All You Need for the New Year Is Love and This Uplifting Video

Remember the extremely popular and heart-touching Stand By Me video? That was recorded in a virtual studio around the world during different days. Here's the not-less-heart-touching All You Need Is Love, recorded in 156 countries at exactly the same time: More »

This Man Is Extremely Dedicated to Live Network Television

This intriguing dude is watching a black-and-white TV, with a DTV converter box, in a Starbucks. Hey, it's not his fault Hulu doesn't carry Jeopardy!, right? [Kansas City Blog via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Image of the Day: Starbucks Is Not Your Office

Reader jessettrs sends in this ridiculous image taken at a Starbucks on 42nd and 9th. Yeah, it's a guy with a Mac Mini and a 15-inch LCD. More »

iPhone App Makes Logging On to Free AT&T Wi-Fi Not Suck

All iPhone users get free AT&T Wi-Fi, hurray. But the text-message-based access system makes it a pain in the ass to log onto. Enter Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T, an app that makes it, well, easy. More »

DIY Coffee Cup Speakers Crank Out Grande Sound

Don't get me wrong, the CupSpeakers were interesting, but if you are looking for a cup-based speaker solution that is a little more tech and a little less ghetto this DIY project should fit the bill. Using a couple of grande-sized coffee cups and a TDA1552Q amplifier chip, you should be able to construct a pair of coffee-themed speakers that can actually crank out some sound. The project page is in Japanese, but the basic translation and the schematic should give you enough information to make a set for yourself. More »

Over-caffeinated TIE Fighter Combines Starbucks And Star Wars

Wired is having a little art contest to make things from the stuff you get at Starbucks, and to provide some inspiration, they showed off photographer Dan Winters' amazing TIE fighter sculpture. Everybody's favorite Galactic Empire spacecraft was made out of nearly 50 Starbucks cups, 216 stirrers, over 60 drink holders and a couple of coffee boxes thrown in for good measure. Wow. Even for me, that's a lot of coffee. [Wired]

Laptops in Coffee Shops: What Do You Do When You Have to Go to the Bathroom?

Originally, this question was going to involve how often you bring a laptop to coffee shops, but when I discussed it with our own Jason Chen, he revealed to me that he always wondered what people do when they inevitably have to go to the bathroom. Immediately I realized that was a far more entertaining and thought provoking angle. Seriously—what do you do when you have a laptop open and you have had multiple cups of coffee? Do you pack everything up and bring it in the bathroom with you? Do you take a chance and leave it sitting on the table? Or do you simply wait until you are finished working? More »

Rumor Smashed: AT&T Free Wi-Fi for iPhones Isn't Live Yet

Damn it AT&T, stop pulling this crap. Not only is the AT&T page proclaiming the good news down, Om got confirmation from AT&T that free iPhone Wi-Fi at Starbucks is not the droids you are looking for: More »

AT&T's Free Wi-Fi Hotspots for iPhones Now Online for Real

It's been a saga of the on again, off again, on again, off again type, but it looks like AT&T's free Wi-Fi hotspot access is live at last. 17,000 sites across the US are available to iPhone users, including the fabled Starbucks sites. According to AT&T's website, which also offers a hotspot locator tool, AT&T knows "Wi-Fi is hot, and free Wi-Fi even hotter, which is why we are proud to offer iPhone customers free access to the nation's largest Wi-Fi hotspot network." Interesting... after all the shenanigans, it looks more like AT&T thinks Wi-Fi is just "lukewarm", or maybe "tepid." But at least it's finally come good. UPDATE: Well it looks like Wi-Fi isn't here quite yet. AT&T posted the info by accident and made a fail. [AT&T via MacRumors]

Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Officially Launched

Just like we told you yesterday, the Starbucks free Wi-Fi program with AT&T is officially a go today. If you go to sign up for a Starbucks card, you get the option of with or without Wi-Fi. As long as you use the prepaid card once a month, you get two hours of free Wi-Fi a day. Welcome to 2008, Starbucks. [Harbucks]

Free Starbucks Wi-Fi Launches Tomorrow

Our friend and Starbucks addict Dave Zatz says that Starbucks' long-overdue free Wi-Fi is officially launching tomorrow. Info comes from the manager of his usual haunt, who gave him a peek at the store memo and signage, though he couldn't take photos. No word on whether iPhone access is coming back tomorrow (or June 9th), unfortunately. Makes sense, given that AT&T's service has been there since May 1 for AT&T customers. Anyone planning a run just to celebrate? Just remember you need to register a Starbucks card and use it once a month to get your two free hours a day. [Zatz Not Funny, Thanks Dave!]

AT&T LaptopConnect Mobile Broadband Subscribers Getting Free Wi-Fi

Originally free for its U-Verse subscribers, AT&T is now making all of its Wi-Fi hotspots free for subscribers to its LaptopConnect mobile broadband service. Now you won't have to waste precious chunks of your allotted 5GB a month anytime you're in range of a McDonald's or Starbucks. Free Wi-Fi for all AT&T smartphones is expected sometime later this year, probably whenever they finally officially de-cloak the iPhone's magical disappearing free Wi-Fi. [PC World]

AT&T Says Free Wi-Fi for iPhones Will Come... Someday

All AT&T's flip-flopping between offering free wireless at Starbucks and then taking it away—turns out it was some peon screwing up after all. An spokesperson for the company told the New York Times that the confusion was due to a "human error." But the day when iPhone users can definitively access the internet while sipping on frappuccinos will come, the PR flack assures, AT&T is just refusing to say when. Oh, come off it, AT&T. The cat's out of the bag already, you might as well roll out the service now. I'm sure there will be plenty of secrets you can accidentally release before deadline in the future. [New York Times]

