Cafes & Coffee Shops, Window on Technology Trends?

I was in my local Starbuck's this morning, blearly heading to the counter for my Venti Americano (roomy), when I noticed something. First, it was a shock that I noticed something before having my brain injected with espresso caffine. None the less, I noticed a change in the lap top computers spread on tables througout the store.

I live in a college town near a major university. This means the Starbuck's I frequent is filled with studious faces, especially at this time of mid-terms. So there were all the students, the future teachers, political leaders and corporate big wigs, gulping down mass quantities of espresso coffee, busily tapping out their notes and term papers on, mostly Macintosh computers.

I am a Macintosh user, and am as passionate about them as I am about my coffee. That's for another blog though. It does explain why I noticed, and have been noticing, this shift. There was a time, even within the last year, where I was pleased to see 1 out of 7-10 of theses coffee house hounds using a Macintosh. Lately the coffee shop technology trend has been shifting and I would regularly see 2-3 out of 7 lap tops bearing the familiar glowing white Apple Macintosh logo. It's been heartening for me. Then, this morning, there were 22 laptops (I started counting when I noticed the pond of glowing white Apple's had grown to a sea) and 14 of them were Macintosh. I must say it excites me.

But it also brings a question to my mind. Are America's coffee houses and Cafes a bastion for spotting technology trends? Had I been paying attention would I have seen the shift from cell phones and dedicated PDA's to the Blackberry just by looking at what was placed alongside the many cups of cappuccino, espresso and good ol fashion jo? Maybe if I was more informed in fashion I could see a shift from Gucci to, uh, whatever? I'll be watching the coffee shops, and the business news, to see if this shift in Macintosh use is a precurser to a shift in the larger market.


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A Single Cup Coffee Maker, reat For Singles

Coffee addicts don't have much use for a single cup coffee maker. For the person wanting just one for the road, however, they can be a blessing. Easy to set up and use, they can have a fresh cup of coffee blended in just a couple of minutes and the user can be on the road.

Most single cup coffee makers claim to give a fresh brewed cup of coffee in about a minute, once the unit is activated, and offer the use of new coffee pods. The pre-measured packets filled with eaxactly the right amount of coffee grounds make it easy, and mess-free, to make a cup of hot coffee.

Several options are available with a single cup coffee maker, including the use of a thermal cup. A person puts a coffee pod into the machine, fills it with water and the brew flows into a thermal travel mug ready to take on the road in about a minute. Many single cup coffee makers have two pod holders with the machine, which allows the use of specialty coffees as well.

Coffee Makers Not Just For Coffee

The Black and Decker Cup-at-a-Time personal coffee maker will brew your coffee into your own coffee mug using an included permanent filter and can also me used to make tea or hot water for instant meals, which will give the single cup coffee maker another use in the kitchen.

The advantages of a single cup coffee maker are many as they cut down on wasted coffee, helps those who want to cut down on their caffeine intake, can be used to make a measured amount of hot water for other uses and limit the mess involved in making a single cup.

The single cup coffee maker is also available in many styles and colors to fit the decorating scheme of the kitchen in which it will be used. There are some sold in a coordinated set, which include the single cup coffee maker, toaster and blender, all with the same basic design and in the same color.

There is a wide range of pricing for a single cup coffee maker. The least expensive models are under $15 and others go as high as $1,000. The brand, style and finish generally determine the price and your budget will help determine which unit is right for you.