The Great Gatsby

I don't see how them being disadvantaged exempts them from library rules. Does being disadvantaged exempt people from the law. Of course not.

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#107

Post by eduardo_f »

That's how we got started. Our university let us book private rooms for 2 hours in a row, so we reserved 6 hours every day (we're 3). We did that for 3 months. The library manager thought we were doing some class project and helped us get a good room every day :)

Re: Ditch Starbucks and work at the library

#109

Post by icefox »

gwern wrote: post #90
lukeschlather wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The Columbia U. library is notorious for being stingy with access. $500/year is generous? It would probably be cheaper to formally enroll and take no classes.

I suspect you need at least one class to be formally enrolled, and that would apparently be a minimum cost of $950: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sfs/docs/University_Tuition_And_F...

So your saying as a bonus to the library your first class is only $450! :D
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