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Beautifully detailed story at ComputerWorld on the reaction of non-Starbucks cafes to Starbucks switch to more free Wi-Fi with AT&T as partner: The reporter spoke to a lot of cafe owners and chains, and elicited some marvelous responses. The short story is: Hey, we've been free for a while; what took Starbucks so long?
I like Mr Kelley's attitude. "Jack Kelley, president of Seattle regional chain Caffe Ladro..." He would definitely get my business if I lived in the Seattle area. It makes smart business sense to be hands-off with the customer. Seattle's pretty wired. I wouldn't expect a whole lot of laptop hobos to come crashing into your coffee-shop. Might be fun to do at a Starbucks, though.
More an more, free wifi is seen as a perq. Starbucks is still behind the times because they insist on tying their wifi service to their brand. You wouldn't tie your water vendor and toilet paper dispensers to your brand, would you?
Starbucks might.