valentine's day

Article updated on 2/14/08 at 1:56 p.m. PST.

One perk of taking mass public transportation to work is the occasional giveaway waiting to be crammed into your hand by a cheerful promoter. For an hour and a half this morning, commuters at the Montgomery BART station in San Francisco accepted 3,000 long stem red roses from Engage.com, an online dating site built on the philosophy that meeting friends of friends through a trusted network is the way to bring singles together.

Dangling from each rose with a length of red yarn was the sponsor'… Read more

As much fun as it is to grumble at the scheduled sentimentality of the most schlocky of Hallmark holidays while shaking your fist at the spiraling costs of demonstrating said socialization, why not try a new approach to challenging the rose brigade's status quo?

Polka Networks offers lovebirds a chance to show true heart by customizing an e-card that makes a charitable promise in lieu of a gift. Instead of buying electronics for your mate, pledge to purchase an acre of rain forest, salaries for nannies in Chinese orphanages, or a handmade necklace that helps trafficked children in Ghanaian … Read more

Yeah, um, big surprise. The nauseating pink-and-red fever leading up to the holiday everyone loves to hate has resulted in higher traffic to dating sites, according to Web metrics firm Hitwise--and it's bigger than last year.

According to a Hitwise representative, dating site visits hit a peak shortly after the new year, presumably to fulfill those "get a girlfriend" resolutions or perhaps to deal with the aftermath of those awkward over-the-holidays breakups that seem to happen all too often. Traffic was back on the climb right before Valentine's Day, but Hitwise had not yet tabulated … Read more

If you think you've got it tough on Valentine's Day, consider your poor, humble Download.com editor. My wife's birthday is on Valentine's Day! Luckily, we've been together long enough that I don't have to impress her with dozens of roses, buckets of chocolates, and the rest of the conventional commercial holiday paraphernalia. However, a homemade card is always a great way to demonstrate my love.

Creating your own Valentine's Day cards with commercial design software like Adobe Photoshop or CorelDRAW will provide you with a wide array of options for tweaking your … Read more

If you ordered one of those Valentine's Day Zunes, there's good news and bad news.

The bad news is that Microsoft is running way behind on shipments and may miss the holy Feb. 14 deadline "due to some issues in our fulfillment center," according to an e-mail cited by Gizmodo. The good news is that the same e-mail says Microsoft is refunding the entire amount to those whose orders are in jeopardy--meaning that the media player will be free regardless of whether it gets there on time.

A sales rep confirmed the unfortunate situation--or fortunate, if … Read more

Today we joke with Natali Del Conte about Valentine's Day, why Facebook is helping people know what's going on with Tennessee tornadoes, the Arrested Development movie in early talks, and unlimited phone plans.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

So let's say you waited till the last minute and, in a panic, caved and got a pink Nano to give for Valentine's Day. Fine. Just don't get too carried away with accessories for it, because this is living proof that there's definitely such a thing as too much pink.

U.K.-based Intempo has created a 12-watt speaker dock to go with the latest iPod, according to Tech Digest, but--judging by the photos--it has taken the pastel palette in a disturbingly neon direction. We pray that Apple isn't planning a kelly green version for … Read more

Some of us who are averse to alarm clocks believe that the "Clocky" is an invention from hell. This, you'll recall, is the dastardly device that rolls around the room blaring its alarm until you get out of bed and track it down.

Well now it's trying to pawn itself off as--get this--a Valentine's Day gift, in a special raspberry edition. "There's nothing that says 'I love you' more than our mobile alarm clock," Nando Home gushes in its press release. Let's see a show of hands: How many people think … Read more

Sony is really trying to outdo itself this Valentine's Day. Not only is it pushing its "Red Collection," but it's gone back to the well with its eBook promotion from last year. Fortunately since that campaign, which was decidedly unromantic, Sony seems to have gotten a little clearer on the concept. Instead of the stodgy leather-bound Dooney & Bourke version, this time it's going with a SkinIt "Cross Your Heart" cover--in pink, of course. But the real kicker is 14 free downloads of Harlequin romance novels. Now all it needs is some Fabio … Read more