I used to work in a dead mall called the Tysons Gallera, or Tysons II, back in the mid 1990s. The mall had been opened in the early 1990s, and at the time I worked there, had 3 levels and only 30% occupancy.

It had been opened as an "upscale mall" with the world's first Versace store, fur stores, jewelers, an FAO Schwartz, a Ritz Carlton Hotel, and so on, but they never quite got the attention they needed. First, they opened right at the beginning to Bush H's recession, and second, the kinds of people who go these stores never want to go to a mall.

I worked at a furniture store there, and we lost over $150k/year due to low revenue (as in $150k below making it even). Often DAYS would go by where I saw nobody. To my right were 4 store spaces that had never been opened. To my left was the Franklin Mint and then about 3 spaces with no stores. It was as lonely as being a hermit. I had trouble finding employees because nobody ever came by to see a "Help wanted" sign, and I couldn't afford to pay well, either.

The loneliness was brutal. Sometimes I would daydream, doodle, or just stare off into space. When people came by, it was being jarred suddenly. A customer? A CUSTOMER? Oh, no... "just looking..."

And the mall, being upscale, was cleaned frequently to steal as much look of decay as it could. The empty spaces were drywalled up, and a cheap trump l'oeil that gave an illusion of an intentional wall with a potted plant, marble column, or another hallway were painted on them. Subtle, "Space for lease" signs dotted the walls in tasteful moderation. The mall employed store spies to make sure no one opened late, no one was asleep in their stores, and that your store, no matter what you sold, was clean and neat.

The rented the space out to Hollywood a few times, and films like "First Son" were filmed in part there. They also held various events to try and let people know that there was more to the mall that Macy's, but they always held them on the lowest floor with the highest occupation, and since I was on the top floor, all i could hear was the echoing of distant people like some special effect they had from drug trips in 1970s movies.

I got out of there after a year, and eventually the mall did get management that filled it up. I was there again last year after an 11 year absence, and it was a boring mall, but had about 90% occupancy.

I estimate in just a few years, battery life for most laptops will make this a temporary setback at best.

Hell, they may even have crank-handled power.