Author: Josh Wolford

In what sounds like a completely sensible partnership, The New York Times has announced that readers will have free access to content that’s normally behind the paywall, as long as they’re reading it at Starbucks.

Starbucks customers who are logged in to the Starbucks Digital Network can now access up to 15 articles per day.

It’s a bit more complicated than that, however. Customers are forced into three articles per day from each of these four categories: Top News, Business, Technology and Most E-Mailed. The final three articles per day comes from a rotating section that changes every day:

Sports (Monday); Science (Tuesday); Dining (Wednesday); Styles (Thursday); Weekend (Friday); The Magazine (Saturday); and Sunday Review (Sunday)

Anyone can log into the Starbucks Digital Network via Starbucks’ free Wi-Fi. But the NYT access is only applicable to U.S. stores that offer AT&T Wi-Fi.

Starbucks first launched SDN back in 2010, and has continued to add content to it every year. Starbucks Digital Network features content from ESPN, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, USA Today, and Yahoo.

“Starbucks is the ideal setting for The Times to offer enhanced digital access,” said Yasmin Namini, senior vice president, marketing and circulation, The New York Times. “Customers on SDN will discover a diverse selection of Times content updated in real-time, from the day’s top stories to more in-depth features and opinion.”

So, next time you’re grabbing a caramel macchiato, you can catch up on what the New York Times has to offer – for free.

Back in May of 2012, PayPal and Coinstar partnered for a small test of some new types of kiosks. The initial test took place in the Dallas metropolitan area. Today, PayPal is announcing that the PayPal-powered Coinstar kiosks are coming to a few more areas.

PayPal and Coinstar are expanding the program to Northern California, Ohio, and other parts of Texas.

The new Coinstar kiosks allow users to add coins and paper money directly to their PayPal accounts, as well as withdraw funds from their accounts. The kiosks also allow for fund transfers between separate PayPal accounts.

PayPal says that this is just the beginning of a rollout process, one that will continue throughout the year.

The expansion of the program can be attributed to the kiosks’ success in Dallas. PayPal says that 40% of users who used the PayPal feature on the kiosks went back to use it again twice a month, on average.

“This is just another example of how we’re bringing the convenience and security of PayPal to consumers not just online but everywhere in today’s multi-channel shopping environment,” says PayPal head of financial innovations Dan Schatt.

For PayPal, it’s all about moving the payment option outside of the realm of the internet and making it a ubiquitous presence in more real-life scenarios. A couple of weeks before Christmas, PayPal unveiled new prepaid cards. PayPal also recently partnered with Discover to make PayPal a payment option in millions of stores in the U.S.

How pissed off is television director David Petrarca that many of the shows that he directs are pirated by millions?

Not that much, really.

In fact, Petrarca thinks that downloading is crucial to the survival of the types of shows he directs.

Speaking at the Perth Writers Festival this past weekend Petrarca, who has directed episodes of hit HBO shows like Game of Thrones, Big Love, True Blood, and Boardwalk Empire, said that ‘illegal’ downloads don’t really matter because shows like those rely on “cultural buzz.” The piracy actually helps the shows succeed in a way, as more viewers equals more “social commentary.”

“That’s how they survive,” he said.

Petrarca also argued that HBO’s 60 million worldwide subscribers insulates them a bit from any negative effects of piracy.

HBO’s Games of Thrones was crowned as the most pirated television series of 2012 back in December. According to BitTorrent numbers, Game of Thrones logged over 4.28 million downloads, compared to 4.2 million estimated U.S. TV viewers.

Petrarca went on to tout the popularity of premium cable, saying that “everybody wants to do it now.” He said that it look Steven Spielberg years to produce Lincoln, and it could have been done in just months on HBO.

[Sydney Morning Herald]

I get that you built a super-complicated machine to separate the Oreo cookies from the Oreo creme. Seriously, I get it. It’s so you can harvest all the creme and make one mega creme-filled cookie, right?

No? It’s because you hate the creme? What the hell?

[Oreo]

Spotify for iOS has just received a makeover, and it brings a new interface that makes navigation, playback, and more a whole lot easier.

The first big thing that you’ll notice is that you can now navigate around the app through a new sidebar. At any time while using the app, simply swipe left-to-right to bring up the menu. From there, you can jump off to the search feature, radio, playlists, friend list, what’s new, and settings.

There’s also a new track menu that can be accessed by a “…” button to the right of every track. That new menu allows users to quickly add the track to a playlist, star it, add it to their queue, share it, begin radio, and more.

