Starbucks is installing wireless networksin thousands of locations nationwide

Now that the Internet addiction has gripped much of the population, tourist spots are teeming with people exhibiting signs of either e-mail withdrawal or vacation denial. Internet cafes, airports and hotel rooms are increasingly filled with vacationers gazing into their notebook computers, alongside other travelers who are itching to get a look at their own in-boxes or favorite Web sites.

In the past, wired travelers faced stiff challenges in finding places to easily hook up while on the road. But the days of desperately seeking Web connections and packing telephone cords are beginning to wind down. Wireless Internet connections are available in an ever-growing number of public spaces. And a growing number of laptops and portable devices are equipped to connect to wireless signals automatically.

The buzzwords often associated with this phenomenon are Wi-Fi - shorthand for wireless fidelity, the signal standard used to transmit data over local networks using radio signals - and "hot spots," meaning those networks. These geek terms are starting to gain more mainstream appeal, thanks to the Intel Corporation's $300 million marketing campaign touting the benefits of wireless Internet connections made possible, in the case of many computers, by Intel's Centrino chip.

Geeky or not, connecting to the Internet with a wireless-enabled computer is fairly easy. Many notebook computers sold in the last year simply display a pop-up message when they detect a wireless signal and prompt you to log on. Those with older notebooks can often buy wireless PC cards, for as little as $60, that plug into the computer and connect you to when you are in a hot spot. From there, it's a matter of logging on as you would when tethered by wire.

Intel isn't the only big company to throw its marketing muscle behind the idea. McDonald's and Starbucks are installing wireless networks in thousands of locations nationwide. Travelers with laptop computers can easily connect to the Web for the price of a cup of coffee or a Big Mac Extra Value meal, or simply an hourly fee, without having to stray too far from their itinerary.

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The Job | Coffee roasting his cup of tea

By Jane M. Von Bergen
Inquirer Columnist

Don Young tried hard to think about something, anything, he didn't like about his job, but he couldn't do it.

Nothing bothers him about his work as a coffee roaster. He likes the product and manipulating the delicate balance of air, temperature and time that turns a green bean into a nutty brown nugget fit for a cup of the finest brew. He likes the global aspect of it - coffee beans come from around the world. The perks aren't bad either - all the freshly roasted coffee he can drink all day long.

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Mountain View McDonald's To Open 'McCafe'

'McCafe' Will Compete With Starbucks, Peet's Coffee & Tea

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Conrad Freeman isn't your stereotypical high-tech entrepreneur, but on Wednesday he plans to launch one of the nation's most cutting-edge startups.

Freeman, who owns a popular McDonald's hamburger franchise in Mountain View will begin peddling delicacies such as skinny double mochas and roasted beef with balsamic vinegar on foccacia at the grand opening of the West Coast's first "McCafe." Instead of Egg McMuffins and Styrofoam cups of joe, he and a staff of 13 -- including baristas who completed a 40-hour training course -- will serve buttery brioche and cafe Americano in porcelain cups (or paper, if you order to go).

"What we see now is that mom comes in and buys a happy meal for her child, but she doesn't order anything because there's nothing she wants to eat at McDonald's," said Freeman, whose McCafe is modeled after a pilot program in Raleigh, N.C. "Now she can come in an indulge in a latte and gourmet muffin, maybe a piece of chocolate cheesecake."

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Faith organizations throw weight behind 'fair trade' coffee movement

By In-Sung Yoo, USA TODAY

A Catholic charitable organization has become the latest outfit to join religious groups backing the "fair-trade coffee" movement, an effort to help coffee farmers worldwide who are hurt by falling prices.

Sharp price drops in the past three years have created a crisis for 25 million families that grow coffee in 50 developing countries, experts say. Some U.S. corporations, including Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and Procter & Gamble, have responded by agreeing to sell brands of fair-trade coffee, which helps ensure that the coffee growers make a decent living.

Now, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has announced an initiative aimed at boosting sales of fair-trade coffee among the nation's 65 million Catholics. The CRS Coffee Project partners with the Interfaith Coffee Program of Equal Exchange Inc., a fair-trade company based in Canton, Mass. The program includes organizations from the Lutheran, Presbyterian and Methodist communities. It encourages the 19,000 Catholic parishes in the USA to endorse and sell fair-trade coffee. Plans for the project also include educating parishioners on the plight of coffee farmers.

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Coffee growers to open U.S. stores

COLOMBIAN FEDERATION TO TOUT VALDEZ BRAND
By Sherri Day
New York Times

The Colombian Coffee Federation, which represents more than 500,000 Colombian coffee growers, is planning to open its first coffee shops -- all bearing the name Juan Valdez, after the federation's signature character -- in the United States by early next year.

Gabriel Silva, the president of the federation, which is based in Bogota, Colombia, said he believes the coffee growers have been ``too passive'' in claiming a larger piece of the $8.4 billion specialty coffee industry.

``In a cup of coffee that you get at a coffee shop, between 1 and 2 cents goes back to the farmer,'' Silva said, referring to Colombian growers. ``We need to build our own solutions and take the destiny in our hands and really fight for our share of the industry.''

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Starbucks? Well, it’s cheaper than therapy

By JACEY ECKHART , The Virginian-Pilot
© November 28, 2003

Did you know the Starbucks Corp. is posting annual net sales of 4.1 billion dollars a year? That’s a lot of coffee by the cup. No wonder financial advisers all over the country are getting upset at what they perceive is our $3-a-day, $15-a-week, $800-a-year coffee habit. My stars, woman, you could start an IRA with that! Which would be nice.

But it’s not about the coffee. I imagine that Starbucks does serve very good coffee. I wouldn’t know. I can’t tell the difference between my father’s hand-picked, imported, specialty bean, ground-moments-before-he-brews coffee and the stuff that’s sitting around the 7-Eleven. What’s to know? It’s coffee. It’s black. It smells nice. It’s good with cream and sugar. WD-40 is good with cream and sugar. Don’t tell my barista. So what is dragging people into Starbucks to spend billions? You could say that it was the classic marketing ploy. You catch the consumer’s interest. You make them feel they have a need. You provide the product that fills that need. You make the consumer think he needs that need filled right now. Over and over. Or you could say that Starbucks (and other coffee houses) are filling a need that we really do have — aside from the coffee. Here are the ones I see:

Starbucks as Therapy: We don’t go to Starbucks just for the coffee. We go for the way it makes us feel. It’s a clean, well-lighted place and smells like Mom’s house. Sounds like a musically hip boyfriend’s apartment.

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