Matchmakers pick up the pieces for online dating

Professional matchmakers are benefiting from the increasing disillusionment of online daters, who are disappointed by potential partners lying about their age, weight or marital status. Rather than risk taking pot luck online, chief executives, entertainers and politicians are among those paying thousands of dollars to matchmakers to discreetly 'headhunt' and vet the perfect partner. 'In the old days you had your extended family, or in some societies an actual matchmaker, trying to find someone for you,' said dating expert Mary Balfour. ...more

London cabbies spurn SatNav

It maybe all the rage among BMW-driving reps, but London's cabbies are spurning SatNav in favour of the tried-and trusted Knowledge. According to Bob Oddy, general secretary of the London Taxi Drivers' Association, few drivers have bothered to install the technology since they were permitted earlier this year. 'I would say take-up has been about four or five per cent, maybe higher for drivers doing the airport runs and those doing jobs in the London suburbs,' Oddy said. ...more

256MB of flash memory - in a pen

One for gadget lovers - 256MB of Flash memory in pen form. The Executive Attach? is a flash drive pen with 128MB or 256MB of memory. Twisting off the top half reveals the backup storage. ...more

Lucas Arts dates Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

The Star Wars saga continues in game form. Lucas Arts has dated the arrival of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and unveiled the game's website. The game is scheduled to appear in November and will run on the PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, PSP and the Nintendo DS, with the accompanying website trailing what is in store in terms of new graphics technology and gameplay features. ...more

Symantec drops Norton Utilities for Mac

Symantec has stopped development of Norton Utilities for the Mac, according to a report by The Mac Observer. The report quotes Nancy Mohler, Symantec's senior product manager, who insists that the copmpany remains committed to the platform and that its other Mac products - Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security and Norton Personal Firewall - will continue. 'The decision was based solely on the strategic desire to focus Macintosh development resources on Internet security solutions,' Mohler said. ...more