SF Examiner-1

San Francisco Examiner, August 18, 1991

High-tech small talk offered at The City's cafes 

Now it's espresso and conversation 

- via computer 

By John Flinn 

OF THE EXAMINER STAFF 

It's a bustling Monday night and the usual coffeehouse bull ses- sion is in full swing, careening from the pros and cons of anarchy to the wit and wisdom of Bart Simpson. 

But there's one big twist: These latterday William Saroyans aren't in the same cafe. They're sipping espresso in coffeehouses scattered around San Francisco, linked by a first-of-its-kind computer network that may one day connect them also to the cafes of Paris and Vienna. 

From Cafe La Boheme in the Mission District to Ground Zero in the Haight, the spirit of Kerouac is meeting the spirit of Wozniak. 

Since SF Net went on-line four weeks ago, members of the leather- and-Mohawk crowd at the Horse Shoe Coffee House in the Haight have logged on to debate the Clarence Thomas nomination with young BMW drivers at South Beach Billiards. 

At the same time, hipsters at Brain Wash in SOMA might be discussing cold fusion or the latest Schwarzenegger flick with nouveau bohemians at La Boheme. 

"The person at the other end might have a spiked Mohawk or a business suit, or they might be a homeless person with a Ph.D. in English lit," said founder Wayne 

Gregori. "It doesn't matter. If they have ideas to share and are literate, that's all that counts." 

As Gregori pecked away at the keyboard of the terminal at La Boheme, coffeehouse regulars eyed him curiously over the tops of their copies of the New York Times and Le Monde. 

The terminals are built into what look like ordinary cafe tables, with plastic covers to shield key- boards from the inevitable cappuccino spills. Cafe customers buy $1 tickets at the counter, good for 20 [See CAFE, A-14]