Javamancy » free

Free Wi-Fi at Starbucks for Everyone

Steve — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:00:04 +0000

The Setup

For a few years now, Starbucks [SBUX] has been offering free Wi-Fi access to two groups of people: qualified AT&T wireless customers, and Starbucks Card holders. While it has worked well for the “in” people, it has been a point of mild consternation for those who have not been inclined to get a Starbucks Card or become an AT&T customer. Over the course of the years since the free Wi-Fi service was unveiled (and the switch from T-Mobile [DT] to AT&T as the wireless provider), I’ve noticed people approaching the Starbucks staff asking how they can get access to the Wi-Fi router, to be told that they need to sign up for the Starbucks Card and register online to get it. Of course, for many of these otherwise-Starbucks customers, signing up for the Starbucks Card has– for a variety of unspecified options– just not been an option, and so they’ve left the premises after making their latte purchases.

The Premise

But as more retail chains offer free Wi-Fi, like Panera [PNRA] and McDonald’s [MCD] and Borders [BGP], and even AT&T stalwarts like Barnes & Noble [BN], it has become increasingly obvious that keeping a cohort of customers happy and connected on-premises translates to a variety of upsells and continued purchases, depending on the locale and customer demographics. And perhaps even more important, retaining the casual customers and converting them to regulars in the ever-tightening coffee wars is crucial to Starbucks’ continued success, so finally broadening their free Wi-Fi access to all customers is a necessity.

And it appears that Starbucks will execute on this requirement shortly.

The Action

So, when does the new Wi-Fi policy at Starbucks start?

July 1, 2010.

So, folks, get your Wi-Fi antennae revved up on your MacBooks, MBPs, netbooks, iPod touches, and iPads!

N.B.

Here are other Javamancy related posts, in reverse chronological order:

Free Pastry Morning* at Starbucks

Steve — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:59:58 +0000

Starbucks [SBUX] is at it again: July 21, 2009 is their new Free Pastry Morning*.

Of course, given the lil’ asterisk you see, you’re probably wondering, “What’s the catch?”

And, yes, there is a catch(es):

You should probably print out the invitation from the Web site;
You will need to get to your local Starbucks between opening at 10:30 AM local time; the availability of the pastries will be on a first-come, first-served basis, or 10:30 AM, whichever comes first;
You will need to purchase a hand-crafted beverage (brewed is a good choice);
You have to choose from their acceptable range of “pastries”.

… and there are plenty of additional availability restrictions toward the bottom of the invitation. Definitely worth a read.

So, if you were destined to fetch some coffee tomorrow anyway, this is a nice extra perk to accompany your perk’ed drink.

WordPress: Free or Free?

Steve — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:37:42 +0000

A lot of developers and interested parties in the FOSS community have raged back and forth over the propriety and legalities about charging money for the supposedly open source software itself, and/or distribution of said software, and/or services and/or maintenance and/or bug-fixing for the software.

Mark had gotten tipped off about an upcoming book that mentions WordPress being not merely open source, but a variant of shareware. Mark proceeds to set the record straight in his post; and rightfully so, given that we use WordPress here, too.

Following (Up on) Dido

Steve — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:00:43 +0000

As several of you know, we were following the Starbucks [SBUX] iTunes Pick of the Week hiccup over Dido’s “Quiet Times” song.

It seems that now even the Sony [SNE] Music Dido site has picked up on the story, announcing that the Pick of the Week for the “Quiet Times” song is available. Which is good, but I hope that music lovers do not stay restricted to only this week’s selection…

N.B.

Other related Javamancy posts (in reverse chronological order):

Switcherback on Dido Song

Steve — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:42:31 +0000

As I was traveling around among the several Starbucks outlets in my area, I picked up another Dido Pick of the Week card to see if the SKU-to-code association in the iTunes database had been fixed yet.

And, lo and behold, yes… or is it?

There are two possibilities here:

All of the redemption codes (on the backs of the Pick of the Week cards) have been pointed to the correct SKU for Dido’s “Quiet Times”– which I think is a great song.
Some of the redemption codes were pointing to “Quiet Times” and others were referencing “Us 2 Little Gods” (which is also a great song).

Whatever the case may be, it’s still a free download for quality music, folks.

Starting 2009′s Starbucks Picks List

Steve — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:00:26 +0000

Here’s the start of the 2009 Starbucks-iTunes Picks of the Week list of cards that I’ve accumulated thus far.