But for me, the most important update is version 0.6.0 is the new “Now Playing” bar that adorns the bottom of the app. Instead of having to access the now playing screen manually, you’ll now always know what’s playing by checking the bottom of the screen.

The new Now Playing bar also allows you to pause and play the track, as well as skip to the next or backtrack to the previous song simply by swiping left or right inside the bar.

The update also fixed a few nagging issues including the shuffle function and wrong tracks displaying on the lock screen.

You can grab the update right now over at the App Store.

For a U.S. Congressperson, simply using Twitter or Facebook (or even Instagram) to detail their daily activities to the American public is so yesterday.

Freshman Representative Mark Takano (D, CA) has just submitted his very first bill, and he’s just posted a Vine video of the process:

Submitting my first bill! vine.co/v/bgVTnHx6rLi

— Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) February 26, 2013

The bill Rep. Takano just submitted is called the VetSuccess Enhancement Act. It looks to extend the Dept. of Veterans Affairs’ Rehabilitation & Education VetSuccess program eligibility period by 5 years.

“Nearly every veterans group I’ve talked to, including the Disabled American Veterans, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, all said that the 12 year eligibility period for the VetSuccess program was a significant road block for our heroes. The VetSuccess Enhancement Act removes that road block by extending that eligibility by five years. I’m proud to make it the first bill I will introduce in Congress and look forward to it becoming law,” said Takano.

The VetSuccess program helps injured veterans find and maintain employment.

What you’re about to see is “anger, frustration, forgiveness, revenge: communicated in 17 Beatles songs.” It’s not your typical dinner fight between a couple, I mean, there’s some pretty serious stuff going on here. But, like all great music, many of The Beatles’ songs were about love. And the lack of love. And the fight you’re about to see is about love (in a few different forms).

And specific girls with specific names. That helps too.

[CDZA via Laughing Squid]

Instagram has just announced a major milestone: 100 million monthly active users.

It comes just five weeks after the photo-sharing network announced 90 million MAUs and a little of ten months after being acquired by Facebook.

“Now, nearly two and a half years later, over 100 million people use Instagram every month. It’s easy to see this as an accomplishment for a company, but I think the truth is that it’s an accomplishment for our community. Now, more than ever, people are capturing the world in real-time using Instagram—sharing images from the farthest corners of the globe. What we see as a result is a world more connected and understood through photographs,” says Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom.

When Instagram announced 90 million MAUs back in January, it was the first time that they had ever reported official active users numbers. Some speculated that the timing had something to do with reports (however misleading) that Instagram was leaking users.

“Images have the ability to connect people from all backgrounds, languages and cultures. They connect us to aid workers halfway across the world in Sudan, to entrepreneurs in San Francisco and even to events in our own backyards. Instagram, as a tool to inspire and connect, is only as powerful as the community it is made of. For this reason, we feel extremely lucky to have the chance to build this with all of you. So from our team to the hundred million people who call Instagram home, we say thank you. Thank you for sharing your world and inspiring us all to do the same,” says Systrom.

Instagram says that they are processing 40 million photos per day, plus 8,500 likes and 1,000 comments per second. Earlier this month, the company launched a new web feed and for the first time a true web experience.

Social TV and movie-watching app GetGlue has joined the growing lists of apps and sites that have enabled Twitter Cards, meaning that GetGlue content will show up in Twitter’s Expanded Tweets.

“Now, when you share and see GetGlue links in Tweets, you can get an enhanced visual experience. When users click ‘expand’ on a Tweet with a link to GetGlue, the shared content, such as a show description or movie information, is seen directly within the Tweet,” says GetGlue in a blog post.

The Expanded Tweets not only feature a short description of the media in question, but also contain a thumbnail as well as a link to GetGlue’s Twitter account.

Clicking on the Expanded Tweets takes you to the show or movie’s official GetGlue page, where you can browse the current conversation.

GetGlue joins apps like Foursquare and sites like CNN and The New York Times in enabling Expanded Tweets content. Back in December, Instagram famously disabled its Twitter Cards integration, forcing users to click links and visit the Instagram site to view photos cross-posted to Twitter. Just a few days after that, Pinterest added support for Twitter Cards.

Facebook is looking to further promote their new Gifts feature by giving it a more prominent placement – in the news feed.

Some users have spotted a “Give a Gift” button attached to certain posts by friends – mainly when they’re sharing good news such as landing a new job.

Facebook has already incorporated gifts into live events that are part of the official profile structure – we’re talking birthdays, engagements, and marriages. Those kind of announcements will appear on the top right-hand of your news feed (on desktop) and inside the news feed (on mobile). Clicking on those life events prompts users to “Give a Gift.”

