Comment by carlosjobim

It was before my time, but my idea of these coffee houses was that people would also sit and read a book or newspaper by themselves.

> I've been in cafés in New York that looked like open plan offices because everyone was on a laptop (and there were no free tables), and many cafés in London now have laptop policies so I think the problem is broader than you suggest.

I agree it's bad taste to sit there with your laptop when there's no tables available, and establishments who suffer from this should implement laptop policies. But I've also been many times to cafés which would be completely empty if it wasn't for the people working on their laptops.