News about Layouts

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 

On Monday, Google added the “+1″ button to its search results. It works similarly to the Facebook “Like” button. Today, Google began planning to add it to text ads, globally known as “AdSense“.

Google Product Manager Nick Radicevic commented at Google’s AdSense blog: “Today, +1’s will start appearing on Google search pages globally. …. We’ll be starting off with sites like google.co.uk, google.de, google.jp and google.fr, then expanding quickly to most other Google search sites soon after.”

More…

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 

In a 7-2 decision handed down on Monday, the US Supreme Court struck down California’s violent video game law and ruled that video games are protected speech covered by the First Amendment. The California law banned the sale and rental of violent video games to minors.

The underlying question was whether the violence in video games has the ability to affect children more than violence in other media, such as books, movies, plays and other forms of entertainment.

More…

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 

Space debris passed within a short distance of the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday, forcing the crew to enter their escape capsules to be ready to depart in case of a collision. The debris ultimately missed the orbital outpost and passed within 260 meters (853 ft) of the station at 12:08 UTC (8:08 EDT).

Approximately half an hour after the closest approach of the debris, the crew were given the all-clear to reenter the space station from their escape capsules.

More…

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 

Workers in Greece have gone on strike in protest against the government’s second round of austerity packages. Greek prime minister George Papandreou announced €28 billion in cuts Monday; loans worth up to €155 billion from the European Union and International Monetary Fund depend on the measures passing.

More…

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 

Twelve people have died and twenty more were wounded following the collapse of a wall in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. At the time of the collapse Tuesday, the wall was supporting a shed under which residents were seeking shelter from heavy rain.

More…

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 

The Chinese government released human rights activist Hu Jia from prison on Sunday after he had served over three years for subversion. His release, which had been scheduled in advance, occurred just days after controversial artist Ai Weiwei was unexpectedly released on bail after three months of detention.

Hu was released on the same day that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao began his visit to Britain, the first country on his three-nation Europe trade tour.

More…

Monday, June 27, 2011 

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit to the birthplace of English playwright and poet William Shakespeare on Sunday. The visit to Stratford-upon-Avon was included in his three-day tour of various industries in Britain. The UK is one of China’s biggest trading partners, second only to the EU.

The 68-year-old Wen, reportedly a fan of Shakespeare, was met upon his arrival at Stratford-upon-Avon by dozens of flag-waving individuals from the UK’s Chinese community. He visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, which is now a museum and then attended a scene from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet“, his favourite play, while sitting in the “sun-drenched” garden. He toured the collection of treasures at the town’s Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. On his tour at the Trust, lasting half an hour longer than planned, he looked through a 17th-century folio of Shakespeare’s famous plays. Trust director Diana Owen, who talked with Wen during his informal tour, said Wen described Shakespeare as “the greatest writer of all time.”

More…

Monday, June 27, 2011 

Frederick Chiluba, former President of Zambia, has been laid to rest in the capital, Lusaka. Chiluba is credited with introducing democracy to the nation.

More…

Monday, June 27, 2011 

More…

Monday, June 27, 2011 

The computer hacking organization Lulz Security disbanded yesterday, said the group in a statement. Released via Pastebin, it states “[o]ur planned 50 day cruise has expired, and we must now sail into the distance.”

The announcement comes a day after The Guardian released leaked IRC logs of private conversations between LulzSec members and days after the arrest of a British teenager in connection to the group.

More…