This week, coffee giant Starbucks announced that the free rides were over. Specifically, the rides on the brand's porcelain thrones.

Starbucks plans to convert its public restrooms to employee-only in New York City. A source told the New York Post that Starbucks is tired of being"the public bathroom in the city" as its own employees wait in long lines to use the facilities. So just as they're apparently getting tired of Wi-Fi sippers camping out for hours in their stores, they're taking away the amenities that make Starbucks a home away from home for many freelancers and job-seekers?

Turns out it's not true, as Starbucks subsequently denied the Post's report. The hullaba-loo came just days before World Toilet Day, a global day of recognition of people who lack adequate sanitation — and giddy writers in desperate need to relieve themselves of scatological puns.Continue reading...

Alfa Romeo launches Aquabatics social campaign.

AOL plays catch-up in mobile.

Buick is paying dividends for GM.

CNN said to be revamping its morning lineup.

DirecTV takes dispute with Fox to the web.

Disney leads big brands on apps front, while Disney-ABC extends Netflix and Amazon content deals.

DreamWorks' Puss in Boots wins the weekend box office by a whisker.

Facebook changes mean "reach" is up but "frequency" is down.Continue reading...

Since Activision announced its decided to stop making the Guitar Hero video game back in February and laid off hundreds of workers, did you think the fake-guitar video-game industry is dying?

After all, according to Wired, sales of Guitar Hero declined from 1.5 million just for the first month of Guitar Hero III back in 2007, to 86,000 for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for the entire year of 2010. Plus, licensing popular tunes costs a major chunk of change as well.

Those kinds of numbers led to Rock Band creator Harmonix being sold earlier this year by the now defunct MTV Games of Viacom to return to its roots as an independent studio.

But now, rocking on, Rock Band III will be reissued for folks who didn’t get it the first time around and need a Rock Band fix for the holidays, but the bigger news is that a new version will come out in 2012 and it will be “fundamentally reinterpreted,” according to an interview company execs gave to GiantBomb.com.Continue reading...

Boasting glamorous commercials with high production values, a recognizable "brand" and a million loyal brand champions, it was only a matter of time before opportunists started to look for ways to cash in. Now, both the 99% and the 1% are trying to claim 100% of the Occupy Wall Street and 99% movements.

On October 18, Robert and Diane Maresca, a couple from Long Island, New York filed to trademark "Occupy Wall Street" for use on "Clothing, shirts, sweat shirts, headwear, footwear."

"If I didn’t buy it and use it someone else will," reasoned Robert. The couple's pending trademark application for the movement is not the only one. Nor are private citizens the only ones trying to ride the populist wave.Continue reading...

Bluetooth consortium creates consumer retail mark.

Bon Appetit sells branded culinary products on HSN.

Cigna is buying HealthSpring for $3.8 billion. 

Harley-Davidson recalls 308,000 motorcycles for brake issue.

Jeremy Scott unveils latest ObyO sneaker line for Adidas.

Jim Beam invites "biggest liquor takeover since 2005."

JPMorgan Chase and other financial firms test social marketing.

Mattel signs deal to acquire Thomas the Tank Engine parent HIT Entertainment for $680 million with backing from Apax Partners.

MTV plans Occupy Wall Street reality special, as American couple looks to cash in on Occupy Wall Street with trademark move.

Netflix subscriber losses are worse than expected.

NFL and American Idol duke it out for priciest US TV spot.

Oracle expands its cloud footprint with $1.43 billion RightNow acquisition.

Saab brand woes detailed in New York Times.

Yahoo attracts more potential suitors.

Air France replaces CEO, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO is ousted in Daimler exec shuffle, and Olympus shares plunge as its CEO is fired.

Apple sells 4 million iPhone 4S units in first weekend, as Samsung sues to block the device in Japan and Australia and HTC loses Apple patent case in US. Steve Jobs' Silicon Valley memorial service reportedly filled with humor and music, as company prepares to honor late co-founder and report earnings on Tuesday. Starbucks and Apple are also partnering in the UK on free music downloads.

Mattel eyes UK's HIT Entertainment, home to Thomas the Tank Engine and other kids' properties.

Bank of America posts $6.2 billion quarterly profit, while Goldman Sachs reports $428 million loss.

BlackBerry customers receive free apps and tech support to make amends for outages.Continue reading...

Amazon wins British top brand survey; and expands deal with FOX to stream TV shows and movies as the News Corp.-owned network gambles $50 million on Terra Nova series.

Apple dips on the back of JPMorgan's back-and-forth reports on iPad output.

Barnes & Noble will receive Borders customer list by end of October.

Berkshire Hathaway moves toward massive repurchase of its own shares, underscoring dilemma for companies – and investors like its chief, Warren Buffett —about what to do with their cash.

China's ‘Facebook’ (RenRen) buys Chinese YouTube (56.com).

Coca-Cola CEO sees U.S. becoming less business-friendly than China.Continue reading...

Alibaba takes on Baidu for dominance in China.

Android rises to #2 smartphone platform in Europe.

Apple ponders disposition of its cash horde.

California Pizza Kitchen plans brand revival.

Cochlear recalls line of ear implants.

Deutsche Bank launches Autobahn App Market.

Ford unveils new three-cylinder EcoBoost engine at Frankfurt auto show.

GameStop to sell branded gaming tablet.Continue reading...