But this is something entirely different. Facebook looks to be testing a system that would identify major life accomplishments (like getting a new job) when spoken about in status updates, and prompt users to give gifts in celebration.

When Facebook first launched Gifts way back in September of last year, I joked that it was the end of the simple “like” or comment being an acceptable form of congratulations – for anything. By working Gifts into more and more situations, Facebook is pushing for Gifting to become the normal way to celebrate a friend’s life achievement.

Of course, this seems to be a limited test as it’s not wide to all users. Facebook runs dozens and dozens of tests every month, many of which never see primetime. But since Facebook is looking for more ways to generate real revenue from Gifts, I suspect that this is a type of test that we’ll be seeing more and more of in the coming months.

[via Inside Facebook]

Ken Segall, the marketing man responsible for Apple’s “Think Different” campaign as well as for putting the “i” in “iMac,” has a message for Apple:

Samsung is crushing you right now.

At least in terms of advertising. In a new post on his blog Observatory, Segall argues that Apple is losing its vice grip on the being the “master of buzz creation.”

Here’s what he has to say about Apple’s current ad-battles with Samsung.

…Samsung’s message has proven to be tremendously potent. The company continues to bash away at Apple, delivering ads that are well produced, well written and seem to be striking a nerve.

In contrast to Apple, which has been sticking to its product-based ads, Samsung has been scoring points with its people-based ads — most of which play off some growing negative perceptions about Apple.

Apple has been the master of buzz creation going all the way back to the first iMac. It just isn’t buzzing quite like it used to. Momentum has been lost. Not all of that is Apple’s fault, but some of it certainly is.

Samsung invested in a two-minute Super Bowl ad; Apple chose to remain silent. Samsung created a new story for the Oscars, tapping the eccentric Tim Burton; Apple ran only a variation of its more traditional product-centric campaign.

Segall goes to to say that Apple needs to “recalibrate.”

“I imagine Apple is feeling a bit like Obama after his first debate with Romney. It deeply believes in its ideas; it just needs to express them more forcefully”

Last week, another big name in Apple’s history, Steve Wozniak made public his own criticisms of the company’s current state. In an interview, Wozniak lamented that Apple may be losing its cool factor.

[Observatory via Fortune]

The folks at Bad Lip Reading are back with their take on the nominees for the Best Screenplay prize at the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards. Funny, though it just makes us want Bad Lip Reading to go ahead and tackle the Oscars. Now that would be something.

A new campaign looks to teach people about a “superpower” that is only being taught in about 10% of U.S. schools.

We’re talking about programming, and an array of high-profile tech figures and celebrities are throwing their support behind the new initiative.

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, and Gabe Newell are some of the big names that participated in a new ad called “What Most Schools Don’t Teach.”

In the video, they discuss how they all got started in coding and why they think it’s important that more people learn the process.

Check it out:

The push come from Code.org, a non-profit foundation dedicated to increasing the amount of computer programming education available to everyone.

“Our vision is that every student in every school has the opportunity to learn how to code. We believe computer science and computer programming should be part of the core curriculum in education, alongside other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, such as biology, physics, chemistry and algebra,” they say.

Code.org was founded by entrepreneurs Hadi and Ali Partovi, who between them have been early investors in Facebook, Dropbox, airbnb, Zappos, and Indiegogo.

The only thing better than Ben Affleck’s (no-longer-existent) beard is this incredible mashup of Academy Award winner Argo and perennial classic Home Alone. Trust us.

[dogfoodfilms]

Move over Harlem Shake, there’s a new YouTube fad brewing.

It’s the “Goat Edition” mashup, and it’s taking the internet by storm.

People have been making “Goat Editions” of popular songs and throwing them up on YouTube for a while. For instance, this goat-screaming mashup of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Niggas in Paris” first hit YouTube back in December of 2011. And you can go even further back in the archives to find the same goat singing alongside Usher back in 2009. But ever since the Taylor Swift “I Know You Were Trouble” Goat Edition blew up over the weekend, YouTube has started to fill up with various Goat Editions of popular songs.

It seems the internet reignited their love for goats yelling like humans nearly two weeks ago when a two-minute long mashup of various screaming goats went viral.

Thanks to the revived fascination, we have plenty of new Goat Editions to bring you. Here are some of the best:

Another day in February, another exclusive content grab from Amazon.

Today, the company announced that their Prime Instant Video service will be the exclusive online streaming home to the FX hit Justified. Also part of this new deal is the now-completed FX series The Shield.

Justified has already been available to purchase from Amazon at $1.99 an episode, but now the series will be able to be streamed by Amazon Prime customers for no additional cost.

