Crave

Monday's announcement that Starbucks will end its Wi-Fi partnership with T-Mobile had some HotSpot subscribers worried. After all, Starbucks locations are a significant source of T-Mobile HotSpots. One of the key attractions of T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home service is the ubiquity of such HotSpots (HotSpot @Home is a service that lets T-Mobile subscribers make unlimited phone calls via Wi-Fi).

However, according to a T-Mobile news release, existing HotSpot customers will not be impacted by the switch for at least another five years. AT&T Wi-Fi operations have yet to begin, and even after the transition, customers can take advantage of a roaming agreement between T-Mobile USA and AT&T. HotSpot and HotSpot @Home customers who want to use the Starbucks Wi-Fi can do so without additional charge. That said, it's still a blow to T-Mobile, as customers may attempt to crawl out of their existing HotSpot subscriptions.

Ubiquitous caffeine conglomerate Starbucks has ended its Wi-Fi partnership with T-Mobile in favor of one with AT&T.

Under the earlier plan with T-Mobile, Starbucks customers needed a paid subscription to access the in-store Wi-Fi service, and T-Mobile HotSpot subscribers will continue to have access to Starbucks Wi-Fi thanks to an agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile. But the new AT&T plan allows all customers 2 free hours per day, with a $3.99 fee for additional 2-hour chunks of time. Monthly subscriptions will cost $19.99 and will enable access to other AT&T hot-spot locations in addition to Starbucks.

In addition, AT&T broadband customers will be able to surf at the more than 7,000 Starbucks locations in the U.S. for free. The new Wi-Fi partnership is expected to be introduced gradually at Starbucks locations this spring.

It's an understandable move on Starbucks' part; the coffee chain has a number of deals in place with Apple and its iTunes Store. Apple uses AT&T as the mobile service provider for the iPhone. Rumors of a Starbucks mobile ordering interface for the iPhone have been circulating for months.

The new partnership also extends to the business side of Starbucks: AT&T will also power an "enterprise class" network for internal operations.

(Credit: Phil Lu / Genoco.com)

Hot on the heels of the mysterious ordering patent that surfaced late last month, multimedia designer Phil Lu has put together some gorgeous mockup shots of what an ordering system for retail stores would look like using Apple's iPhone. According to Gizmodo, the shots were created before the patent was filed.

The design shows a variety of screens that let you design and customize a drink to order off Starbucks' menu. The system uses a mix of a credit account and a Semacode scanning system similar to the barcodes recently used at several airports to verify passenger boarding passes with people's cellular phone displays. In this case, the code is to verify your payment before pickup.

Ideally, if a system like this were in place, you'd be able to order your coffee without having to wait in line or get to the cash register as long as you had your iPhone with you. Thus far Apple's partnership with Starbucks has been fairly limited to music, but adding a little e-commerce with a kickback to Apple doesn't seem like an idea that's too far out, and one that could be replicated in other mass market retail establishments that are no strangers to the queue.

(Credit: Starbucks)

Lest our gentle readers get the impression that we consume only alcoholic beverages at Crave, we feel obligated to feature an appliance for this holiday season's designated drivers as well. And just because it's non-alcoholic, that doesn't mean it can't look good.

The "Sirena" is an espresso machine from the drafting boards of BMW Design Works created for Starbucks, according to Uber-Review. As addicted as we are to the bean, however, we can't see spending $600 for one of these even if it does have a "commercial-quality portafilter and patented back-pressure adapter that will adjust to the grind of your coffee."

By the way, what is it that possesses luxury carmakers to create coffee makers? We suppose it does make more sense than other kitchen appliances, such as a toaster from Bugatti or Porsche. At least the caffeine will make you drive faster.

While at Starbucks this morning, I noticed some signs on the tables announcing that the "Now Playing" feature was live. This lets you log onto the iTunes music store from your laptop, iPod touch or iPhone and instantly see what song is playing in-store, plus browse and buy music on iTunes.

After adding two Sugar in the Raws and some half-and-half to my Grande drip, I decided to put that iPhone in my pocket to good use. I fired up the iTunes Wi-Fi music store by clicking the little logo and voila!

If only it was that easy...unfortunately, on my very first try, I kept getting a message that I couldn't connect to the iTunes music store because you need to be using Wi-Fi. Apparently my phone was still going through the Edge network.

I went into my iPhone's settings and manually chose the "tmobile" SSID from a list of about two dozen random hotspots (this is New York City) and there it was. A little green Starbucks logo wedged itself into my iTunes store dock, and instantly informed me of the song playing at that very moment inside the 'bucks. I could also purchase the tune for 99 cents, or choose from a list of songs recently played at that location.

The idea here is great--and the implementation is pretty cool, even considering my slight hiccup of manually having to choose the hotspot. There is no T-Mobile login necessary, and although free surfing is limited to the iTunes store, it's still a pretty neat way to discover new music--and better yet--another excuse to use your iPhone, even if it is still early in the morning.

