Not a fan of Starbucks myself, but this does sound like a great opportunity to start using different kinds of altcoins as currency without having to trade it into bitcoin or to fiat first.

Microsoft is good to have on board, too, though I don't use there products much. Not sure what the other company is. They didn't really publish a list. I wonder who the other companies are and how regularly they might be used? Microsoft is mostly a larger purchase type of company, that the common consumer isn't going to be buying from every day, whereas Starbucks has the potential for daily purchases by the same customer.

Still, as you suggest, it's a step in the right direction. It's nice to have bitcoin put to good use, too. :)