love

Men treat virtual girlfriends to beach vacations

If you visited the Japanese hot springs resort of Atami recently and spotted a disproportionate number of men gazing longingly at their smartphones, it probably wasn't because they were playing Angry Birds. This summer, the beach town became a vacation hub for guys who like to treat their girlfriends to sun-and-fun holidays. Girlfriends, that is, who only exist on-screen.

And yes, there are such men, particularly those enthralled with Konami's Love Plus, a popular dating sim for Nintendo DS that also comes as an augmented-reality application for iPhones. Players of the game know that to keep their virtual gals happy, they'd best spend quality time with them, throw them birthday parties, take them on dates, and yes, shell out yen for beach getaways. After all, at $84, a return fare from Tokyo to Atami on the Shinkansen bullet train ain't cheap (fortunately virtual girlfriends travel free).

Sadly for romantics everywhere, Atami's summer of virtual love ends Tuesday. It was geared toward players of Love Plus Plus, a sequel to Love Plus released this year. The object is to form and nurture a relationship with one of three high school girls with rotating outfits, distinct musical tastes, and clearly permissive parents. (See a game trailer featuring stars Rinko Kobayakawa, Manaka Takane, and Nene Anegasaki below.)

More than 2,000 visitors have taken part in events related to Atami's lovefest, according to reports, with some traveling from as far as South Korea and Taiwan, locals say. The young bucks did things fairly typical of suitors--gaze into their girlfriends' eyes during long sunset walks on the beach, admire their pixilated bikinis, and touch their virtual cheeks with a stylus.

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper quoted a 21-year-old Tokyo man as saying the game has encouraged him in his search for his first human paramour. "I hope that this will serve as practice for when I have a real girlfriend," he said. … Read more

Woman: Facebook revealed husband as bigamist

The concept of marriage, as I understand it, is a one-at-a-time affair.

You promise to stay with someone forever--that forever being normally between 5 and 10 years--after which you get divorced and subsequently make the same promises to someone else.

So I am rocked to my Converses by the story of a woman who feared that her husband had already strayed from his eternal promise. Lynn France decided to endure the modern form of detection in order to find out whether her suspicions were founded.

Yes, she logged on to Facebook. There, typed in the name of the woman to … Read more

How to block your ex from the Web

Relationships come. Relationships go. Sometimes relationships outstay their welcome. But that doesn't mean that scars aren't left and bruises aren't felt, in deep recesses, for days, nay, years.

So might I introduce you to a browser plug-in called Ex-Blocker? This fine invention claims to be able to remove all traces of your Tracy or Sam from the lifeblood of your Web experience.

The Ex-Blocker home page is a little light on how it might actually get rid of those who have caused you pain, grief, or merely bankruptcy of pocket and ideas.

However, at the time of … Read more

Google removes Street View of kissing couple?

Love is something that ought to be celebrated.

Yet it appears that Google Street View, the place where we have already seen passed-out drunks, vomiting Brits and even the same woman 43 times, has removed one of the more positive images ever found on its slightly snoopy pages.

You see, a young couple happened to be sitting on the grass in Wolverhampton, England--or just outside of the city, according to Google Maps--and fell into a loving embrace. It was, I am sure, a common occurrence on Common Road.

A Google Street View car was passing by during this amorous moment … Read more

Wife claims cell phone company exposed her affair

Cell phone companies exist to bring people together, but sometimes things go awry.

Such was the alleged case of Gabrielle Nagy and cell phone provider Rogers of Canada. The Toronto Star tells of a difficult and troubling situation that had led to Nagy falling out with Rogers to such a degree that she is suing the company.

Three years ago, Nagy reportedly maintained a Rogers cell phone account which carried her maiden name. Her husband enjoyed a cable TV account with Rogers and called to add a landline and internet service.

Rogers, it is alleged, decided that here was a … Read more

Facebooking for love, Part 3--Jasmine's Tech Dos & Don'ts

So we've discussed how it's possible to spark love with some help from Facebook, as well as the ins and outs of maintaining the love by not thrusting it into the spotlight. It's high time to come full circle on this whole Facebooking-for-love business. As previously noted, the sad fact in today's world is that nothing's permanent.

However, dealing with breakup turmoil on Facebook should be easy as pie if you've followed the tips from the first two segments in this series. Namely: there should be no breakup turmoil on Facebook. But I suppose it might be inevitable for some, which is where this last bit of advice comes into play.

Part III: Saving face

So much of this advice seems completely obvious to me--and likely to most of you as well--but it clearly bears repeating for some. For example, DON'T get into flame wars with your ex or soon-to-be ex on Facebook. It's quite childish, wouldn't you agree? Plus, once you start airing all that dirty laundry for every one of your "friends" to see, you open yourself up to criticism, which can be quite the dose of salt on the wounds of the recently separated.