The Times Online reports that U.K. music retailer HMV is opening the first of a new type of store in Dudley, west of Birmingham. The highlight: in-store kiosks with USB ports that will allow users to download free music and video files to a memory stick, for later transfer to their computer or other device. There are lots of other ambient-futurist touches, like big plasma displays, a mini Apple store, iMacs to play with, and a juice bar. As well as old-fashioned CDs and DVDs for sale.

Combine this idea with the Apple-Starbucks partnership announced on Wednesday, and I think you can get a good idea where music retailing is going. Instead of big open spaces with racks of physical music, clever retailers will create in-store experiences pervaded by, but not dominated by, music. Imagine an Internet cafe with a bar menu, a great sound system, and occasional live music performances. A Wi-Fi network is a must, with a "now playing" feature that lets you buy the currently playing song from an affiliated online music store--you could access the store from your own device or from one of the connected computers in the place. And of course, no DRM or proprietary formats, so the technology stays in the background where it belongs.

This sounds more appealing to me than a lot of other alternatives, like online music services where you have to listen to an ad before each song. I'd rather nurse a beer or two for the privilege of grabbing my music for free.

If your workplace is the couch at the local Starbucks, turn back now--this list is not for you. This guide is for those who work diligently at desks. This often small rectangle of space can become a canvas to display your personality to all. We've rounded up and categorized 28 places to buy things to take your barren desk to the next level.

Emporiums/Cornucopias, etc.

Places to get several types of items in one place

Keep new projects from making their way to your inbox for good with this catapult from ThinkGeek.com.
(Credit: Thinkgeek.com)
• ThinkGeek is one of the better "everything under one roof" sites. Especially great is their user picture section, which lets purchasers post pictures of themselves using the product in real life. Stock photography be damned.
• Perpetual Kid is another solid directory of good office, and general fun items. My personal favorite is the robot calculator that doubles as a stapler magnet and Post-it Note holder.
• Hammacher Schlemmer. You've certainly gazed lovingly at one of these catalogs while stuck on a flight. The online store is no different; there are a ton of useful and interesting office gadgets to make your desktop a playground (with taste, of course).
• Dealextreme has a little bit of everything. What separates it from the pack? Their weird gadgets section. The name doesn't lie. For example, get one of these to take notes at your next meeting.
• Geekstuff4u has a good, clear listing of geeky gadgetry to adorn your cube. I have trouble deciding between the USB squid drive, and pop-up pirate USB hub that requires stabbing a pirate with plastic swords to get him to appear. Charming.
• Kleargear is another handful of amusing and/or interesting gadgetry to buy. Worth checking out is their entire section dedicated to cubicle decor. Get an early start on Halloween with this gaudy skeleton you can attach to the top of your computer monitor. When people ask what it is, be sure to make some lame "spreadsheet from hell got loose" joke.
• Firebox. Not to be confused with the popular Web browser, Firebox is neither on fire, nor a box. It does, however, have a lot of cool gadgets worth putting on your desk. The best for lunchtime breaks and releasing steam? The Rock Beat Drumsticks, which let you do an air guitar--except with drums. Your co-workers will love you.
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With speed being the defining characteristic of modernity, everything we value needs to require little effort, and be easily transferable and portable. And, of course, uber-personalized.

(Credit: RingCube)

Which is why MojoPac is cool and kind of like Starbucks. Sure, it's a software platform, but it's really a way for you to get your own personal PC desktop wherever you want. You know, just like how I can walk down almost any street in America, find an establishment with green block-type letters and get a chai latte with 2-percent milk. It's magic, really.

Basically, when MojoPac is installed on any USB 2.0 device (including your iPod) it becomes like your laptop. Any Windows machine you plug it into will have all your applications, files, buddy lists, browser bookmarks, etc. Plus, the host computer doesn't retain any of your activity, so it's like you were never there at all.

My beverage cravings aside, this is nifty. It actually debuted at last year's DemoFall and got pretty high marks from ZDNet's Dan Farber. My main reservation--which really isn't much--is the pricing scheme, which I'll quote from the RingCube Technologies Web site: "Consumers can try the product with no obligation for 30 days. ... There is a special introductory one time fee of just $29.99, with up to three additional licenses available for just $14.99 each. After the special introductory period the price changes to a one time fee of $49.99, with up to three additional licenses available for just $24.99 each."

Why does it sound like one of those paper inserts I get with my credit card bill?

Coffee behemoth Starbucks has launched a new cell phone-based service that lets you efficiently locate the nearest store and feed your addiction get your caffeine buzz on. Starting today, when you send a text message with the ZIP code of your location to the number "MYSBUX" (697289), you'll receive another text with the addresses of the three nearest Starbucks locations. It won't cost you anything besides your cell phone plan's normal texting fees.

Only problem is, if you're wandering around in an unfamiliar city, you might not have any clue as to the exact ZIP code of where you're standing--unless your phone or car is GPS-equipped, and then you'd likely have some kind of satellite-based directory feature at your fingertips anyway. Starbucks has, however, also launched a mobile version of its Web site so Web-enabled mobile phones can access maps and directions. Plus, the company has asserted that it has now provided store location data to the mapping services that are used by in-car GPS units.

Then again, the average American city now has a Starbucks on about every third block, so in truth, you probably don't need any kind of gadgetry to find one.