[H]ardNews - Blair's Sunday Ed.

Tech Buyers Are Stingy:

Technology buyers in the U.S. corporate heartland have been doing more with less and even a better economy is unlikely to break that habit. "If you can't prove the payback quickly, it's just not going to happen," said David Hogan, chief information officer for the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C., who once ran technology for a unit of clothing retailer The Limited.

Sheep Fat = Fuel:

One by-product of the country's meat industry is thousands of tons of animal fats, or tallow, every year. Now the country is experimenting with using the fat to create fuel for vehicles, and plans have been drawn up to create a bio-diesel refinery. A lot of the meat industry's annual output of 150,000 tons of tallow is currently exported for use in animal foods or chemicals manufacture. But New Zealand's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has drawn up plans to use 120,000 tons of animal fat as a bio-diesel.

Ethernet + Auto Industry:

General Motors Corp.'s decision to use Ethernet on the floor of a new automotive engine plant opening next month (July) in Tonawanda, N.Y., points to the incremental progress of Ethernet in factory automation, but also to its shortcomings. The GM plant will be using FL-net, an Ethernet-based protocol that is more deterministic than Ethernet itself, and which has seen scant deployment in the United States.

Computerized Train Drivers:

Singapore has launched a fully automated underground commuter train system, replacing drivers with nearly 500 computer systems. The new 12.5-mile, North East transit line connects several of the city-state's main tourist destinations - including Chinatown, Little India and the Harborfront - to the existing subway system. Customer service representatives will be on board every train for at least the first three months to assist passengers, said SBS Transit, the line's operator.