Find My Friends has been a very useful app in our family for keeping track of our kids, particularly when they're overseas. They agreed to it when we provided them with phones. Recently we also found it useful when my husband lost his phone.

A new service has started in Sydney and Melbourne so you can book a private chef. You can choose a chef with a menu on the platform and a concierge will call you to make arrangements. www.intertain.com.au

Macleay St Bistro, a restaurant noted for fine dining in Potts Point Sydney, partnered with IdeaSpies, a platform of inspiring clever ideas, in offering dining prizes for ideas posted on the platform over a two month period ending September 30. The winning ideas seen and posted on IdeaSpies were: 1. A local community library outside a home 2. A business idea from Evolis preventing hair loss and 3. Water tanks as retaining walls and flower beds. The winners received vouchers for $250 (1) and $150 (2&3). Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the Macleay St Bistro owners and manager for your innovative approach to business.

In a world-first, Sundrop Farms has developed a greenhouse that relies on sunlight and seawater to grow tomatoes. It officially opens next week in South Australia north of Adelaide. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-01/sundrop-farms-opens-solar-greenhouse-using-no-fresh-water/7892866

Sydney-based start-up accelerator BlueChilli has launched a new program called SheStarts to encourage women tech entrepreneurs in Australia. The $1 million program offers 10 female entrepreneurs $100,000 each in pre-seed capital and a spot in an accelerator backed by corporate partners ANZ, MYOB, Sunsuper and UTS. The selected entrepreneurs will also participate in a documentary web series that showcases the development of their respective businesses. Applications open today and close on October 31. www.shestarts.com.au

Research indicates that students learn more when teachers talk for only 50 percent of the lesson. Melbourne edutech startup Stile is helping teachers talk less and students learn more. Launched in 2014 by Australia's now-chief scientist Alan Finkel, Stile looks to replace textbooks with digital platforms for students to engage with content in a way that makes more sense to a tech-savvy generation. The CSIRO, Australia's leading scientific organization, is encouraging use of Stile, particularly for STEM subjects. www.stile.com.au