Daily Links for January 12, 2008

• TV Converter Program Website
  Owners of analog TV sets can send off their application for a free converter box to prepare for the digital switch over that will happen in February 2009. Two coupons will be sent to each person who applies, worth $40 off a digital converter box each.
  (tags: television digital)
• Grass Makes Better Ethanol than Corn Does: Scientific American
  Farmers in Nebraska and the Dakotas brought the U.S. closer to becoming a biofuel economy, planting huge tracts of land for the first time with switchgrass and proving that it can deliver more than five times more energy than it takes to grow it.
  (tags: fuel ecology ethanol green sustainability biofuel science energy)
• TomTom Links GPS Devices To Google Maps — GPS — InformationWeek
  TomTom, a maker of personal navigation devices, said Wednesday that customers can now use Google’s mapping service to find business addresses and then transfer them via a computer to a TomTom gadget.
  (tags: technology google GPS)
• Microsoft to Acquire Logitech?
  It has been reported that Microsoft wants to acquire computer peripherals maker Logitech for $8 billion. The firm’s co-founder doesn’t want to sell. He only owns 6% of shares, but the deal could still be a problem with antitrust regulators.
  (tags: business acquisitions microsoft)
• Chewing Gum Sweetener Can Cause Dangerous Weight Loss
  Many sugar-free chewing gums contain a sweetener called sorbitol. Sorbitol is a laxative which is poorly absorbed by the small intestine. Two patients had chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and dangerously excessive weight loss. They chewed too much gum.
  (tags: science health)