Caribou Coffee customers no longer need to beam up a credit-card number to access free Wi-Fi service. I've never really understood why a standard perk in most independent coffee shops has always been a hassle at the chain shops. The Business Journal notes that Caribou's move comes after Starbucks announced it's no longer going to gouge its customers $10 a pop for Internet access. I'm typing this at a Dunn Bros., which also has free Wi-Fi at its shops.

The man tapped to lead Boston Scientific's heart rhythm division in Arden Hills said it may increase spending on research and development. Fred Colon's comments to the Pioneer Press came a day after Medtronic said it plans to cut research and development for its pacemaker and defibrillator division. The Boston Scientific unit has been hit hard with cuts and layoffs in recent years, but Colon tells the Star Tribune he's looking forward to a "comeback."

Ethisphere magazine subscribers, watch your mailboxes for this year's annual World's Most Ethical Companies issue. Three Minnesota companies make this year's top 100: Target, Ecolab and General Mills. The companies on the list are "ones that go above and beyond legal minimums, bring about innovative new ideas to expand the public well being, work on reducing their carbon footprint rather than contributing to green washing and won't be found next to the words 'Billion Dollar Fine' in newspaper headlines any time in the near future."

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