matching

First dates from hell exposed in 140 characters

Now that people rely on the Internet for love (I saw a Match.com commercial claiming one in five relationships starts online), it's only natural they would return to the Internet to recount the dates that didn't end in magic. A new Twitter page called First Date Hell, and its accompanying aggregator, Crapdate.com, give serial daters a chance to dish their first-date horror stories in 140 characters or fewer, and some of them are pretty bad.

Rhodri Marsden started Crapdate.com after relaying first-date stories back and forth with friends at a local pub. His first post about one particularly long uncomfortable silence inspired some his 17,000 Twitter followers to reply with their own real-life nightmares, like this one from @BibiLynch, whose first date took her to a Laundromat, then proceeded to pay-phone ring his dad to describe her physical assets in agonizing detail.… Read more

The 404 873: Where we raise the debt roof (podcast)

Happy Wi-Fi Day, everyone! We're celebrating 8.02.11 with the return of Joseph Kaminski, and he's giving away free Wi-Fi refills all day to celebrate.

Joey's also teaching us how to tweet like men, even though he doesn't have a Twitter account, and telling us about Apple's new iCloud media-syncing service that rolled out to testers in the Apple Developer Programs today.

The 404 Digest for Episode 873

Learn how to tweet like a man. iCloud gets tested and priced. It's the first (and only) Wi-Fi Day! How will you celebrate 8.02.11?

Episode 873 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Match colors and shapes for high scores

Shape Shift is a free, ad-supported puzzler, a classic color-matching game played on a grid, but with a couple of twists that make this app stand out.

The setup should look familiar to fans of the genre: you play on a 9-by-7 grid of colored blocks, and the goal is to match up--and take out--adjacent groups of four or more of the same color. In addition to being red, yellow, orange, green, or blue, each block also has a triangle, square, or circle on it, and you can swap any two blocks that share the same shape. The scoring and … Read more

Auto-match beats in your mixes

Minimash is a DJ app that automatically matches beats from songs in your iTunes library, but it doesn't always produce great results. Immediately upon launching Minimash, you'll notice a unique artistic style to the interface. The hand-drawn-looking controls and bright colors are easy on the eyes, but it's difficult to know immediately what each control does. Fortunately, you can touch an information button that explains how to use each control and get your music up and running quickly.

The app has you start by "Preparing" your tracks--Minimash runs an analysis algorithm to scan each track'… Read more

Analyst: Apple's iCloud could see 150 million users

Apple could sign up as many as 150 million iPhone users to its new iCloud service, according to projections based on a survey from RBC Capital Markets.

In a report released today, RBC found that 76 percent of the 1,500 iPhone users polled from June 7 to 14 intend to use the iCloud service. Unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, iCloud will allow iOS device users to store, access, and sync their iTunes content online.

iMessage also should be a hot item, according to RBC. The survey found 73 percent of iPhone users plan to … Read more

iCloud, iTunes Match: Your questions answered

When Steve Jobs announced iCloud last week at WWDC in San Francisco, he left us all asking questions about how exactly the product will function.

The books, apps, and music (U.S. only) components of iCloud are already available, but since the full product will only launch in September, Apple won't provide any support until then.

Below are your questions from throughout CNET, including e-mails, Twitter, and Facebook. Apple will offer complete details in September, but here's what we know so far.

iCloud

Q: Can I use iCloud as a backup service for my music if my computer … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1450: Lick my 9Volt (Podcast)

Can you tell Brian Tong is back on the show? Actually, we're legitimately wondering whether a home-brew electroshock like battery licking could produce video game skill improvements like DARPA is seeing with their electroshock research. No, really. Also, Google shuts down Google Video, President Obama wants a universal login that's not Facebook Connect, and Match.com just got a whole lot more trustworthy. --Molly

Match.com to screen for sex offenders

Match.com will start checking its members against a national sex offenders registry.

The company expects to start the new policy in 60 to 90 days, Match.com told CNET this morning, and confirmed that the policy will affect both new and existing members.

Match.com has been considering the option for a while, but yesterday's decision was hastened as a result of the attention brought on by a lawsuit filed last week, spokesman Matthew Traub told the Associated Press yesterday.

A woman in California has sued Match.com, claiming she was sexually assaulted by a man that she … Read more

Match.com sued after alleged sexual assault

You never know whom you are meeting on dating sites.

Now, one California woman is trying to get a court to declare that you actually should be told the bare minimum: whether your potential date is a convicted sex offender.

The woman, identified in legal papers as Jane Doe, is suing Match.com, according to ABC News.

Her attorney, Mark Webb, held a press conference this week to explain the philosophy behind the suit. He said his client had no reason to believe that the man she met through Match.com had previously been convicted of sexual battery.

Criminal charges … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1407: BOL Computer Love special (podcast)

It's Valentine's Day, everyone, so we've got a special edition of Computer Love with special guest Dr. Wendy Walsh dishing out the love 2.0 advice. Also, in the tech news, the worst-kept secret in the tech world is unveiled in Barcelona: the PlayStation Phone. Plus, 10-inch tablets creep out of the woodwork to take on the iPad -- finally -- and will an iPhone Nano make an appearance? --Molly