**UPDATE: EFFECTIVE NOW**
AT&T customers will be lucky enough to have free use of Wi-Fi hotspots in 10,000 locations across the country. Anyone who subscribes to the Pro, Elite, and FastAccess plans can access the hotspots that are located in hundreds of airports, coffee shops, restaurants, Barnes and Noble stores, and McDonald’s.

For those lower plan people who are still members of AT&T’s phone service, an extra $1.99 per month will allow them to take part in the convenience. Other customers who wish to use the Wi-Fi but do not use AT&T can still purchase a plan that costs a whopping daily fee of $7.99.

According to statistics, nearly 13 million customers have broadband services through AT&T, which means that encouraging customers to upgrade or add the Wi-Fi plan will bring in huge piles of cash for AT&T.
[Via Yahoo]

I was at the National Bridal Show in Toronto this weekend, helping a friend with her photo business (she’s really good; she shot my wedding last April). At the end of my row in the convention hall, there was a company calling themselves “i-Cakes,” complete with mega-lit spinning sign. (Sorry I don’t have a photo; I was working in a booth, and didn’t think to have a camera.) Intrigued, I went over to their booth to take a peek. Sure enough, they were pushing themselves as “i-Cakes.” However, upon further perusal – and a good old-fashioned Googling – they are actually “Irresistable Cakes.” Yeah, that’s all the “i” stands for. No reference to the fashionable “i” thing, and certainly nothing that resembled the sign they displayed at the show.

There are two things that strike me about this whole thing. One is that they weren’t advertising themselves as “irresistible” with the “i” in real life. They’re only trying to gain business through the “i” caché. What’s more interesting – and perhaps more important – is how ubiquitous the letter “i” has become. Apple really hit on something major with that one vowel. In a completely unrelated industry, some people are still capitalizing on that same success. I think I’m going to try to start copyrighting things with the letter “o.” There are only four vowels left!*

*Y only sometimes counts.