easyEverything now seems to be the standard for huge Internet cafés throughout Britain and will no doubt shortly be ubiquitous with locations now popping up across Europe, as well as in New York. The service offered is 24-hour, which is wonderful if you don't actually own a computer and want to some to do some pottering about online. A particularly nice branch is at Tottenham Court Road in central London.

The coffee is substandard and expensive, but one doesn't go to an Internet café just for the coffee. It's best to go at weird and wonderful off-peak times, as it's much emptier and you get more access time for your money. Terminals are snapped up with remarkable speed by the hordes of tourists that have descended on central London, especially in the summer. While there's generally a good chance of finding plenty of free spaces, finding two next to each other is more difficult, if you plan to go along with a friend.

Atmosphere

The building itself is spacious, clean-looking (clean, that is, apart from the piles of litter surrounding the keyboards. Yuck!) and modern. The rows of terminals, which have a real 'library reading-desk' feel, are split between two floors. Downstairs has a great deal fewer terminals, and is often the first area to become full. This can be a serious disadvantage for a disabled person needing accessibility.

The upper floor is where the bulk of the machines are, as well as the café. It is here where one is most likely to find a free and functional terminal. Even when it is busy, people tend to sit at alternating screens; so, even if it looks full, it might actually be half-empty. One disconcerting thing about the seating arrangement is that the partitions between the rows on which the screens are mounted do not extend all the way to the ground. In any case, be warned: if you're a long-legged type, you may well find yourself unintentionally playing footsie with a complete stranger.

The Staff

Staff presence appears to be minimal. There are generally a half-dozen people behind the front desk, who are also available to assist anyone should problems or malfunctions occur. And then there's the café staff.

Irritating Music

Unfortunately, someone must have thought that it would be a good idea to pipe in the most irritating chart music imaginable at a quite antisocial and intrusive volume. Occasionally, there's the odd tune that doesn't intrude into one's surfing, but it is most definitely the exception rather than the rule.

Technical Matters

Internet access is speedy and largely trouble-free. The terminals all use Netscape Navigator 4.0 as a browser, which can be mildly irritating to those used to other browsers. Be careful that you go for a terminal that has a functional mouse, as many are quite frankly horrid. The LCD screens are serviceable and clear, and well-positioned to prevent bad posture.

Buying Time

Purchasing time on the terminals is easy and largely hassle-free, unless it is busy enough for queues to have formed. The front desk downstairs has screens positioned above it that quote how long a pound will get you in minutes. Once you have logged on, the amount of minutes per pound will not fall below this figure. If other people log off, then the 'exchange rate' improves accordingly, but it cannot fall below the initial ratio, no matter how busy it gets.

After handing over your money, you are given a smallish orange ticket that has your user ID number on it; at this point it is up to you to find a terminal and log on. This is straightforward enough, and once you have logged on, the screen helpfully displays at all times how much money and time is left on your user identity. The system periodically (and quite irritatingly) reminds the user of the dangers of pickpockets, and when a user has ten and then six minutes left, it issues two warnings that a top-up is needed from the front desk. This is also straightforward, and merely involves showing one's ticket to the member of staff behind the desk and paying another pound or whatever. An identity remains active, provided that there is still some money in it, for up to a month after purchase or the last top-up.

Location

The Tottenham Court Road (hereafter known as TCR) branch is well-placed for public transport, via the London Underground¹ and bus².

The best thing about its location is the proximity of a Sainsbury's Central supermarket and Burger King for warding off the munchies, assuming you don't fancy the fairly rudimentary selection of confectioneries offered in the café. The worst thing is the corner of Oxford St and TCR by Virgin Megastore, which is always crammed with bustling, jostling people and invariably smells of urine or vomit. The shops of Oxford St are quite literally just round the corner.

If you don't want to have to travel to this end of Oxford St, there is a branch of easyEverything closer to Oxford Circus (near Bond St tube station).