Starbucks: Free WiFi for Everyone!
Starbucks is giving everyone free WiFi starting July 1.
We've all been there in one way, shape or form. Whether it's frustration that the folks with a collection of five Starbucks cards and 10 free hours of WiFi are hogging all the outlets, or annoyance that there's laptops everywhere and no free seats to just sit and drink coffee, we've all cursed the laptop-toting crowd at Starbucks at some point. Well, it's about to get a whole lot worse.
In collaboration with its WiFi partner AT&T, Starbucks is doing away with requirements that mean a customer has to be with AT&T or have a Starbucks card to get online. Starting July 1, everyone can get online and it's going to be free.
However, the most interesting part of the announcement is that customers logging on at Starbucks will have access to sites that they'd have to pay for otherwise. According to CNN, sites like WSJ.com, which asks that readers buy a subscription before allowing them access, will be available inside Starbucks.
From the sounds of things, this 'Starbucks online experience' will include a homepage that pulls content from the Wall Street Journal and other sources (like Zagat and Foursquare) and pools them all in place, providing access that way. The attraction for content providers is that people reading at Starbucks might decide to subscribe so they can access the content outside of the coffee chain's stores.
More providers will be announced as July 1 approaches and Starbucks is looking to roll out a partnership with Yahoo! later in the year. So far, this free WiFi and content deal is only being rolled out in U.S. stores.
- AT&T Blocks Non-Market Apps From Androids
- News Corp Attempts to Compete With iPad
- SE Xperia X8 Shakira Pics Leaked
- It's About Time: Briefcase with Fingerprint Reader
- Microsoft Launches Super Glossy Xbox 360 Slim
- Experts: Naked Scanners Will Miss a Lot of Things
- Restaurant Replaces Paper-Based Menus with iPads
- YouTube's E3 Channel Streams Entire Event
- Microsoft's Kinect Looks Great, But Still No Price
- LIVE BLOG: Sony PlayStation Keynote @ E3 2010
- The 3DS: 3D Gaming, 3D Camera and 3D Movies
- Flying Hotel Concept Supposedly Eco-friendly
- Penguin Eagle-Eye is Perfect for PC Gaming Snobs
- iPad Hacked to Insert Verizon MiFi Device
- Google May Nuke Custom UIs in Android 3.0
- Scientists Mapping Ozzy Osbourne's DNA
- Sony Reveals PlayStation Move Gun Peripheral
- More 3DS Specs from Nintendo
- These Torch Speakers Encase Your MP3 Player
good way to push out the paying customers
never been to starbucks..
Hmmm. So if for some reason I wanted to download The Hurt Locker, I just gotta go to Starbucks.
thats cool and all, but what happens when people start downloading and suddenly hundreds of gigs have been and their AT&T bill is over hundreds of dollers?
If it were me, I'd use this hot-spot to start downloading as much as I can before I'm done my venti sized coffee, cause I know I'll get my $8.64 worth of money back.
Free WiFi would make my venti iced skinny 2 pump white mocha triple double half caff low fat no foam caramel macchiato with nutmeg, chocolate shavings and sweet n low that much better...
interesting...
Free WiFi would make my venti iced skinny 2 pump white mocha triple double half caff low fat no foam caramel macchiato with nutmeg, chocolate shavings and sweet n low that much better...
Wow I would hyperventilate just saying that. Im simple though I take mine black.
Free WiFi would make my venti iced skinny 2 pump white mocha triple double half caff low fat no foam caramel macchiato with nutmeg, chocolate shavings and sweet n low that much better...
I take mine Dark Cherry Mocha Iced.nomnomnom
Starbuck's core competency is selling coffee, not selling internet access. The idea that they can keep people there drinking more (high profit margin) coffee by giving them free internet is good business on their part!
If it gets too crowded and people hate the people with laptops they will start going to Tim Horton’s or Dunkin Donuts causing Starbucks to rethink matters.
Until then, we'll just have to deal with the others that like to be seen writing in public.
Free WiFi would make my venti iced skinny 2 pump white mocha triple double half caff low fat no foam caramel macchiato with nutmeg, chocolate shavings and sweet n low that much better...
Everytime they make a balls of your order, add an extra word.
My local grocery store has free wifi and a starbucks...
