Yesterday, Apple named Arthur D. Levinson, Ph.D. as the Company’s non-executive Chairman of the Board. Levinson has been a co-lead director of Apple’s board since 2005, has served on all three board committees (audit and finance, nominating and corporate governance, and compensation), and will continue to serve on the audit committee. Apple also announced that Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, will join Apple’s board and will serve on the audit committee.

Levinson is chairman of Genentech, and a member of the Roche Board of Directors. He joined Genentech as a research scientist in 1980, and served as Genentech’s Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 2009. He is also a director of Amyris, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Levinson currently serves on the Board of Scientific Consultants of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Advisory Council for the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. He has authored or co-authored more than 80 scientific articles and has been a named inventor on 11 United States patents. In 2008, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Levinson received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington and earned a doctorate in Biochemical Sciences from Princeton University.

No, it’s not a new social networking game. Many Facebook users were subjected to pornographic and violent images that infiltrated news feeds across the globe as part of a coordinated spam attack.

Many of the pornographic posts spread just by clicking them, so apparently some were just too curious to resist the urge. The technique employed is called clickjacking. These fake links pose as regular Facebook posts, often coming from friends we would normally trust to only post good links. When clicked, a JavaScript command is executed, causing a user’s computer to perform a program that spreads the link even farther, potentially depositing malware along the way.

If it looks odd, don’t click it. Let your friend know via a separate message, and report all clickjacking to Facebook.

Afterfall: InSanity has gone gold. According to Nicolas Games and Intoxicate Studios, the production has lasted 583 days, but the game will finally hit store shelves November 25.

Prospective players can still place pre-orders for either for the standard edition or the special Collector’s Edition, and those looking to get into Afterfall‘s post-apocalyptic world won’t have to wait, as a downloadable demo is now available. Through it, folks will have the chance to check out its dark, dreary world for the first time, teaming up with the main character, Albert Tokaj, as they visit sections of the second and ninth levels of the game. From what I’ve heard so far, it’s a mere taste of the madness that’s yet to come later this month.

Matrix Games, Slitherine and Code Force have just released this extended gameplay and features preview video for Distant Worlds – Legends. The video details the long list of new features and improvements coming with Legends, in addition to showing off some of the battles that players can wage across the galaxy.

Distant Worlds: Legends is the second expansion to the 4X space strategy Distant Worlds, that adds a new character system which includes Leaders, Admirals, Generals, Governors, Ambassadors, Scientists and Agents, each with defined abilities and traits and opportunities to advance and grow over time. Expanded gameplay for all existing races includes new race-specific events, technologies and victory conditions that can create a completely different game depending on a player’s choices. An expanded tech tree also awaits, with dedicated carriers, cutting lasers, rail guns, new planetary facilities and wonders, and a new hidden faction.

Kerberos released yet another patch for Sword of the Stars II today. The patch fixes several problems, but the game still has a number of “known” issues, as discussed at the Kerberos forums.

The release of the highly anticipated 4X sequel has been plagued by significant problems since its release in October. The developers have acknowledged the problems, but it remains to be seen what the final outcome will be.

On the heels last week’s closed beta launch for War of the Immortals, Perfect World’s new action MMORPG, they’ve unveiled this Class Overview trailer. Click play to get a sneak peek at what each of the eight classes offers in terms of gameplay and gear.

To become the greatest warrior in the world of Motenia, you must utilize your strengths and capitalize on your opponent’s weaknesses. Each of the eight classes caters to a variety of playing styles, and each plays a specific role that when combined with other classes, becomes a lethal fighting force. Mastery of a class will require hard work and determination to become the best.

The latest entry in the Elder Scrolls series has had a spectacular debut. Skyrim, which went on sale only a few days ago, has already sold over 3 million retail units. 59% of players purchased the game for the Xbox 360, 27% for the PS3, and only 14% on PC (these numbers to not include digital downloads).

Many online games experience glitches and players who exploit those glitches, and EA’s Battlefield 3 is no exception. This week, EA decided to do something about those glitchers and banned hundreds of offending accounts. DICE is currently working on a patch that is supposed to resolve the current glitches and level the playing field.

Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson announced today on his Twitter account that Minecraft has finally gone gold. The game, which has already been played by millions of PC gamers, has had an incredibly popular beta, registering over 16 million users. The full version will be available for purchase on November 18.

Congratulations are in order for Playdead’s side-scrolling thriller Limbo. The downloadable title’s lifetime sales have officially exceeded one million. A Mac port for the App Store is currently being worked on, which will no doubt send Limbo‘s numbers up even further.

This December, Nintendo is releasing Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS. The popular racing game will feature 32 tracks, both new and old, and over 15 characters, including Yoshi, Toad, Lakitu, and Shy Guy. Check the video out to see many of these new characters in action.

Sony and Capital One have united to release a PlayStation-branded credit card. The credit card, shown in the image on the left, will give users bonus points on all PlayStation and Sony purchases. Cardholders will get 10 times the points on PSN purchases, and 3 times the points on fast food, movie tickets, Sony Store purchases, and their mobile phone bill. For more information, check out the official site.

Atlus has announced a Game of Thrones action-RPG for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, which is due to be released early in 2012. The game will be made in collaboration with HBO and Cyanide Studios, who worked on the Game of Thrones RTS. The press release states:

“In this 30-plus hour action RPG, players will enter the gritty and medieval fantasy world of Westeros. As one of two original characters with disparate motivations, both former soldiers of Robert’s Rebellion, players will forge alliances and wage battles as they play a pivotal role in the ongoing war for power of the Seven Kingdoms. Their journey will span numerous quests, during which they will interact with many characters and make key decisions that impact the realm.”

Fans will also be pleased that George R R Martin, author of the A Song of Ice & Fire series, will supervise the story to make sure it stays faithful to the series. You can find out more at the official website for the Game of Thrones RPG.

BioShock Infinite takes place on Columbia, an enormous airship city in the sky. It was created by the American government in 1900 as a symbol of exceptionalism, and launched as a floating “World’s Fair” that could travel across the globe. After an incident where the airship fired upon a group of Chinese civilians, the United States disowned it and Columbia took to the clouds.

Like BioShock, Infinite is predominantly a first-person shooter with a few RPG elements added in. In Infinite you play as Booker DeWitt, a former agent of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, who has been sent to Columbia to rescue a lady named Elizabeth. She’s been kept aboard the floating city for the last 12 years, and although DeWitt finds her quickly, he discovers that both sides are trying to use her mysterious ability to create tears in space and time to break the stalemate that has paralyzed the city.

Take-Two announced today that XCOM, which was projected for a March release, has been delayed until sometime between April 2012 and March 2013. Take-Two hasn’t provided an explanation for this new delay, though it could be that it doesn’t want XCOM to not get lost in the release of a few other shooters, including The Darkness II and Max Payne 3. The delay, while upsetting to gamers, was received with some relief from the world’s cattle population.