Rejoice! Starting today Starbucks is offering free WiFi to its customers. Previously, it was a complete pain in the neck to get WiFi at Starbucks, requiring you to jump through all sorts of hoops or pay for a connection. This move will certainly attract more customers and maybe win back those who switched to McDonald’s for their cheaper coffee and free WiFi. Here is a full list of places to get free Wifi.
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Thanks for the reminder Julia – think I’ll head over there now!
I’m not sure how McDonalds could be a competitor to a coffee house – it’s always full of noisy kids and the parents ignore them like it’s a playground. At least you can get work done at Starbucks and Coffee Bean (unless it’s next door to a junior high at 3pm!) That’s totally worth paying a little more 🙂
Frankly, I hate the idea of Starbucks making WiFi totally free. Now it’s going to be even harder to find a place to sit down, because all of the seats are going to be taken up by college students who maybe buy one cup of coffee and nurse it for four or five hours (if they buy anything at all). Just try getting a seat at the Starbucks on the corner of Artesia Blvd & Hawthorne Blvd. ; it’s a huge Starbucks, but it’s just about impossible to find some place to sit.
Starbucks’ old way wan’t too much of a hassle; you get two hours free if you use a free Starbucks card, and two hours should be plenty of time to drink your coffee, eat your scone, and do whatever it is you have to do on your computer. If you want to sit around and gab with your friends while you’re studying, do it at someone’s home or at a college study hall. Don’t monopolize a seat for hours on end.
@CrouchingBruin Good point, Starbucks’ will be more crowded now with free WiFi. Have you tried Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf? They also have free WiFi.
Yes, there’s a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf that I visit every once in a while on Ventura Blvd in Studio City. Not a lot of electrical outlets, though, and the battery on my work computer won’t last more than 20 minutes, so I usually go to the Starbucks just down the street, which has a lot more outlets.