Slashdot Mirror
Mobile Users Plug-in Anywhere They Can
jasonla writes "The New York Times looks at mobile technology users who leech power from restaurant and airport outlets while on the road. The article looks at the habits and 'culture' of people who use portable devices -- such as laptops, iPods and cellphones -- and what the businesses think of power hungry customers." As interesting as the phenomena of customers leeching power from the businesses they frequent is the self-imposed etiquette of many users.
Back in January 1998, when a good hunk of Canada had no power due to an ice storm, I couldn't go to work because we had no power at the office. I also had no power at home, and was bored out of my tree.
So, I grabbed a pair of APC BackUPS 400s, threw them in a knapsack, and walked to the local pub (which DID have power). Plugged 'em in, had a few beers, walked home, watched TV; repeat.
I tell ya, though, my back was kinda sore. Those things ain't made to be portable!
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
Whenever I've visited a resturant, I've asked permission 99% of the time.. unless it's an emergency. (What's an emergency to you?) I've been turned down some times, but remind them you'll buy more, or *gasp* pay a dollar or two for the privelige.. Once in Arby's I was denied permission, and got a wierd look.. Then the manager thought better, said not to put the cord of the floor, and I bought food to go.
As far as cost goes, it shouldn't really be too much of a problem for many businesses, assuming they are charged on the same basis as the power companies do here in the UK. Companies (at least, the theatres I work in) are not charged according to the number of units used, but by the maximum amount of power they use during the billing period. For example, during a theatre show we use a hell of a lot of power, and the power companies takes this peak rate and charges us across the board at that rate. I don't know whether this is just limited to certain businesses.
Good call. I don't know how's stuff in Yankeeville, but here in Brazil it's commonplace in airports, for example, to have tables with lots of electrical outlets specifically for the purpose of charging cellphones and laptops for on-the-go users. No charge. And it's not even inside a coffeehouse or whatever, it's clearly marked at the waiting room.
I guess courtesy is out of order at the good ol' US of A.
(and no, this is not a troll, more a rant...)
Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
My friends and I would specifically go to Denny's instead of the IHOP across the street, because they had a booth with an outlet. We would plug in and watch movies while we ate and hung out. It was 3am so nobody minded us hogging a booth, and the manager would come and sit with us and watch the movie when it was slow enough or the movie was good enough. We cost them $.50 in electricity and made them much more than that in business. I don't feal guilty for it....and the manager never minded....
Ok lets see now: My iBook charger outputs 24.5v @ 1.875A. Based on an electricity price of 5.5p per KHW (I plucked that from the first thing I could google) which is pretty high and probably lower for commercial outlets.. anyway i digress.. thats 0.003p per hour. Now lets take an average cup of Starbucks and break it down:
Price: ~£2.50
Costs: ~£0.80
and there for the amount of time I would need to sit there charging my laptop before they started loosing money:
~680 hours or about 1 month!
Obviously that makes some assumptions:
a) I would only buy one cup off coffee for the whole month and would live off drinking out of the toilet for the rest of the time (an improvement)
b) They probably wouldnt let me stay overnight
and
c) I would actually have to go to Starbucks for more than an hour - the time after which you can no-longer stand its nuvo art fake prints and dirty seats.
This is so no big deal, its in all these places interests to just let people plug their laptop in for an hour or so, the WiFi and coffee price will more than make up for it.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
I spoke with one of the leaders of the conference about it (figuring I wasn't the only one who got yelled out), and she told me it was most likely due to union issues...the union apparently was very strong there and the conference staff wasn't allowed to pull any cables...they needed union convention center staffers to do it. What that has to do with me plugging in a personal laptop is beyond me. Should I have gotten a union rep to do it instead?
I'll chalk it up to lack of intelligence on the guard's part, but I had no further problems. 'Course, whenever I saw that guy, I immediately unplugged.