My ideal Internet Cafe would have a real "Cafe" look. Would serve "perfect" coffee. Would have the smell of pastries in the background that would make my mouth water (for those "munchies" moments when you are expecting that picture download of your "pen pal" in Paris). Would have comfortable, but not soft, chairs; tables that face each other, and not the walls. Pleasant music in the background; sound deadening walls and ceilings; soft but sufficient lighting; nice soothing paint on the walls; large windows (if not an interior or basement room); and above all a pleasant staff that caters to your needs and can answer your questions.

I have been in over 2000 internet cafes around the world. Only one came close to my ideal. For the life of me, I can't even remember where it was. My recollection is that it was in San Francisco. But then everything is nice in San Francisco.

I have been in Internet Cafe's that had 2 computers in a white room with no windows. I have been in IC's that had 100 computers and tables stacked almost one on top of the other. I have been in huge Coffee Shops that happen to have had 2 or 3 computers for their "geeky" clients, and I have been in multi-level cafes that were most interesting but confusing. In Prague, I was in a combination "Bar / Club / Library / Video-Rental / Restaurant / Night Club / Disco / Internet Cafe" that was mind boggling. What a combination: booze, music, videos, books, men, women, and the internet. Never could understand that concept. But apparently it worked since there were people there all the time and you could never get to a computer.

I have been in Internet Cafes on boats, at airports, on the beach (waiting for my scuba gear to be checked out), and in every conceivable location. The most beautiful one was in the Atlantis in the Bahamas (like the library of a mansion with several computers sprinkled about the room). The worst was in Egypt where the smell of nearby sewers almost gagged me.