Footnotes: The pursuit of Appleness

Can a shared passion for Apple products really form the cornerstone of happily ever after?

Love at first iPad.

When it comes to dating, most people would agree that having a few fundamental common interests helps. A love of children, perhaps. Or the environment. Or, according to the founders of a new online dating agency in America, of Macs. Not the wearable kind, you understand, but the computer. "The more I thought about it, the more I realised people that are true Apple fans might actually have a lot more in common than they realise," said the website's founder, Mel Sampat. Since its launch at the beginning of the month has attracted around 16,000 members in the US, where it is based.

But then, Cupidtino (named after Cupertino, the California town where Apple has its headquarters), is really only the logical outcome of a process by which "Machearts" (or Mac Bores if you belong to the other camp) have come to see that their computer choice says something massively significant about who they are. Take those ads, in which trendy Mac Boy goes up against nerdy PC Man. "You should see what he can do with a spreadsheet, it's insane," says Mac Boy magnanimously in one, "but he knows I'm better at life stuff like music, pictures, movies, stuff like that." In other words, all the fun stuff.

Americans registering on Cupidtino are unlikely to want to go near a spreadsheet. Instead, members are invited to list their favourite apps, or first Apple purchase. Sampat, himself a former Microsoft employee, stumbled across the idea when he and his girlfriend were arguing about his using his iPad at dinner. Should they ever break up, her told her, he would date someone who liked Apple products. He now has 16,000 to choose from.