Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Dave Newman

Starbucks this week announced a real free Wi-Fi access plan for its stores (not to be confused with the hackers-only plan that was briefly launched last month) - get a Starbucks Card, put at least five bucks on it and then use it at least once every 30 days, and you've got two hours of free Wi-Fi a day. Not bad at all...

While there was apparently a small hiccup in the setup process yesterday, I just tested it and was very pleased with the results: bought a $5 card at my neighborhood Starbucks, sat down with my laptop and entered the code and basic personal info at the Starbucks site, and literally within seconds, had an AT&T Wi-Fi user name and password for login - and now I'm posting this while sipping a latte...

"The free service is part of Starbucks Reward card program, which started in April," notes CNET News' Marguerite Reardon. "Under this program, members can get free syrup and milk options with drinks as well as free refills of hot and iced brewed coffees. They can also get a free drink when they buy a pound of coffee beans. And now they'll be getting two hours of free Wi-Fi Internet connectivity courtesy of AT&T."

More here from Computerworld ... more here from PC World ... more here from WirelessWeek ... more here from Switched ... more here from InformationWeek ... and the press release is here.