Kick the oil habit and make your own ethanol - Science

Reuters - Hewlett-Packard Co is in talks to buy technology outsourcing company Electronic Data Systems Corp for $12 billion to $13 billion in a deal which would vault it to a close second to IBM in technology services.

AIG sees no need to honor ex-CEO request to delay AGM (Reuters)

Reuters - Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, former chief executive of American International Group , has said the insurer is in "crisis" and urged a delay in its annual general meeting scheduled for Wednesday, according to a letter he sent to the board.

Australia's Westpac bids $17.6 billion for St George (Reuters)

Reuters - Westpac Banking Corp Ltd launched a $17.6 billion all-share bid for smaller rival St George Bank Ltd in a tie-up that would create Australia's biggest bank by market value.

Nissan operating profit falls 14 percent (Reuters)

Reuters - Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) reported a 13.7 percent drop in fourth quarter operating profit on Tuesday and forecast a sharp fall in annual profits this year due to a weaker dollar, rising commodities prices and sinking U.S. demand.

SocGen net profit falls 23 pct, beats consensus (Reuters)

Reuters - Societe Generale , the French bank hit by the world's worst rogue trader scandal, reported a 23.4 percent fall in first quarter net profit although earnings came in above the average market forecast.

Survey: 1 in 10 boomers borrowing for everyday expenses (AP)
AP - The economic downturn is hitting roughly one in 10 middle-aged and older Americans especially hard, compelling them to borrow money for everyday living expenses and to seek help from family, friends or charities, according to a survey released Tuesday by the AARP.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new company hopes drivers will kick the oil habit by brewing ethanol at home that won't spike food prices.

By Timothy GardnerNEW YORK (Reuters) - A new company hopes drivers will kick the oil habit by brewing ethanol at home that won't spike food prices.E-Fuel Corp unveiled on Thursday the "MicroFueler" touting it as the world's first machine that allows homeowners to make their own ethanol and pump the brew directly into their cars.The portable unit that sells for $10,000 resembles a gasoline station pump and nozzle -- minus the slot for a credit card, or the digital "SALE" numbers that whir ever faster at retail pumps as global demand pushes fuel prices to record levels.Instead of tapping gasoline from an underground tank, the pump's back end plugs into home power and water supplies to make ethanol for as little as $1 a gallon (3.8 liters), according to E-Fuel.The company says one of the machine's top selling points is its sweet tooth. It ferments fuel from sugar, the price of which is historically cheap as global supplies are glutted.That means it avoids the Achilles heel of today's U.S. ethanol system -- reliance on corn -- which has been blamed for helping to spike global food prices."There's no mother in America crying that their kids aren't getting enough sugar," Tom Quinn, CEO and founder of E-Fuel said in an interview.Regular table sugar alone is too expensive, so E-Fuels says it will link customers to cheaper surplus supplies, including inedible sugar from Mexico that sells at a fraction of the price. It also hopes to get users to help pay for feedstock by selling carbon credits for using the machine, since making ethanol from sugar emits fewer greenhouse gases than making it from corn.

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Software News

Microsoft software gives free tours of space (Reuters)

Reuters - Any Star Trek fan knows that space travel is not always easy, but Microsoft Corp wants to make traveling the "final frontier" as simple as turning on your computer.

SOA Software buys LogicLibrary (InfoWorld)
InfoWorld - Matching up critical components in the SOA space, SOA Software, which provides SOA governance automation, said Monday it has acquired SOA repository and governance vendor LogicLibrary.

Microsoft readies service packs for dev tools (InfoWorld)
InfoWorld - Microsoft released Monday beta versions of separate service packs for the Visual Studio 2008 software development platform and the accompanying .Net Framework 3.5, a Microsoft official said in a blog.

Google's Friend Connect To Spread Social Data (TechWeb)
TechWeb - InformationWeek - The software is part of an emerging set of technologies like OpenID, OAuth, OpenSocial, and the data access APIs published by Facebook, Google, and MySpace.

Three Charged in Dave & Buster's Hacking Job (PC World)
PC World - It may not have been the greatest hack ever, but police say the malicious software sneaked onto restaurant chain Dave &...

Windows XP SP3 Woes Especially Affect AMD Systems (NewsFactor)
NewsFactor - Users who thought the Windows XP operating system would be more reliable than its younger sibling Vista are being buffeted by reports that the latest update for XP, Service Pack 3, has its own problems.

Court hears claim linking vaccines to autism - 13, May 2008

Being breast-fed may lower breast cancer risk - 13, May 2008

Genetic sleuths unmask secrets of big tomatoes - 12, May 2008

Chile volcanic eruption seen at critical stage - 10, May 2008

China hails doctor for raising child virus alarm - 09, May 2008

Dutch study unlocks key to firm tomatoes - 09, May 2008

Chile gives volcano holdouts ultimatum to flee - 09, May 2008

Ancient seaweed chews confirm age of Chilean site - 09, May 2008

Sexy orchids do more than embarrass wasps? - 09, May 2008

Chile gives volcano hold-outs ultimatum to flee - 09, May 2008