“Justified and The Shield are two fan-favorites on Amazon,” said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. “We’re consistently looking for ways to make Prime even better – and one of the ways we’re doing that is adding shows like these that we know customers love. Prime members have tens of thousands of episodes of their favorite series like Downton Abbey, Falling Skies, and now Justified and The Shield, to enjoy on hundreds of devices, at no additional cost.”

Earlier this month, Amazon made a big play for the megahit PBS series Downton Abbey. They snatched it away from competitors like Netflix and Hulu, nabbing exclusive rights to past, current, and future seasons of the show.

A week or so later, Amazon announced that they will be the exclusive streaming home to CBS’ upcoming drama Under the Dome. Episodes of the new series, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, will become available just three days after they air.

Netflix is looking to “honor the ways you really watch Netflix” by giving out awards to films and TV shows in some untraditional award categories.

The company has just launched The Flixies, just two days after the Academy Awards, and they want you to vote on which program available on Netflix Instant is the best in categories like “Best Guilty Pleasure” and “Best Hangover Cure.”

Each category contains 12 pre-selected titles to choose from. For instance, the “Best Bromance” category features titles like Commando, Act of Valor, Warrior, Snatch, and Top Gear. The “Best Hanover Cure” category let’s you vote on titles like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, How I Met Your Mother, Archer, and Arrested Development.

The full list of categories are: Best Tantrum Tamer, Best Commute Shortener, Best Guilty Pleasure, Best TV Marathon, Best PMS Drama, Best Bromance and Best Hangover Cure. Clearly not your traditional award categories.

You can cast your vote today, and everything ends on March 10th. Anyone can vote for The Flixies – both Netflix members and non-members (as long as they reside in countries where Netflix is available). While you’re voting, you can also suggest new Flixie categories that accurately represent the different ways that you’re streaming content on Netflix.

In early 2011, Foursquare and American Express launched a partnership that allowed card-owners to score discounts and cashback by using Foursquare to check-in and spend at certain participating businesses around the country. The program made a big splash on Small Business Saturday (the shopping day after Black Friday) and featured offers like “spend $25 get $25 off.”

Later, Foursquare and AMEX extended those deals, even launching them across the pond.

Now, Foursquare is making a move to expand these offers to more types of plastic.

The company will announce new partnerships with both Visa and MasterCard to provide similar check-in offers alongside participating businesses.

The AMEX/Foursquare deal has morphed over time to start producing more revenue for Foursquare, and the company says that the new deals with Visa and MasterCard will earn them a fee for every offer redeemed. It’s unclear whether that will be a flat fee per offer claimed or some sort of percentage deal.

“This is going to be a pretty core part of our revenue model going forward,” said Foursquare Product Manager Noah Weiss.

According to AdAge, the first offer that should be available today involves $1 off for $10 spent at 8,000 participating Burger King locations.

Since this is going to be a “core part of the revenue model,” it shouldn’t surprise you that Foursquare is also making these credit card deals more prominent within the app.

All you’ll have to do is sync your Visa, MasterCard, or AMEX with your Foursquare account to start earning cashback on purchases made through the app.

Last October, eBay launched their new “eBay Feed” to a small number of U.S. users. Today, eBay says that they are finally rolling it out widely to all U.S. users.

“We’re delivering a cleaner, contemporary look and feel; a more intuitive, convenient way to browse, decide and buy – both globally and locally; and a new personal way to curate your own shopping experience and discover items perfect for you,” said eBay President Devin Wenig.

The new eBay Feed is a Pinterest-like design that features personalized and self-curated products. It’s a “collection of items selected for you, based on your shopping history or your own personal interests,” says eBay.

The new eBay lets users “follow” certain types of products like “movie posters,” “speakers,” “clothing,” etc. Users can also import their Facebook interests to the new feed.

Clicking on any product pops it up in a lightbox. From there, users can see basic product information like price, similar items, additional photos, and more.

“eBay will simplify its site design to offer more streamlined navigation along with larger images and key product information, enabling customers to find what they want more quickly and easily. And, because today’s consumers want a more personalized shopping experience, we’ll provide a curated collection of items tailored to our customers’ unique interests right on the eBay homepage,” says the company.

Amazon’s new ad for the Kindle Paperwhite is the backdrop to a flame war on YouTube. Let’s see if you can figure out why.

“I’m throwing away my kindle. I cannot believe they included a straight couple in this commercial. GROSS!!” said one user.

That’s also what I thought when I first saw it. How reckless are you, Amazon?

(Update: Thankfully, tolerance is winning out. Troll comments are being successfully thumbed down into oblivion. Carry on.)