As many of you already know, I’ve been tracking and collecting the iTunes freebies that are offered periodically at Starbucks [SBUX] outlets. Without further ado, here’s my new list for 2009 list… presented in order of chronological release (hopefully in the correct order):

01/06/2009 – Blind Pilot, “One Red Thread”
01/13/2009 – Joshua Radin, “One of Those Days”
01/20/2009 – Jennifer O’Connor, “Always In Your Mind”
01/27/2009 – Emiliana Torrini, “Big Jumps”
02/03/2009 – Lisa Hannigan, “I Don’t Know”
02/10/2009 – Travis, “Last Words”
02/17/2009 – Greg Laswell, “How the Day Sounds”
02/24/2009 – Brett Dennen, “San Francisco”
03/03/2009 – Neko Case, “People Got A Lotta Nerve”
03/10/2009 – Dido, “Quiet Times” (but not really…) (UPDATE: but maybe for real…)

As more continue to appear each week, I’ll continue to snag ‘em. And even keep ya posted…

N.B.

For those of you just joining us here and are unfamiliar with this topic, or if you’d like to see all of the activity from last year, you can “catch up” quickly with these (which are presented in reverse chronological order, to further shake you up):

There were also earlier posts this year about related Starbucks items (also presented in reverse chronological order):

Switcheroo on Dido Song

Steve — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:00:21 +0000

Remember the Starbucks [SBUX] Pick of the Week promotion with Apple [AAPL] iTunes?

If you’ve been following along and picking up a card each week, you may have noticed that last week’s offer was ostensibly Dido’s “Quiet Times” song. However, I noticed that when I input the code for the song, I ended up downloading Dido’s “Us 2 Little Gods” song instead.

After listening to both, however, I’m a bit torn: I actually like “Us 2 Little Gods”… but I also like “Quiet Times”, too. Go figure. Might as well toss it into the shopping cart.

Anybody get the “Quiet Times” download code, instead of the “Us 2 Little Gods” code?

Wrapping Up 2008′s Starbucks Picks List

Steve — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:00:10 +0000

Here’s a wrap-up of the 2008 Starbucks Picks of the Week cards that I’ve accumulated thus far. As many of you already know, I’ve been tracking and collecting the iTunes freebies that are offered periodically at Starbucks [SBUX] outlets.

However, for those of you just joining us here and are unfamiliar with this topic, you can “catch up” quickly with these (which are presented in reverse chronological order, to further shake you up):

Without further ado, here’s my current list… presented in order of chronological release (hopefully in the correct order):

MISSING – Counting Crows, “Washington Square”
MISSING – Hilary McRae, “Every Day” [music video]
MISSING – Carly Simon, “So Many People to Love”
MISSING – Adele, “Chasing Pavements”
05/13/2008 – Duffy, “Mercy” [music video]
05/20/2008 – Jakob Dylan, “Something Good This Way Comes”
05/27/2008 – Bitter:Sweet, “Waking Up”
06/03/2008 – Sia, “Day Too Soon” [music video]
06/10/2008 – Priscilla Ahn, “Dream”
06/17/2008 – Sergio Mendes, “Funky Bahia”
06/24/2008 – Pacifika, “Me Cai”
07/01/2008 – James Hunter, “Jacqueline”
07/08/2008 – Tristan Prettyman, “Madly”
07/15/2008 – Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis, “Rainy Day Blues”
07/22/2008 – Sonya Kitchell, “Here to There”
07/29/2008 – My Morning Jacket, “I’m Amazed”
08/05/2008 – Ledisi, “Alright”
MISSING – Chris Bathgate, “Yes, I’m Cold”
08/19/2008 – Ersi Arvizu, “El Arbol”
08/26/2008 – Jessie Baylin, “Was I On Your Mind”
09/02/2008 – Johnny Flynn, “The Box”
09/09/2008 – Orchestra Baobab, “Pape Ndiaye”
09/16/2008 – Raphael Saadiq, “100 Yard Dash”
09/23/2008 – Thievery Corporation, “Hare Krisna”
09/30/2008 – Noah and the Whale, “Shape of My Heart”
10/07/2008 – Whitley, “A Shot to the Stars” [music video and song]
10/14/2008 – Amy MacDonald, “Run”
10/21/2008 – Cory Chisel, “Home in the Woods”
10/28/2008 – John Legend & Andre 3000, “Green Light”
11/4/2008 – Yo-Yo Ma with Alison Krauss, “The Wexford Carol” [music video]
11/11/2008 – Bajofondo, “Pa Bailar” [music video]
11/18/2008 – Ray LaMontagne, “You Are The Best Thing”
11/25/2008 – Calexico, “Slowness”
12/2/2008 – Department of Eagles, “No One Does It Like You”
12/9/2008 – Paul Weller, “Have You Made Up Your Mind”
12/16/2008 – Jem, “Keep On Walking”
12/23/2008 – Nikka Costa, “Stuck To You” [music video]
12/30/2008 – Daniel Martin Moore, “That’ll Be The Plan”

As more continue to appear each week, I’ll continue to snag ‘em. And even keep ya posted… In fact, I’ll probably just start a new list for 2009, and touch base with the 2008 list if there are new additions.

