Google Inc. has temporarily shut down a search engine feature that allows users to find real-time updates from Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed and other social networking sites. A message posted early Monday on Twitter by the team behind Google Realtime says the search feature has been temporarily disabled while Google explores how to incorporate its recently launched Google+ project into the feature. The tweet tells readers to “stay tuned.”
The company envisions including Google+ information along with other Realtime data from a variety of sources, said Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker.
Google+ is the search giant’s latest stab at entering the social networking segment of the Internet. The project was unveiled last week and lets users share things with small groups of people. — AP
William Hill is seeking Nevada bets on Palin, ‘American Idol’ in U.S. Push
William Hill Plc, a U.K. bookmaker with about 2,350 shops, is betting Nevada gamblers will want to wager on whether Sarah Palin will be the next U.S. president or on contenders in the television talent show “American Idol.” The company, which agreed this year to buy Nevada-based sports-betting companies Brandywine Bookmaking LLC, American Wagering Inc. and Club Cal Neva, expects the Nevada Gaming Commission to grant it a gambling license before the November 2012 presidential election, Chief Executive Officer Ralph Topping said.
The regulator approved non-sports betting in February on condition each subject is cleared in advance. Topping, 59, said in an interview on June 29 in London that novelty wagers “wouldn’t be big bets. It’s small bets, it’s $1, $2-type bets.” William Hill’s bigger aim is sports wagers, which are only legal in Delaware, Montana and Oregon, as well as in Nevada, where Brandywine estimates the three companies are present in 119 of 192 casinos that offer sports betting. Online gambling transactions are illegal in the U.S., though states such as California and New Jersey are considering allowing web-based betting for their own residents. — Bloomberg
