Finding cheap gas just got easier

Finding cheap gasoline could soon be a cell phone call away.

Televigation Inc., a location-based service provider for mobile phones, will launch a feature next month to direct its TeleNav subscribers to the nearest, most affordable gas stations.

Given the high prices of fuel nowadays — the nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded was $1.92 on Wednesday, according to AAA — a growing number of Web sites, including gasbuddy.com and Microsoft Corp.’s MSN “My Car” service, are vetting the cheapest gas prices around.

Televigation brings that to the mobile phone as part of its TeleNav service, which works on cell phones with built-in satellite navigation, or GPS — and so far, only with service from Nextel Communications Inc.

TeleNav uses GPS to automatically pinpoint a subscriber’s location. TeleNav will check gas stations within a five-mile radius and give motorists turn-by-turn directions to fill up at the lowest prices.

The Sunnyvale-based company says it will update its gas prices daily with help from a company that compiles prices from about 65,000 gas stations nationwide using credit card purchase information.

Cutting out philanderers

It’s one of life’s biggest letdowns — discovering that Mr. or Ms. Right is already wedded. An online dating service hopes to help its love seekers avoid the sleazily married by filtering philanderers.

Upstart dating service True.com, which already screens for felons, recently expanded its partnership with database provider Rapsheets.com to review public records and verify a user’s single status.

If a wannabe Romeo turns out to be a married Pinocchio, the user is thrown out of the cyber-circle.

“We’re trying to provide a wholesome environment for courtship,” said Herb Vest, founder and chief executive of Dallas-based True. “And we’re interested in making relationships last.”

Of course, people seeking extramarital bliss have other options: Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.’s MSN even have online chat groups dedicated to the “married and flirting.”

Surfing for love on the Internet has become a hot business for companies such Match.com, eHarmony.com and America Online Inc.’s Love.com.

True entered the scene in December and appears to be the first dating Web site that tries to weed out felons and now also the married. It’s also lobbying state legislators to propose laws requiring that all online dating services do criminal background checks.

Florida, the spam state

If you think those annoying e-mail messages constantly flooding your computer are coming from California, New York or Hong Kong, think again. According to the people who track spam, those messages could be coming from Eric Reinertsen of Bonita Springs, Fla., who’s been labeled a “nonstop spammer” who’s “been at it for years.”

You may have received e-mail from Ronald Millette of Cape Coral, Fla., too, although Millette — who defends the rights of spammers — says he’s retired from the business.

Or you could have received spam spawned by the Internet-based Discount Home Shopping Club run by Richard Burke of Englewood, Fla. Critics of DHS call it “the club that spam built.”

Although Florida is fighting back with an anti-spam law that went into effect this month, the state has long been known as the “spam capital of the world.”

“It’s one of Florida’s least attractive characteristics,” said John Mozena of Detroit, who is vice president for public relations for the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail. “There’s a lot of spammers down there.”

Why Florida?

“Florida is relatively attractive to folks who are running scam-type operations because it has very favorable personal bankruptcy laws,” Mozena said. “If they get sued, they’re able to hold on to a lot more of their personal possessions.”