Since April 2008, Apple and Starbucks have served up free music tracks each week as a reward for purchasing a drink or snack in over 11,000 Starbucks locations nationwide. Loyal patrons typically receive a “Pick of the Week” card with a code that “unlocks” a specific downloadable track from iTunes. Now there are reports that the duo are throwing free iOS apps into the mix as well.
According to reports, Starbucks will now be offering a free iOS app to those who come in and puchase a drink or snack. As with the music track offering, patrons will be given a card with a code on the back that “unlocks” a specific app from the App Store. To start things off right, Apple has authorized the $5.99 Shazam Encore app (iTunes) as the first free offering (seen right).
So far there’s no indication that this Pick of the Week program for iOS apps will replace or simply join the current music track of the week offering. There’s also no indication that customers have a choice of either the track or app if both are provided: will Starbucks offer both simultaneously so that patrons can decide between the two, or will it offer a free app one week and a free app during the next week?
Distributing free apps to Starbucks customers is rather surprising news for Apple. Most of the time iOS apps are bit pricier than the standard $1.29 music track purchased from iTunes. But it’s highly unlikely that the new Starbucks program has anything to do with Amazon’s Free App of the Day on the Android Appstore… although Amazon did make the Shazam Encore app available free for a day in recent months.
CNET reports that both Starbucks and Apple declined to comment. There’s also no indication if Shazam Entertainment will lose any revenue due to its app being offered free for a week, or if Apple will provide the developer with some type of compensation during the promotion. Unfortunately, there’s also no indication that the free iOS apps will be available in Starbucks stores outside the United States.
Apple has filed two patents that could hint to the company’s intent to get rid of printer drivers, but don’t expect them to be in the next update for Lion thought.
Apple has three ways of enabling printing without drivers, with a focus on compact mobile devices. The first is a simple, Google-like cloud-print solution. A second model targets a universal printer access via a discovery protocol and expanded network printing protocol (as well as support for postscript printer description files). The third model relies on traditional printer drivers. The entire concept is described as walkup printing, a term that is already marketed by Xerox.
The cloud model is questionable as Google is providing such capability via Chrome and Chrome OS, but the use of Bonjour as discovery protocol as well as IPP as network printing protocol (npp) are interesting approaches
In another patent, mentions a new document-format-preferred key, “which enables the printer to specify a ‘preferred’ document format out of all of the document formats that are supported by the printer” as well as a new “URF-supported key.” This URF key can be used to provide printer configuration data, such as supported bit depths, maximum copies, supported duplex printing, specific finishings such as stapling, and media types. The patent notes that the key can be added to Bonjour and to the transport protocol “as a new printer description attribute for the IPP protocol.”
Ubisoft is coming out strong in support of the PlayStation Vita, because it’s a video game system and that’s what Ubisoft does. In advance of Sony’s Gamescom presser today, the company announced development of six titles for the handheld, including Asphalt racing game, Assassin’s Creed, Dungeon Hunter Alliance (above), Rayman Origins, and Michael Jackson: The Experience.
Perhaps most exciting, the PSP launch standout Lumines is returning on PlayStation Vita. Along with the announcement, Ubisoft shared screens of Rayman, Asphalt, and Dungeon Hunter. No dates were provided for any of these, but expect at least a few of them at the system’s launch, because, again, that’s what Ubisoft does.
China may have rather lax enforcement of copyright and trademarks, but Apple’s managed to get the authorities of the Chinese city of Kunming to go after the fake Apple Stores that have made tech headlines lately.
Authorities have ordered the fake Apple Stores to abandon the use of Apple’s trademarks, now calling themselves the Smart Store. Perhaps the name of the store comes from its “genius” staff… or maybe they should call them Brainiacs, or something.
MIC Gadget has more pictures from these newly rebranded stores. The layout concept and internal look still borrow liberally from Apple, but at least now it’s not paraded as a corporate store. All the goods sold are believed to be legitimate products.
Over the last few years, we’ve grown used to 3G-enabled netbooks, MIDs, tablets and more. Now it seems Apple was, at one point, considering the technology for its line of MacBook Pros as a prototype MacBook Pro 3G has appeared for sale on eBay. The notebook in question, a 15-inch Macbook Pro from 2007, has a retractable antenna on the side of the display/lid as well as a SIM card slot.
The seller says he purchased the laptop as a non-functional parts machine from someone on Craigslist. However, when he received it, he quickly realized that this was a very special MacBook Pro. There was the aforementioned antenna, the red motherboard of an Apple prototype, a fully integrated cellular modem and a SIM slot…
The latest Mass Effect 3 trailer bills itself as “Part 1″ of the game’s combat reveal and, as such, it shows off some of Shepard’s new combat mechanics, notably the melee attack and some new squad leadership abilities. “Behind the boxes, right flank,” Generi-Shep orders. Of course, we can imagine ourselves barking these same commands into our Kinect at home. Later, a huge mechsuit presents a larger challenge, but it’s not clear if Garrus’ Overload attack, which removed the mech’s shields, was ordered by Shepard. If so, was that a voice command?
While this reveal definitely has gameplay in it, it’s so edited it’s difficult to glean much about the game’s new combat mechanics. Here’s what we can tell: Mass Effect 3 definitely has combat and there are some new moves to take advantage of. Gotta save something for “Part 2,” we guess.
If you’re Ken Block and you feel the need to top your previous and ridiculously popular Gymkhana videos with a fourth installment, what do you do? Why, turn to Hollywood, of course. For Gymkhana 4, Block and his DC Shoes crew travel to the Universal Studios lot, and, as such, you’ll see plenty of classic movie props in this film.
Let’s see… we’ve got Back to the Future, Jaws, Zombieland and Slumdog Millionaire for starters, along with a couple of gorillas and Segways. But it’s the automotive action you’re most interested in, right? And in that case, we’ve got more good news for you: Block’s sideways smokey action in back in full effect, and this time, he crashes through buildings, dodges animatronic sharks and pirouettes around the guys from Epic Meal Time.
All in, you’ll find just over nine minutes of automotive hoonage starring Block’s Ford Fiesta Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle, punctuated by movie references and product placement along with plenty of special effects and insane camera angles. See it all for yourself right after the break.
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