And since we're on the subject of maturity (or the lack of it), please DON'T hack into another user's Facebook account and spew on his or her page. After all, the goal here is to save face, not make yourself look bad. The best way to protect your own feelings and come off looking like a reasonable person is to actually act like one. Reasonable people also aren't blatantly spiteful, so DO consider your ex's feelings. Obviously, taking care of yourself is top priority, but there's no need to post purposefully mean and hurtful things about another person. Even if he or she has chosen this route, take the high road and DON'T sink to their level.

While we're at it, DON'T attempt to make a former partner jealous via Facebook. A status update stating "just spent two hours at the gym and flirted with the hot new yoga instructor" is a bit obvious, don't you think?… Read more

Facebooking for love, Part 2--Jasmine's Tech Dos & Don'ts

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this column lead to content with adult language.

With the large amount of time people spend online these days, it's no surprise that many of us have found aspects of our love lives playing out there as well. And social sites such as Facebook can make maintaining romantic relationships even more complicated than it already is. Last week, I offered some guidelines on looking for love on the site. Well, now it's time for some tips on dealing with the repercussions of actually finding it.

Part II: Maintaining the love

This may … Read more

The 404 575: Where true love smells like Jasmine (podcast)

Today we celebrate the anniversary of Jasmine France's first visit to The 404 studios. This time around we've given her a few days to recover from her flight to New York, but if you don't remember what happened last year, we've got a hilarious clip at the start of the show to refresh your memory.

Jasmine is CNET's senior associate editor for MP3s and digital audio, but she joins us today to talk about her new Tech Dos and Don'ts column on the MP3 Insider blog and the social politics of finding love on Facebook.

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter encourage users to share interests and connect with friends new and old, so it makes perfect sense that some will inevitably use them for romance.

In fact, Jasmine suggests that many users actually prefer Facebook to spark a flame instead of going to dedicated online dating sites like OKCupid or Match.com that practically force you into an uncomfortable situation. On Facebook, it's easy to hit that "like" button or add a comment to show common interest.

We have our own suggestions for online loveseekers as well. For example, stop with the poking already. Seriously, 86 percent of FBers don't even know that exists, and even if they do happen to notice it much later, the gesture remains just as meaningless if not slightly creepy and confusing, so stick with the "like" button... UNLESS your object of lust just changed their relationship status to single, in which case you should definitely send the "Heyyyyy couldn't help but notice..." message. OK, I'm joking, but now you see now why Jasmine's tips are so crucial.

Another tip we didn't get to address on the show is the question on every single person's mind: what is the appropriate amount of time to wait before adding "someone of interest" on Facebook? The answer is easy: you simply update the same rules that previous applied to the first-date phone call. Three days seems to be the consensus and gives the other person enough time to digest your initial meeting--friending in less than three days makes you come off (at best) overly accessible or (at worst) a genuine Internet stalker. At the end of the day, you're really just trying to dodge that "ignore" button, because once the relationship enters Facebook request purgatory, you might as well just delete your account and try your luck with Make Out Club.

Jasmine's got plenty more tips on how to comport yourself in an online dating environment, so check out today's show and let us know YOUR thoughts--leave a comment, send us an e-mail at the404(at)cnet[dot]com, or you can leave a voice-mail for our daily Calls From the Public segment at 1-866-404-CNET (2638)!

EPISODE 575 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Facebooking for love, Part 1--Jasmine's Tech Dos & Don'ts

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this column lead to content with adult language.

Thanks to the digital age, nothing is sacred anymore. If you need some proof for this statement, just consider Facebook. The social networking site is a veritable cesspool of vulgar content, unintelligible pseudo English, and TMI. That's not to say the site doesn't have value, because it most certainly does. It's great for reconnecting with old friends, planning gatherings, and sharing amusing media bits from around the Web, among other things.

But as a tool in matters of the heart, Facebook decidedly falls into the gray area between super useful and downright shady. With that in mind, I've put together some tips to navigate the choppy waters of romantic relationships via social networking.

Part I: Finding love First things first: DO look for love on Facebook. Why not, really? For one thing, it works. I have two close friends who met significant others through the site, and one is now engaged as a result. For many people, it's easier than asking someone out in person, whether for reasons of shyness or propriety. Further, it's not much different than meeting through a dedicated dating site such as Match.com or OKCupid--in fact, some might be even more comfortable admitting to meeting through Facebook since it's not a dedicated dating site. … Read more

Game character gets real-life birthday parties

Though not quite as bonkers fantastical as tying the knot with a video game girl, it's suddenly fashionable to treat virtual avatars as the real deal. Including, in this case, holding a real birthday party complete with cake and presents that no one will eat or open, for a Nintendo DS dating sim character in Konami's Love Plus called Anegasaki Nene.

Her birth date's listed as April 20, though being just pixels, this senior high school student in her third year remains ageless, of course.

Love Plus, which you probably won't be surprised to hear is … Read more