AT&T/Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Disabled... For Now

AT&T's free Starbucks Wi-Fi for iPhone usersdeal didn't last very long. Users on the MacRumors forum say that locations where Wi-Fi worked just days ago now have the free iPhone access removed. Considering AT&T never made an official mention of the service, it's possible somebody at the Death Star jumped the gun and the mistake has been corrected. Or maybe the company found out that a simple hack would let anybody with a friend's iPhone number get a free ride. [MacRumors]

Starbucks/AT&T Wi-Fi Launches May 1 for AT&T Customers (But Not the Rest of Us)

AT&T officially began rolling out their Starbucks Wi-Fi hotspots today (and confirmed the first one spotted in the wild). AT&T broadband customers get free Wi-Fi at all 7,000 Starbucks starting May 1 but the rest of us have to wait as it's deployed on a market-by-market basis throughout the year. (Which means the spots for AT&T customers are probably running on T-Mo's boxes.) We tried to get a more clear timeline, at least for major markets, but they aren't elaborating right now. [AT&T] More »

Starbucks' New "High Performance" Mastrena Espresso Machine

I don't know if you follow Starbucks news, but as much as I prefer local coffeehouses, I've been intently watching their recent efforts to get back the soul they've commoditized away. Here's their new espresso machine, the Mastrena, which they call a "high-performance Italian sports car," set to roll out this year. It's shorter than the ones now, so baristas can look you in the eye while they press buttons to auto-mechanically spit out your espresso. More »

Starbucks' First AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspot Pops Up In San Antonio

Starbucks' great Wi-Fi transition begins as a Starbucks in San Antonio is the first to recieve an AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot. Looks like Starbucks is giving the old T-Mobile ball and chain the boot in favor of its new AT&T mistress. Screenshot below. [3Screens] More »

Pranksters Bring "Grande" Desktops to Starbucks

While most of us would consider bringing little more than a large laptop to Starbucks, the fun-loving folks at Improv Everywhere decided to kick it old school and bring in some full sized desktops...complete with classic CRT monitors. Surprisingly enough, Starbucks was quite accommodating...even though a few customers were less than pleased. Here's a pretty hilarious vid of the experience: More »

Apple and Starbucks Sued Over "Song of the Day" Gift Cards

While James and Marguerite Driessen's patent covers a sort of vaguely broad concept—gift cards for pre-defined items that you buy at a B&M store but use online—I kind of feel for them, given that Apple apparently dropped iTunes custom cards in the US (while continuing to offer them in the UK) to get around licensing the patent after they asked. Then Apple brought it back with Starbucks under their "Song of the Day" program, which gives you a gift card for a pre-set song at Starbucks. More »

Coffee-Tasting Robot Makes Our Tongues Obsolete

Coffee lovers everywhere should just give up now, the automation of coffee is complete. Scientists have come up with a machine that can taste how good (or swill-like) a cup is, and even sniff out particular types about as well as highly trained human tasters. More »

Starbucks To Start Up iTunes Wi-Fi Store with 50 Million Free Songs

From Oct. 2 to Nov. 7, more than 10,000 Starbucks shops will be handing out free "Song of the Day" iTunes download cards. Starbucks estimates it will hand out 1.5 million songs per day, over 50 million in all, to promote the iTunes Wi-Fi store to which Starbucks will grant free access over its T-Mobile Wi-Fi networks. More »

Starbucks Makes the Leap to Single-Serve Coffee in Upcoming Maker by Bosch

Stop the presses for the coffee addicts, because Starbucks, the 800-pound gorilla of the java trade, has decided to blast into the single-serving coffee market this December, serving up four of its hyper-expensive blends to go into special coffee makers that will now be made by Bosch, as you see in the picture here. Until now, there weren't any famous and wonderful brands such as Starbucks available for these foolproof coffeemakers. This is big news, coffee lovers. More »

Video: Making Coffee with a Laser

Alright, F Starbucks and their demon machine. This is how a real geek makes his coffee: with a laser. Can you taste the cancer? – Matt Buchanan More »

Starbucks Vending Machines Suck More Soul Out of Espresso

Starbucks has been on a downward slide for years quality-wise, exchanging solid product for McD's-style viral growth, ubiquity and speed. Since it's not enough that their subpar coffee is on every corner in NY, they've decided to invade every room too, with a new automated vending machine co-produced with Pepsi that churns out your favorite poorly crafted "roasted coffee, various lattes, and hot cocoa." More »

Text to Find Your Nearest Starbucks: Insert Java-script Joke Here

Starbucks is now offering a new service for their hordes of over-caffeinated followers in North America. Using your cellphone or other mobile device you can send a text message with your zip code to "MYSBUX" and you'll received back the address and phone number of your three nearest Starbucks. More »

MP3 Downloading Stations Coming to Starbucks

Yes, I'll take a double tall non-fat extra-dry vanilla cappuccino and Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This will soon be a reality at Starbucks stores nationwide. On Tuesday Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz announced that sometime within 2007 you will be able to go into Starbucks to get an overpriced beverage and be able to fill up your MP3 player at the same time. I would like to assume that they will be iTunes downloading stations, given that Starbucks has an exclusive deal with iTunes already. Luckily for me, I don't drink coffee or buy music! Suck on them apples Starbucks! –Travis Hudson More »

Microsoft Prepping Zune Filling Stations

According to Microsoft's business chief Chris Stephenson, the company is planning on working with retail chains to provide "filling stations" for the Zune. Such classy places as McDonalds and Starbucks would be the idea place for Zune owners to hop in and download a song or two. More »