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Online dating services may be convenient, but they're not the most personable way to meet a potential mate.
What's been lacking, Match.com Chief Executive Jim Safka believes, is a way for would-be couples to hear each other talk.
A new service from the company called matchTalk aims to do just that.
Free for basic subscribers beginning Thursday, matchTalk will let users go online and signal if they're interested in speaking to each other anonymously over the phone.
The system protects privacy by assigning the couple a unique number that they can use to talk to each other without fear of giving away their real telephone number or other personal details. People with caller ID will see the matchTalk number instead of their actual listing.
Safka described the technology - an industry first - as an important step in the development of Internet-based matchmaking services.
"It's one of those back-to-the-future features," he said. "We're really starting to weave in the natural way people meet."
Survey finds few check sources, timeliness of health and medical Internet search results: Search engines are common starting points for Internet users seeking health or medical information, but most of them fail to check where the information comes from and how current it is, a new study finds.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project's August survey found little change in how many people go online for health-related information.
Eighty percent of U.S. Internet users have searched for information on at least one health topic, comparable to 2002 and 2004 surveys despite growth in residential high-speed connections, which have driven increases in other online activities.
Among the online health seekers, 66 percent started at a search engine for their most recent health inquiry, and 72 percent ended up visiting multiple sites for information. About half said they were looking up information for someone else, not themselves.
Most said they felt reassured by what they had found, though many also felt overwhelmed, frustrated or confused.
Only a quarter of the online health seekers said they always or usually check the information's source and date. In a 2001 survey, half said they did so. Pew researchers said the drop might be blamed on how little health sites generally reveal about the source and update schedules.
Looking for a few good outsourcers: The main trade body representing software services companies in India will hold entry-level tests to gauge the abilities of people seeking jobs outsourced by U.S. and other overseas companies.
The move aims to tap new talent and cut the time and expense of recruiting new hires to India's outsourcing industry, a key engine of the country's fast-growing economy.
Candidates who pass will be regarded as having the basic skills to work in the outsourcing industry, even though the qualification would not guarantee employment, said Deepakshi Jha, a spokeswoman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies.
The test, to begin Nov. 18, is based on the Test of English as a Foreign Language and the U.S. Graduate Record Examinations. The latter measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills.
The scores will also help recruiting companies screen candidates and determine their training needs, Jha said.
TV a la broadband: Switzerland's dominant telecommunications company has launched a TV-over-broadband service that offers more than 100 television channels and more than 70 radio stations.
Swisscom said its existing high-speed Internet customers will be able to watch and record those stations through its $24-a-month Bluewin TV service. Video on demand will cost extra.
The launch of the service was delayed a year because of technical difficulties, including problems with the development of software designed by Microsoft Corp. for the set-top box.
"We wanted to offer a mature service, so we worked on it for another year," Swisscom spokesman Christian Neuhaus said.
TV-over-broadband services, also known as IPTV, have so far been launched in France, Spain, Italy and Britain.
The technology is not yet compatible with high-definition television, which would require a tenfold increase in bandwidth.
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