That's the maker of those nifty coffee machines we spotlit here. The acquisition is one of several moves that Starbucks is suddenly wheeling out to try to keep people buying $4 coffees at the same time that they're trying to handle buying $4 gallons of gas. Good luck, Howard.

UPDATE, 3/21, 1:56 a.m.: Meanwhile, in a court down in California, the company takes a major dinger in the head over its practice of grabbing baristas' tips and paying supervisors with them.