Legalized Online Gambling Would Bring In Billions
A Joint Committee on Taxation report released today by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) found that regulating Internet gambling would generate roughly $42 billion over 10 years.
The report is based on the requirement of a federal license for operators that would allow them to offer online gambling throughout the United States, while keeping the federal prohibition on any form of sports betting.
New Googleplex Established In Brussels
Google has branched out (or more accurately, built up) yet again. Simon Hampton, Director of European Policy and Public Affairs, announced today that the search giant’s established a Googleplex in Brussels, Belgium.
Hampton explained on the European Public Policy Blog, "Until now, our small policy team in Brussels worked from temporary abodes. From now on, you can find us at Chausse d’Etterbeek 180 1040 Bruxelles, right in the heart of the European quarter."
Best Buy Now Installing Google Mobile Apps On Smartphones
Best Buy Mobile said today it will install Google mobile applications in the smartphones it sells at its retail outlets.
Best Buy Mobile employees will install Google Mobile App on all compatible smartphones through its "Walk Out Working" program which is a free in-store smartphone setup.
Google will announce this additional method of getting Google Mobile App on its Mobile Blog and provide more information on a new Google and Best Buy Mobile website scheduled to launch on November 9.
Google Books Gets A Little More Organized
Big libraries are neat – the idea of having so much information (and entertainment) available in one place is just inherently attractive. The trouble is, big libraries can also be overwhelming, and so Google Books has tried to make its own virtual library a little more accessible by creating a list of available magazines.
Google Tests New AdSense Interface
Google announced the beta testing of a new AdSense interface today. It is being tested with a small group of publishers. Google says the new interface was designed based on the top three requests from users:
CNN.com Launches News Trivia Quiz
CNN.com said Thursday it is introducing a new interactive online news trivia quiz called the CNN Challenge.
CNN Challenge will focus on both historical news events and the top stories of the week. New quizzes about historical events will be available every Tuesday and Wednesday, and a new current news quiz will be available every Thursday.
Yahoo Challenges YouTube On Music Video Front
Watching music videos on YouTube can be an annoying process insofar as, when you search for an artist’s name or album’s title, you’re sure to be shown all sorts of unorganized results and amateurs’ covers. But today, Yahoo tried to make sure no one has the same problem when using one of its services.
More Stories Get a Shot at the Digg Home Page
Digg has launched a new homepage voting experiment called Digg Trends. The feature will promote "certain highly active stories" as they are trending, not unlike Twitter’s trending topics.
The feature could give stories a better chance of getting more exposure when they otherwise wouldn’t necessarily made it to the front page. Digg’s Kurt Wilms explains:
MySpace To Miss $100 Million From Google Search Deal
Way back in 2006, MySpace and Google signed a three-year deal that was supposed to have the search giant become the social network’s exclusive search provider in exchange for $900 million. Now, unfortunately for MySpace, around $100 million of that amount isn’t going to change hands.
Watch: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay Talk YouTube
YouTube has partnered with Funny or Die, the video comedy site founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, the duo behind such cinematic comedy gems as Anchorman and Talladega Nights. There is now a Funny or Die YouTube channel, and YouTube is giving it special promotion on the site’s home page.
Ferrell and McKay have uploaded the following video talking about YouTube: