Don’t let the headline fool you. We are not yet living in some kind of dystopian future filled with crime, radioactive mutants, or… Motorola? Well at the very least you can rest easy knowing that your world has not crumbled yet.
GOOGLE LAYS OFF 4000+ AT MOTOROLA
After buying Motorola for $12.5 billion last year, Google has now decided that they will be laying off over 4,000 employees, which amounts to about 20 percent of its workforce.
While Motorola was originally purchased by the search engine monolith to fend off attacks on the Android patents, Google has since ventured to turn the company around, the start of which will lay off thousands of employees. That makes sense on paper, right?
Well, according to the plan, this will help the company to return to profitability, as it has lost money in fourteen of the past sixteen quarters.
Oh no, Motorola isn’t selling phones? I will cherish my Droid 3 just to make you guys feel better!
Actually, they should probably focus on making higher quality phones, besides mediocre ones. Like my Droid 3. *Sad Face*
Google in response said that Motorola will be helping those laid off in the transition to unemployment. “Motorola is committed to helping them (the employees) through this difficult transition and will be providing generous severance packages, as well as outplacement services to help people find new jobs,” the Google spokeswoman said.
DEMONOID TAKEN DOWN, GOOGLE TO STOP PIRACY
Last week was a bad week for pirates, or even people who just want to be pirates, or who want to mooch off of the work that pirates do.
After a publicized DDoS attack on Demonoid, one of the Web’s most popular bitorrent sites, it was announced that it had actually been taken down by the Internet Service Provider after it was reported by Ukraine authorities.
In response to the site’s removal, our favorite hackers Anonymous announced that they have commenced an “operation against those responsible,” otherwise known as the Ukranian authorities. The organization hopes to restore Demonoid to its former glory as the least annoying public tracker.
As another setback to Anonymous and others who are fans of free everything is from Google. The company announced that it would be fixing searches to make sure that illegal downloading sites appear lower in the search results.
Google has been at the forefront of the piracy battle for a while, mostly because it runs the largest search engine. Does it have a responsibility to combat piracy? Apparently it does.
“Consumers overwhelmingly want and expect the top search results for entertainment content to feature legal, licensed services,” Chief executive Geoff Taylor said.
Wait they do? Let me Google this.
RADIOACTIVE SCULPTURES DON’T ACTUALLY GIVE YOU SUPERPOWERS
Two Australian artists have created a series of sculptures made out of radioactive uranium glass. No, it’s apparently not as dangerous as it sounds.
No, going near this will not give you crazy ant powers, whatever those may be.
The artists claim that the art pieces in What the Birds Knew have been tested by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, and are perfectly safe, since they only contain a very small percentage of the element. So don’t worry, you won’t be able to glow following a visit.
The point of the installation was to convey the fallout after the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima in Japan following the earthquake last year.
That’s a good idea. Give the Japanese another idea for a crazy anime and toy line.
DO FACEBOOK LIKES COUNT AS FREE SPEECH?
I… guess they can?
The argument over whether Facebook likes constitute free speech has been taken to the courts. Back in April, the US District Court of Eastern Virginia decided that “liking” something on Facebook did not constitute free speech, in response to a case brought up by former employees of a local sheriff’s office who were fired over liking their boss’s political rival’s post on Facebook.
Now the idea has been brought back to court, as the plaintiffs now have Facebook and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on their side. Facebook wrote an amicus brief that explained how the social networking site worked, and how “liking” could constitute as free speech.
Liking something on Facebook means that the person is endorsing the post. Therefore, without saying anything, the person in question is expressing an opinion.
So “liking” something on Facebook could have legal consequences. Might want to rethink “liking” that photo of the hot girl and the puppy. It means a whole lot more than you think.
I just.. it’s a like. It’s Facebook. I don’t… I don’t even. What? Why is this even a thing?
Go back to Myspace. You have all lost your Facebook privileges.
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