Steve’s Starbucks Picks List: Redux

Steve — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 06:00:35 +0000

As many of you already know, I’ve been tracking and collecting the iTunes freebies that are offered periodically at Starbucks [SBUX] outlets.

This month’s update shows that I continue to make progress on some of the latter ones that I didn’t have before. Unfortunately, if you read the back of some of these cards, you’ll notice that there are expiration dates imposed on them, so the first four I’m missing would merely be collectible items unto themselves (assuming I can even find them).

Without further ado, here’s my current list… presented in order of chronological release (hopefully in the correct order):

MISSING – Counting Crows, “Washington Square”
MISSING – Hilary McRae, “Every Day” [music video]
MISSING – Carly Simon, “So Many People to Love”
MISSING – Adele, “Chasing Pavements”
05/13/2008 – Duffy, “Mercy” [music video]
05/20/2008 – Jakob Dylan, “Something Good This Way Comes”
05/27/2008 – Bitter:Sweet, “Waking Up”
06/03/2008 – Sia, “Day Too Soon” [music video]
06/10/2008 – Priscilla Ahn, “Dream”
06/17/2008 – Sergio Mendes, “Funky Bahia”
06/24/2008 – Pacifika, “Me Cai”
07/01/2008 – James Hunter, “Jacqueline”
07/08/2008 – Tristan Prettyman, “Madly”
07/15/2008 – Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis, “Rainy Day Blues”
07/22/2008 – Sonya Kitchell, “Here to There”
07/29/2008 – My Morning Jacket, “I’m Amazed”
08/05/2008 – Ledisi, “Alright”
MISSING – Chris Bathgate, “Yes, I’m Cold”
08/19/2008 – Ersi Arvizu, “El Arbol”
08/26/2008 – Jessie Baylin, “Was I On Your Mind”
09/02/2008 - Johnny Flynn, “The Box”
09/09/2008 – Orchestra Baobab, “Pape Ndiaye”
09/16/2008 – Raphael Saadiq, “100 Yard Dash”
09/23/2008 – Thievery Corporation, “Hare Krisna”
09/30/2008 – Noah and the Whale, “Shape of My Heart”
10/07/2008 – Whitley, “A Shot to the Stars” [music video and song]
10/14/2008 – Amy MacDonald, “Run”
10/21/2008 – Cory Chisel, “Home in the Woods”

As more continue to appear each week, I’ll continue to snag ‘em. And even keep ya posted…

Steve’s Starbucks Picks List

Steve — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:00:03 +0000

As you know, I’ve been tracking and collecting the iTunes freebies that are offered periodically at Starbucks [SBUX] outlets.

For those of you just joining us here and are unfamiliar with this topic, you can “catch up” quickly with these (which are presented in reverse chronological order, to further shake you up):

But you may have been wondering if I’ve gotten all of the Picks of the Week. Alas, no, but I do have quite a few of them. Here’s my current list… presented in order of chronological release (hopefully in the correct order):

MISSING – Counting Crows, “Washington Square”
MISSING – Hilary McRae, “Every Day” [music video]
MISSING – Carly Simon, “So Many People to Love”
MISSING – Adele, “Chasing Pavements”
05/13/2008 – Duffy, “Mercy” [music video]
05/20/2008 – Jakob Dylan, “Something Good This Way Comes”
05/27/2008 – Bitter:Sweet, “Waking Up”
06/03/2008 – Sia, “Day Too Soon” [music video]
06/10/2008 – Priscilla Ahn, “Dream”
06/17/2008 – Sergio Mendes, “Funky Bahia”
MISSING – Pacifika, “Me Cai”
07/01/2008 – James Hunter, “Jacqueline”
07/08/2008 – Tristan Prettyman, “Madly”
07/15/2008 – Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis, “Rainy Day Blues”
07/22/2008 – Sonya Kitchell, “Here to There”
07/29/2008 – My Morning Jacket, “I’m Amazed”
08/05/2008 – Ledisi, “Alright”
MISSING – Chris Bathgate, “Yes, I’m Cold”
08/19/2008 – Ersi Arvizu, “El Arbol”
08/26/2008 – Jessie Baylin, “Was I On Your Mind”
MISSING – Johnny Flynn, “The Box”
09/09/2008 – Orchestra Baobab, “Pape Ndiaye”
09/16/2008 – Raphael Saadiq, “100 Yard Dash”

But a funny thing happened as I was researching these ‘tunes coming in… some of them have already been offered up as freebies, either as an official iTunes Free Tune on Tuesday, or from the previous Starbucks iTunes Song of the Day promotion.

Well, I’ll keep ya posted…