Kiosk software startup partners with Starbucks...

... but for what? The article that I pointed to last week about Starbucks pulling its CD-burning kiosks sort of suggests that this partnership between Starbucks and Mod Systems (which I believe is a pretty way of saying that Starbucks will be buying stuff) isn't going to go anywhere. In fact, the article itself even suggests that:

Mod Systems recently replaced Hewlett-Packard Corp. in providing the technology behind Starbucks' CD-burning kiosks. The partnership comes at an awkward time, however. Recent reports indicate that Starbucks is removing music kiosks from all but a handful of stores.

Mod Systems may be well placed, however, as Starbucks re-evaluates its music strategy in light of the growing popularity of iPod and other digital music players. Mod Systems says it is testing technology to allow digital music downloads to such devices.

Not sure if I buy that or not yet, considering the amount of ambivalent press that the Starbucks CD-burning experiment has had, You can read the complete article here.