a) Not particularly. I notice this affects people differently, however. I love working next to live music and if I don't' I can ignore it with headphones. My

a) Not particularly. I notice this affects people differently, however. I love working next to live music and if I don't' I can ignore it with headphones. My father, on the other hand, can't handle the distraction and is driven nuts by that sort of shit. b) I try to change it up. It's easy to do in the localities I frequent. I'm sure it's harder for other people. I feel like I could do it anywhere I could get a 3g connection. c) I like to frequent places that are very student and musician friendly, and am lucky to live in places with local businesses which embrace that sort of thing. In general these people are pretty tolerant of heavy laptop/internet usage. Living in a big student town can cause problems for seating in coffee shops. Finals week or mid-quarter midterm dates are times when it's particularly impossible to find a place to get some work done. This has led to some contention with patrons who want space to just read the paper or talk with a friend. One coffee shop I attend has chosen to designate special space for the more casual patron to ensure they have a spot (see: http://daviswiki.org/Mishkas_Cafe http://daviswiki.org/Mishkas_Cafe).