Why can’t you work from there? No laptop? Seems Powerbooks won’t be updated this year so I might buy the latest one soon, then my iBook’ll be for sale ;)
i find it hard to work in caffees.. dont know, but i always end up browsing and chating on msn more than anything.. or maybe i’m still not used of being so mobile.. “hey (friend on msn), i am at the mtl cafe right now, sitting here enjoying wifi. Isnt cool?”… then blablaing for hours..
Maybe i just need some time to get used to it.. ;)
Steph: That’s right, I remember you saying something about that recently! Another guy came in with a Mac before I left ;) No PC in sight. Actually, on average in the places I wifi from I’d say 40% are Macs.
m-c: Hehe, you do get over the “weee look at me” (mostly ;) ) but it is sometimes hard to concentrate. I move things around so that when I’m in a cafe I have something to do that I know doesn’t need as much concentration.
A few days ago for example I was browsing for stock images for a client design.
Mostly though it’s a change of scenery kind of thing, I might work at 80-90% speed because of distractions but it might keep me working for 3-4 hours where I would have gone nuts at home.
I can now work on anything in a cafe but I guess you get used to it. Plus, I can work there in cases where work means; answering email, typing invoices, etc. not things that require super high levels of concentration. I would have thought a writer would like it though. Isn’t it a lot more inspiring to look out to a busy sidewalk than at a wall at home?
Depends on the size of the place too. I just sat down at Montreal Cafe and there are 6 other people here, pretty calm. The Second Cup we stopped at before La mala educacion is 6-7 times larger with no separation of any kind and was packed, I couldn’t work there myself.
I do like working in a cafe – anything from design, coding, to writing – particularly if there’s good coffee to be had! Having worked in a room full of noisy Java programmers, the comings and goings of people in a cafe hardly bother me. :) The only thing that I can’t get used to is concentrated amounts of smoke where ventilation is lacking – somehow it makes the keyboard feels stickier … ugh.
I’ve totally switched to my PowerBook now, but it’s an integral part of my home studio, plus I have a 2nd monitor – can’t really do good graphics work on the PB screen alone. I really only ever take it out when I have to play a gig or go on a business trip. Maybe when I get a G5, someday.
Funny, the Starbucks in the Faubourg is like 99.9% PC laptops; never seen so much as an iPod in there.
Not to knock PC laptops cos there are some sleek ones out there, but i’m always surprised by how incredibly bulky they still are, generally. The Dell Inspiron XPS looks like it’s sitting in a docking station, but that’s actually the whole thing! Dell and Sony both do “fake thin” laptop designs where the edges are beveled, or they try to hide the bulky parts by coloring them black, etc.
I mean, if it’s gonna be big, at least be big and bold…
I think the “writer in the café” thing is a totally romanticized story. I read a lot of interviews with writers and the vast majority of them claim to work from home (or an office), alone, on a fixed schedule, with absolutely no distractions. And the walls don’t have to be white… They say it’s all about discipline and re-writing, not ambiance and inspiration.
You can go and get inspiration in a café, if people watching is your thing, but then you bring the ideas back home and develop them.
I guess it really depends on people. I can hardly read in a café, because the “story” around me (the people, their interaction) competes with the story in the book.
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Dammit, why can’t *I* be working from Laika?
Then again, if was working from there, i’d probably have to clean it and cook for everyone. The joys of working from home….
Why can’t you work from there? No laptop? Seems Powerbooks won’t be updated this year so I might buy the latest one soon, then my iBook’ll be for sale ;)
Actually, has anyone spotted a non-Mac in Laika recently? I’ve come to suspect that all Mac laptop users use that place as a hidey hole … :)
i find it hard to work in caffees.. dont know, but i always end up browsing and chating on msn more than anything.. or maybe i’m still not used of being so mobile.. “hey (friend on msn), i am at the mtl cafe right now, sitting here enjoying wifi. Isnt cool?”… then blablaing for hours..
Maybe i just need some time to get used to it.. ;)
I feel I’m out the wireless trend. No laptop, no cellphone, and a plain old walkman! Remember M-C ;)
Steph: That’s right, I remember you saying something about that recently! Another guy came in with a Mac before I left ;) No PC in sight. Actually, on average in the places I wifi from I’d say 40% are Macs.
m-c: Hehe, you do get over the “weee look at me” (mostly ;) ) but it is sometimes hard to concentrate. I move things around so that when I’m in a cafe I have something to do that I know doesn’t need as much concentration.
A few days ago for example I was browsing for stock images for a client design.
Mostly though it’s a change of scenery kind of thing, I might work at 80-90% speed because of distractions but it might keep me working for 3-4 hours where I would have gone nuts at home.
Antoine: see comment #2 ;)
Ok ok, I can trade it for my walkman ? :)
But seriously, what model is your iBook ? I’m actualy looking for a laptop these days.
iBook 700 updated to 384Mb RAM and OS X 10.3.5
Sound good, keep me updated.
Hmmm. I was about to say that I don’t believe people when they say they “work” in a café, but then Patrick almost convinced me. Almost…
One of the Macs you are seeing there must be Boris’, no?
I can now work on anything in a cafe but I guess you get used to it. Plus, I can work there in cases where work means; answering email, typing invoices, etc. not things that require super high levels of concentration. I would have thought a writer would like it though. Isn’t it a lot more inspiring to look out to a busy sidewalk than at a wall at home?
Depends on the size of the place too. I just sat down at Montreal Cafe and there are 6 other people here, pretty calm. The Second Cup we stopped at before La mala educacion is 6-7 times larger with no separation of any kind and was packed, I couldn’t work there myself.
I do like working in a cafe – anything from design, coding, to writing – particularly if there’s good coffee to be had! Having worked in a room full of noisy Java programmers, the comings and goings of people in a cafe hardly bother me. :) The only thing that I can’t get used to is concentrated amounts of smoke where ventilation is lacking – somehow it makes the keyboard feels stickier … ugh.
I’ve totally switched to my PowerBook now, but it’s an integral part of my home studio, plus I have a 2nd monitor – can’t really do good graphics work on the PB screen alone. I really only ever take it out when I have to play a gig or go on a business trip. Maybe when I get a G5, someday.
Funny, the Starbucks in the Faubourg is like 99.9% PC laptops; never seen so much as an iPod in there.
Not to knock PC laptops cos there are some sleek ones out there, but i’m always surprised by how incredibly bulky they still are, generally. The Dell Inspiron XPS looks like it’s sitting in a docking station, but that’s actually the whole thing! Dell and Sony both do “fake thin” laptop designs where the edges are beveled, or they try to hide the bulky parts by coloring them black, etc.
I mean, if it’s gonna be big, at least be big and bold…
I think the “writer in the café” thing is a totally romanticized story. I read a lot of interviews with writers and the vast majority of them claim to work from home (or an office), alone, on a fixed schedule, with absolutely no distractions. And the walls don’t have to be white… They say it’s all about discipline and re-writing, not ambiance and inspiration.
You can go and get inspiration in a café, if people watching is your thing, but then you bring the ideas back home and develop them.
I guess it really depends on people. I can hardly read in a café, because the “story” around me (the people, their interaction) competes with the story in the book.
Laika, I worked there at night shift last week
It has given to me the necessary white noise to focus on my work.
btw….
http://www.apple.com/fr/ipodphoto/
Martine, working in a cafe has became necessary for me. It’s almost a requirement to be really effective.