(Photo: The Social Network)

Accel has closed a $475 million fund that they plan to use for Series A startups mainly in Israel and Europe. [TechCrunch]

Yesterday was Twitter's 7th birthday and it celebrated by hitting the 200 million users milestone. That's great and all but... [The Verge]

...YouTube announced they have one billion monthly users. You know what's cool? [San Jose Mercury News]

The influx of new money from this round of billion dollar startups has undeniably changed the Valley. But is it for the better? [East Bay Express]

Turns out Starbucks baristas actually have no idea how to use that Square thing. [Fast Company]

This guy. (Photo: Screenrant)

Not only is Starbucks accepting payments via Square, the coffee conglomerate is now also selling the Square credit card reader for $10 at its retail locations. [New York Times]

Spotify has suspended its music download service in the U.K. Users can still stream music, but are sent to an unhelpful FAQ page when they attempt to purchase it. [Pocket-Lint]

Kim Dotcom says the U.S. "planted" evidence, encouraging him to keep copyrighted files on the Megaupload servers but then punishing him when he did so. [Ars Technica]

That indie Steve Jobs film, that will star Ashton Kutcher and be an inevitable flop that we will still watch anyway, is slated for release in April. Who wants to go with us? [Wall Street Journal]

The New York state comptroller is suing microchip company Qualcomm for data about its political expenditures with the hopes it can bring more transparency to corporate political spending. [New York Times]

The hottest game in town. (Photo: Rembert Browne, Instagram)

We're stretching into yet another day of no power downtown. If you're seeking Wifi, you could simply head north until you find somewhere, but it's probably best to proceed with a plan. Hence, we've rounded up a list of places you might want to try:

Networks: 

• In a convenient coincidence, Microsoft's sponsorship of free wireless at more than 200 Boingo hotspots across the city starts today. Look for "Free Wifi by Microsoft" to get online. Updated: Boingo tells us the best way to find one of these locations is this: "If you unselect "Trusted" and "Unverified" under "Hotspot Quality," this will isolate the "Certified" hotspots," many of which are sponsored.
• Boingo's Wi-Finder app also aggregates locations with free wireless. But take any suggested spots with a grain of salt, as they don't tell you whether those hotspots are actually currently functional. (It's a good bet none of the ones downtown are.)

• For those of you in New Jersey, Comcast has temporarily opened its Xfinity Wifi hotspots up to the public. Here's a map of available locations.

Coworking

• For startups seeking desk space, there's #SandyCoworking. Here's a list of companies and organizations offering to take in the disrupted, and there's also a crowdsourced map of options, including midtown's AlleyNYC, the offices of ff Venture Capital and Brooklyn's Cafe Royal.
• The Ace Hotel, the impromptu startup hub, currently has power and therefore its usual free Wifi. (Unfortunately, looks like Soho House is electricity-less.)

Chains / Restaurants 

• Starbucks outposts that still have electricity have free Wifi.
• McDonalds is another option. Check for a location here.
• Guest of a Guest points out many uptown hotels have available Wifi, including the tony Waldorf Astoria. It also looks like the Soho Grand has free Wifi.
• Barnes & Noble locations offer free Wifi. Midtown options to try include Lexington and 54th, and 5th Avenue and 46th.

Libraries

• New York Public Library branches offer free Wifi. However, the flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd is still closed.
• We hear NYU's Bobst Library has been offering access to its lobby for Wifi and charging, but that might be a limited time offer as the library gets converted to housing for evacuated students.

Outdoors/de facto

• Try one of the payphones that's been converted into a hotspot. Convenient Manhattan locations include 458 Seventh Avenue, 28 West 48th Street, 410 Madison Avenue, and 1609 Broadway.
• Here are tethering instructions.
• Moxy has set up one of its charging station (with free built-in Wifi) in a Chase ATM on 41st Street and 3rd Avenue. Not ideal, but a good place to check your email.
• Some of the hotspots in public plazas and parks are likely working. That said, do not go into city parks in search of working wireless, as there's a lot of tree inspecting left to do.

Of course, if all that fails, there are always bars, which never, ever let New Yorkers down.

Have you discovered an accommodating coffee shop? Found a free hotspot? Hit us up at tips@betabeat.com. 

Dude is obsessed. (Photo: flickr.com/kevinkrejci)

Everyone's favorite credit card processing company has returned from its latest trip to the venture capital trough. Today Square announced a $200 million Series D, in a five-sentence blog post that could only be described as terse. Perhaps CEO Jack Dorsey is taking his emulation of Bruce Lee a little too far?

According to the announcement, investors include Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee Company. Judging from CrunchBase, it looks like CrunchFund also got in on the action. The cash will go toward an international expansion planned for later this year.

The company also took the opportunity to trumpet its progress so far. A year ago: 150 employees and $1 billion in payments processed annually. Today: 400 employees and $8 billion in payments processed annually.

Maybe all that inspirational bus riding really is paying off.

America runs on smartphones, more like. (Photo: flickr.com/robertbanh)

Now that big fancy Starbucks has its Square-enabled mobile payments system, you didn't think Dunkin Donuts was going to allow itself to be one-upped like some sort of country cousin, did you? Certainly not!

GigaOm reports that today, the Massachusetts-based purveyor of superior coffee and slightly stale baked goods is launching its very own mobile payments app, for those of you looking to download something new to the fifth screen of your smartphone.. How it works:

When it comes time to pay, users select which virtual card they want to use and the app presents a QR code, which is scanned by an employee. The amount is deducted from their balance immediately after the purchase.

Dunkin Donuts’ mobile payment system, which is available at most of its 7,000 U.S. locations, is similar in execution to the Starbucks mobile app, which also works with virtual cards and barcodes. But unlike the Starbucks mobile app, Dunkin Donuts users can also send mobile gift cards to each other via the app. Users can send a gift card up to $100 to a friend via Facebook, email or text message.

Also included: Nutritional facts, to remind you that their muffins actually have more calories than most of their donuts. (Seriously.)

This news comes the day after a group of retailers include Walmart, Best Buy, and 7-Eleven announced plans for their own system for mobile payments. Mobile payments for erry'body!

Still a mystery: how any of these apps are, in any way, faster than just swiping a credit card.

(Photo: Twitter)

As the adage goes, there is a Starbucks on every corner. What better way for a payment service company to reach critical mass than setting itself up at the most familiar cash register in America?

The New York Times reports today that mobile payment service Square will process all credit and debit transactions for Starbucks beginning in the fall. It's a major coup for the mobile payment startup that has mostly been relegated to craft tables at flea markets and indie boutiques.

Starbucks aficionados can continue paying using the Starbucks app, but they can also pay by simply saying their name: Starbucks will harness Square's GPS technology to confirm it's really them by looking at a picture that's automatically sent to their screen. The future, you guys.

Meanwhile, it's a pretty sweet deal for Square, which takes a 2.75 percent fee for all credit card swipes.

The Times also reports that Starbucks has contributed $25 million to Square's most recent bid for funding, finishing off the round. Square was reportedly seeking "roughly $200 million, which would give the company an implied valuation of $3.25 billion."

That could buy Jack Dorsey a lot of handcrafted artisanal jeans.