Technabob » starbucks

AT-AT Imperial Walker: Starbucks Edition

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:00:18 +0000

I am not a coffee drinker, but I have been into Starbucks on more than a few occasions with my wife. The drinks and sweets that place sells are so overpriced it’s not even funny. But regardless of how I feel about Starbucks, I really like this thing – it’s Lord Vader’s personal Starbucks.

Naturally, Darth Vader can’t have his Starbucks stationary, since the Dark Side is always on the go. This Starbucks is conveniently inside an AT-AT so at least on those long Hoth patrols in the cold, Vader and his personal Snowtroopers can get a warm drink.

Too bad the AT-AT is so vulnerable to a simple cable tied around its legs. I would hate to be inside that room filled with hot coffee when it topples over while walking. Oh, and what is with the cat storage area?

[via Buzzfeed]

Starbucks App Easily Hacked with Phone Cam?

Shane McGlaun — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:29:57 +0000

If you are a user of the Starbucks app that lets you pay for your coffee using a barcode on your smartphone screen, you need to be aware of a very easy to take advantage of vulnerability in the app. It’s not a security issue where someone can hack into your account and pilfer your funds; it’s much easier to do than that, and much less high-tech.

The problem is that the barcodes the app uses for you to scan to pay never change. The barcode for your account is always the same. That means that a black hat standing near you when you have the app up can simply take a photo of your barcode and then use the photo to pay for their drinks.

An employee at system Innovators has demonstrated the process and says that he can take the photo and use your account to pay in about 20 seconds. I’d like to know what developer thought that a barcode that never changes was a smart thing to do.

[via Mobile Commerce Daily via TheRegister]

Starbucks App Lets You Pay By Phone

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:28:30 +0000

I like the idea of paying for things using my mobile phone. I would rather see RFID land in stores so you can just walk up and the cashier will know what you have and how much you owe straight away. Starbucks isn’t to that point yet, but the company has announced that its mobile payment test has concluded and the service is now available in all stores around the country.

You can now pay for your coffee if you use the iPhone or a Blackberry using the official Starbucks App. The app can be funded using your credit card or PayPal. Once you have money in your app account all you need to do is place your order and then hold your device with the barcode on the screen under the scanner at the counter.

The app deducts the money from your account automatically. This would be the perfect app for people who end up shocked at the end of the month that they spent hundreds of dollars on coffee alone. You can only put what you want to spend for the month in the app and when it’s gone, you drink the swill at the office. Starbucks claims the app is the fastest way to pay for drinks now.

Star Wars + Starbucks Cups = Tie Fighter [Papercraft]

Technabob — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:41:29 +0000

Looking for something to do with all those Starbucks coffee cups you collect every morning? Why not turn them into some great geek art like this guy did.

Photographer Dan Winters (from WIRED) saw all those cups, stirrers and other paper miscellany and was inspired to turn them into an awesome TIE Fighter model. Darth Vader would be proud. All in all, Dan used 1 tall lid, 12 small sample cups, 37 grande cups, 63 drink sleeves, 10 of those large 96oz. coffee boxes, and 216 stirrers to put his creation together.

…I’ve been looking for an excuse to dust off my Star Wars Coffee logo again, and now I finally have one.

[via WIRED]