Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#161

Post by Mikeb85 » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 6:52 PM UTC

trzy wrote: post #32

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

Historically, cafes were social forums where people gathered for hours at a time to read and converse. Maximizing absolute profit by optimizing customer throughput is the modern take. But that’s not what cafes are for and so you should not feel bad for forcing owners to understand their business and optimize for both profitability and the cafe experience.

> Maximizing absolute profit by optimizing customer throughput is the modern take.

Because real estate prices and thus rent have gone through the roof compared to the historic average.

Coffee used to be expensive relative to wages and rent ultra-cheap. Now that's flipped.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#162

Post by jhugo » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:03 PM UTC

I like the idea, but I threw in a bunch of test queries and it only seems to find cafes in places where it's easy to find cafes to work from (and thus the site is not really needed). In all the cities where I remember struggling to find a place to sit with my laptop, it returned zero results.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#163

Post by mgarfias » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:04 PM UTC

Might want to work on it: salem oregon gives me a map for salem, MA. And Albany, OR, gives me Albany, NY.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#164

Post by rafiki6 » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:05 PM UTC

not a bad idea, try to add a feature to allow for some real time user generated data like availability of seats, loudness etc.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#165

Post by unnouinceput » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:13 PM UTC

This must be an American thing. Here, in Romania, I can walk in any cafe and I have free Wi-Fi at broadband speed. Actually in any place of business where you can sit at a table (malls, bookshops, even mom&pop shops have this).

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#166

Post by bogwog » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:18 PM UTC

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

I used to think the same thing until I realized that I can't remember the last time I actually sat down in a coffee shop to drink coffee. I always buy it to go, and I imagine the vast majority of people do that too.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#167

Post by jlokier » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:23 PM UTC

comprev wrote: post #144

padolsey wrote: post #14

This is cool. Reminds me.. I have always liked the idea of opening a cafe (who hasn't !?) but I'd struggle with the modern behaviour of peeps sitting for hours taking up a plug + wifi in exchange for ~£$4. Hugely uneconomical for independents. Good-faith customers aware of the economic burden of their behaviour are a VERY rare breed.. So I quite like (/ethically hate) the idea of creating scarcities in order to influ…

Have a system by which each coffee comes with a unique code on the receipt. This code grants you 1hr on the WiFi before terminating your session. Present a screen which provides a payment gateway to buy more time - or for less money - buy another drink. I've been to cafes before which let you "rent" a security lock for laptops and all the tables had a loop which they could be attached too. In many cafes I've seen sig…

> Have a system by which each coffee comes with a unique code on the receipt. This code grants you 1hr on the WiFi before terminating your session.

I went to a place like that a few years ago. I could never comfortably finish my drink within the time limit, so I'd get cut off wifi while still drinking, even if I was just browsing to relax, not spending hours.

Perhaps it worked for them: I stopped going there and taking up seating. Then again I stopped going there to buy anything as well.

The internet time limit was an improvement over their previous policy, of playing music way too loud, which staff told me was deliberate. That didn't actually push people away who had laptops - people like me wore earplugs with noise cancelling headphones over the top, to bring the awful sound down to bearable levels. But it stopped people who came in for a chat with friends from chatting.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#168

Post by bogwog » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:23 PM UTC

bluedino wrote: post #149

markhalonen wrote: post #86

I've found libraries to be superior to cafes for working -- dead quiet. Funded by the taxpayer, so zero financial worries, just a public space. Free WiFi, Printer, etc. Nice chairs too

My library has fiber internet...but it only allows browsing. No ssh, no git, no vpn...

Just use a tunnel through one of the open ports. If you don't have a server handy, the cheapest VM on any hosting company would cost practically nothing.

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#169

Post by mceoin » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:27 PM UTC

frizkyK wrote: post #120

batesy wrote: post #83

Oh man. I love how clean this UI is. I'm stealing some ideas for sure. Can you point me toward any inspiration you had in designing? Other sites, approaches, etc.? I know nothing about UI design and it always stops me from getting my ideas created.

Thanks :) I got a lot of inspiration from the Twitter UI/UX actually haha

Hey frizkyK - if you'd like improve the site for SEO I'd be happy to jump on a call and give you some pointers. There's a lot of good stuff here already.

(Free, of course, I just think this is a cool idea!)

Re: Show HN: I built a website to find nearby cafes to work remotely from

#170

Post by PietKachelhout » Wed, Apr 20, 2022, 7:37 PM UTC

wintermutestwin wrote: post #127

PietKachelhout wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This [0] cafe in Berlin charges you by the hour. And the first drink is included. Worked really well for me when I was in Berlin. No subscription needed. [0] https://kleinmein.gr/en/coworking-space/

This is brilliant! I wonder how they police it? Is it simply a limited time access to the internet? Important to note that the second feature they list is: "comfy seats." It seems that many coffee shops try to fight the over use problem with uncomfortable seating.

They don't police it. It is an honesty system. I think limiting internet access is a pointless method because it is so easy to tether to your phone. And you don't have to work online to work there, you can also draw or read.