Everytime they fuck up your order, add an extra word.
And I've had a mod tell me to stop swearing... must be good to be king.
Cool, I'll bring my own home brewed coffee in and leach the web. No use paying for their over priced, over hyped beans.
My local grocery store has free wifi and a starbucks...And I've had a mod tell me to stop swearing... must be good to be king.
Oh poop, you're right. Me and my gutter-mouth. And that's Queen to you, pleb!
There's gonna be a lot of people in Starbucks.
At Starbucks' prices, it is hardly "free".
starbucks is latin for parasite
I lol'd at the guy playing MS Flight Sim
You're all TRAITOROUS DOGS! : P
Dunkin Donuts for life!
LMAO you suckers, in Europe / rest of planet earth it has been free in StarBucks, McDonalds and several other places but not even free internet can make the bitter burnt acidic junk in a cup make me go into a Starbucks.
Since they changed their coffee to Nescafe default supplier around about 2005/2006 their coffee became horrible.
I frequently travel outside USA so I can visit real coffee / cake shops using real coffee that you can actually drink 8 cups off and still want more so I am used to real coffee and decent cakes / cookies / muffins ect. and I can smell the difference walking 100yards away from Starbucks.
Either way in Europe only Americans stop at Starbucks and a few lemmings / sheep so most of the time with free internet their places are not that full and likely the same will happen here.
They are only trying to pacth the non broken part of their company instead of dealing with the problem = low sales = horrible coffee. More feet will not result in more sales.
never been to starbucks..
Damn just when I thought there is no intelligent people left on planet earth a light like person shines through the 2010 dark ages.
You must be the luckiest / happiest person alive, keep yourself uninfected. Wish I could say the same.
"Starbucks: Free WiFi for Everyone!"
or in other words "We're losing so much business to McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts we'll try anything to get you back"
Starbucks is heading down the same path as Blockbuster.
Hmmm. So if for some reason I wanted to download The Hurt Locker, I just gotta go to Starbucks.
I bet the bandwidth isn't anything to write home about.
I find this funny because the wifi is already free at starbucks. Yes you have to register a gift card to get online but you don't ever have to refill it and it doesn't kick you off after 2 hours like they say it will.
I like my coffee like i like my women Cold and bitter
But ya i cant wait to load my laptop with Linux and a Newsreader and log in at starbux see how much i can download and not be kicked off
"Starbucks: Free WiFi for Everyone!"or in other words "We're losing so much business to McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts we'll try anything to get you back"Starbucks is heading down the same path as Blockbuster.
Remember when they claimed they weren't fast food? Then came the drive-thru at Starbucks. lol. Perhaps they should try serving good coffee.
If only people would go out more and try out the coffee of real baristas instead of endorsing a franchise like starbucks... then maybe coffee would actually gain a bit of respect as an actual beverage amongst the masses :
Hmm... I now have a reason to go to starbucks... If for some reason my internet isn't working and I'm horribly desperate to connect...
Starbucks grossly overprices everything. I don't even drink coffee and I can tell it's a rip-off.
Hmmm. So if for some reason I wanted to download The Hurt Locker, I just gotta go to Starbucks.
You and anyone else with the same idea will saturate those LANs. Nobody will be able to d/l anything of significance.
Also, we are not hearing anything about QOS, service port restrictions, etc.
Imagine if the keep internal and updated DNS services that resolve all the pirate DNS names to ".", then the file sharing folk will get nowhere.
This could be good, as long as SPI firewall and VPNs are supported. Else, this is a TERRRIBLE IDEA.
-Although I see this keeping the newbs at GeekSquad employed with all the rebuilds necessary due to hacked systems.
Great news. I can just park outside a starbucks if my 3G doesn't work.
This could be good, as long as SPI firewall and VPNs are supported. Else, this is a TERRRIBLE IDEA.-Although I see this keeping the newbs at GeekSquad employed with all the rebuilds necessary due to hacked systems.
Yeah.. I had to 'get some information' for my computer security class at the university. I made a script that listens for logged on sessions over WiFi and sets up firefox cookies to spoof them. I was horrified how easy it was and that it worked perfectly. Bottom line: you give access to any account on any site you use to anyone within 100 yards...