Sipping and surfing - At the CyberCafe, Internetnewbies can have their Java and drink it, too

By Doug Bedell / Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
Published 11-03-1998

The MAC - the McKinney Avenue Contemporary gallery - may be the local show place for Dallas art. But it is also graced with two shiny, just-out-of-the-box Compaq Pentium IIs and a Dell.

And they're all yours in one package. Free.

The recently opened CyberCafe at The MAC presents Dallas with its first public, no-fee, quasi-social learning space for Internet skills and "virtual officing." Artists - and anyone else who doesn't have a computer with Internet access and e-mail - are welcomed daily to four computer workstations splayed across the counter-bar.

As guests of cybertech Marina Zakarian and a host of benefactors, they can sip latts (not free), read, set up their own Web pages or correspond with friends and business associates worldwide using electronic mail accounts (also gratis).

"It's all about wanting people to get up to speed on something that is essential," says Ms.Zakarian. "You're going to have to do it. We provide the place."

One day last month, a local painter strolled in and checked his e-mail. Another patron logged on to scan the World Wide Web for help with college assignments. An office worker from down the street dueled to the death with an online Quake opponent.

The CyberCafe is part of a growing international movement to provide public Internet access at kiosks and gathering places. The MAC's facility, which opened this summer, is one of two in Texas and 47 nationwide funded by Open Studio: The Arts Online, a National Endowment for the Arts program.

Together with the Benton Foundation, the two groups are setting up a network of facilities "to build bridges between the public and the arts community."

The effort coincides with the creeping presence of computer terminals into social spots. Bars, galleries such as the MAC, airport watering holes and theaters are hosting Internet-connected terminals for visitors. Some, such as the restaurant-bar @Quest at 3028 N. Hall St. in Dallas, provide surfing at a charge.

Others, such as the CyberCafe, are funded by nonprofit educational foundations or governments. But whatever the financial backing, there is no doubt their number is growing.

The new Cybercafe Search Engine (www.cybercaptive.com) this month lists contacts and addresses for more than 2,000 cybercafes in 111 countries. It also notes locations for 2,000 public Internet access points and kiosks across the globe.

The purpose of the network springing from the NEA's wallet is primarily to promote the arts and artists using new technologies. In fact, any artist who cares to participate in The MAC's part of the project can post work samples on the CyberCafe's home page (www.themac.net).

"These days are fraught with anxious changes to the fundamental ways of making and doing art," says former NEA chairwoman Jane Alexander, one of the leaders behind the grant program. "Adapting to the new environment requires creativity, innovation and flexibility. Open Studio can be a tool for artists and arts organizations to meet the challenges of the new millennium and create a stronger arts community."

But The MAC galleries open their electronic doors to anyone, artiste or creatively challenged.

Some restrictions apply. Visitors must log in and sign up for a membership card.

"We're not going to do any censoring, but we are going to monitor usage," says Ms. Zakarian, a MAC intern who headed the local grant effort. "I don't want a porn site sitting on the monitor when someone comes in. We have to have some protocols."

In that regard, the CyberCafe hosts share the fears of municipal librarians. Public access has its risks.

"This really happened: A kid came in, moved the mouse, the screen saver blinked off, and boom! There it was - a porn site," Ms. Zakariansays. In the developing etiquette of these forums, users are expected to use taste, common sense and caution in the way they handle the free machines and their slick, high-speed telephone connections.

"We aren't going to tell them what they can do, but we've got to be careful," Ms. Zakarian says.

The CyberCafe is gracious, chic and spare. Tawny walls separate the public computer area from the galleries, yet leave the cafe open for patrons to drift through during events. The snack bar is nearby; a dozen or so tables dot the cafe.

Above, four wireless antennas feed the area with Internet connectivity through The MAC's ISDN telephone line hook-up. Zakarianand her staff have wireless receivers to lend anyone with a laptop.

Eventually, the CyberCafe hopes to be designated a mentor site in the NEA's grant program. As such, it would receive funding to advise others on how to bring similar facilities to their hometowns.

"And I'd like to expand to six or eight terminals, flatbed scanners, digital cameras - everything that artists need in promoting their work," Ms. Zakarian says.

Ms. Zakarian and members of groups such as the BigD Webgrrls, a women's networking organization, also are starting up free classes. "Beginning Surfing," "My Computer" and "Where To Build A Web Site" are all being covered in upcoming tutorial sessions.

"We're committed to providing this service," Ms. Zakarian says. "We think the public's ready."

The CyberCafe, at 3120 McKinney Ave., is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Call (214) 953-1212 or check the Web site for details.

PHOTO(S): (DMN: Russell Bronson) Cybertech Marina
Zakarian's mission is to teach people Internet skills. The

CyberCafe is housed in the McKinney Avenue Contemporary

Gallery. ILLUSTRATION(S): (DMN: Layne Smith) Cybercafe

International Fare.