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First 802.11 Wireless Movie Theater?
vern@austin802.11.com writes: "Imagine being able to IRC someone to pass the popcorn! The Austin Wireless Group has helped establish what may well be the country's first Wireless Enabled Theatre. The Alamo Draft House movie theater in Austin, Texas now has 802.11b wireless broadband Internet access that covers all screens in their complex. This "retrofit" theater had every other row replaced with tables and offers dinner and drinks with the show. So, you can park your laptop, order a burger/beer, then email in a movie review all w/o disturbing your fellow patrons. Cool! :)"
Last movie i saw there was Danny Darko at the Alamo North and I didn't see anyone with a laptop. I'm as big a geek as anyone and i don't see the need for it, espicially at the Alamo.
Typically one orders a large beer, a hamberger and maybe some nachos. Beer, grease and cheese isn't the kind of thing i want next to my $1,000 laptop, besides it would be rude to the people behind me to have that bright LCD screen glaring, not to mention the sound of the keyboard.
-Jon
this is my sig.
I frequent the Alamo Drafthouse quite a bit.
:)
This is a great idea and I really don't think it will take away from the experience that I've enjoyed for years. The atmosphere at the Alamo Drafthouse is different from any other theater because it is expected that there will be some disturbance during the show. This isn't to say that it's a roudy place where you can't enjoy your movie (except maybe during Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings), but the experience is much more like watching a movie with a bunch of friends at home.
Given the shear volume of wireless-enabled individuals in Austin, this can only enhance the experience.
Next time I go I'll take my laptop and hack other patrons if they're noisy
Miked
Wireless 'net access though, sounds counter-intuitive to the real draw I found (the aforementioned quiet). We'll never see anything like this around Phoenix until someone razes Awahtukee and Anthem. Or at least until movie tickets are more expensive than babysitters.
Do not touch -Willie
>I'm pretty sure I would be disturbed by my
>fellow patrons typing and ordering.
I can't argue with typing, but the ordering thing they've got pretty well handled.
Ordering is handled by writing your order on a sheet of paper, then putting it in a memo-holder kinda thing on the narrow table in front of each row of seats. Each seat has a number associated with it, so the wait staff picks up the order, verifies they can read it, and scribbles the seat number on the piece of paper. Very simple, and 80% of the time no conversation necessary.
There's enough elevation difference between the rows of seats that the wait staff can take orders without interfering with the other patrons. You can also put a full pitcher of beer on the tables without blocking the view of those behind you.
It's a cool system. I like the new theater on the north side of Austin they opened up just fine, but something about the downtown location will always be near and dear.
So far my favorite Alamo experiences have been the Bruce Campbell Marathon (Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, with Bruce in attendance), The Big Lebowski (free white russian with admission!), and any Spaghetti Western night (all you can eat spaghetti with a great Sergio Leone-era western).
I agree that it'd be cool to offer headphones, but it's hard to do surround with headphones.
-l
2002-02-14 17:39:39 Linux movie gets some big screen in Austin (articles,media) (rejected)
sigh.
On March 22, "Revolution OS" will be shown at the north location of Alamo Draft House, in Austin, TX. Not only that, but the owner will be burning Linux cds (dunno what distro) for people in the lobby.
Tell me that isn't a serious geek cool thing to do.
Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.