disney

Facebook COO nominated to Disney board

Facebook isn't just for kids anymore, but it looks like Disney's still an admirer: The entertainment conglomerate has nominated Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of the massive social network, to its board of directors.

In a release Wednesday, Disney made the announcement and stated that shareholders will vote on Sandberg's nomination (along with the re-election of its 12 current directors) at the company's annual meeting on March 12 in San Antonio, Texas.

"Sheryl has been at the forefront of a technological revolution that's opened up a world of new possibilities for consumers and which … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1131: The last Word from Microsoft?

Breaking news right at the top of the show as Microsoft loses its appeal and the court rules they have to stop selling infringing copies of Microsoft Word by January 11, 2009. We also welcome the new White House security czar and the Google Yelp drama plays on. We're on break now, but we do have special episodes in the feed. We'll be back on January 4! Have a a great holiday!

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1131

Microsoft loses Word patent appeal http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BL3FV20091222Read more

Man turns Christmas lights into Guitar Hero game

For gamers, Christmas can, indeed, come early.

Because here is every gamer's dream wrapped up in a Christmas paper so beautiful that you might never play Guitar Hero in a living room ever again.

Please hail Ric Turner, who realized the holiday season was upon him and it was time not to keep up with the Joneses, but with the Brian Jones Massacre's. So, according to Make, he created this astonishing Guitar Hero Christmas lights extravaganza, which he calls Christmas Light Hero.

If you are not utterly entranced by the skill and wonderment of this technological exercise, then … Read more

Dad accuses Disney of calling his 11-year-old a hacker

The Disney Company is always so good at accessing one's inner child. The hope, the joy, the glory of absolute love, family goodness, and everything that sails in it.

So I am thrown a little off course when I hear that Disney may have falsely accused an 11-year-old boy of hacking the Pirates of the Caribbean video game and disabled his account.

The account I have read comes from the boy's dad, Brian Guy. Guy is a manager of MySQL's hardy pirates at Sun Microsystems. He also has a blog, which was positively fulminating with frustration Tuesday, … Read more

Q&A: Bringing back Mickey Mouse's dark side

In a world in which Disney defines its brand and the content it releases under its own name as being aimed at the broadest possible audience, Mickey Mouse is known largely as a feel-good, happy-go-lucky cartoon character.

But that's not how Mickey was in the early days. Back in 1928, when he first hit the world stage, he was a very badly behaved mouse. And now, one of the best-known video game designers in the world wants to bring back a little of bit of Mickey's dark side.

And he'll get his chance to make that a … Read more

BOL 1053: Stay healthy, stay fat

Sure Apple has made their September 9 announcement official, and yeah Disney is buying Marvel and will soon own Spider-man. But we're most concerned about RIBA the robot bear who's coming to get our unhealthy thin humans. Protect yourself! Keep out of beds and wheelchairs and for heaven's sake stay over 135 pounds!

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Disney buys Spider-Man and friends http://paidcontent.org/article/419-spider-man-meets-mickey-mouse-disney-buying-marvel-for-4-billion-in-sto/

Utah Law Punishes Texters As Much As Drunks In Driving Fatalities http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/08/29/1224250/Utah-Law-Punishes-Texters-As-Much-As-Drunks-In-Driving-FatalitiesRead more

Disney's Iger: Content need not be free

PASADENA, Calif.--Disney CEO Robert Iger said he appreciates the fact that his company helped pioneer user-generated video with "America's Funniest Home Videos," but acknowledges he missed a big opportunity.

"Unfortunately, I didn't come up with YouTube," Iger said Wednesday during the opening interview at Fortune's Brainstorm: Tech conference here. Although it has yet to be profitable, he noted that those who created the site did sell it for a "chunk of change."

But, Iger insisted that free content isn't going to be the only game in town.

"People … Read more

BOL 1024: Kilo-sode

We're very happy to welcome you to our 1,024th episode, which as we know means we will no longer to count the shows in binary on two hands. But that's OK. We will still be doing shows. Because we have more hands. And our 11 finger listeners can still count on two hands. We also have a date for Windows 7. He's nice. They'll like him.

Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | iTunes (video) | RSS (audio) | RSS (video) EPISODE 1024

When will you get Windows 7 RTM?

Microsoft confirms Family Pack for Windows 7

iPhone, Mac sales continue to propel Apple forward

Apple can't seriously be "very happy" with ATandT relationship

ATandT to Power Upcoming PlasticLogic E-Reader

Google Wave public beta rolling out in September

"Vanish" makes sensitive data self-destruct

Artists find backers as labels wane

Disney to offer films on microSD cards, consumers to pass on by

Synaptics' ClearPad 3000 touch screen does 10-finger capacitive multitouch, other forms of dark magicks

Robo-Ethicists Want to Revamp Asimov's 3 Laws

Sam Raimi to direct Warcraft: The MovieRead more

Branded social networks offer more than ads

At their core, branded social networks are a marketing ploy by firms to keep you interested in their products. So, be aware that if you join one you will need to deal with some annoying advertisements. But if you want to join another community of people with similar interests, start with some of these services.

Branded social networks

Disney Disney's social-networking efforts provide a unique experience by appealing more to children than adults.

After you sign up for the social network, you'll be given the opportunity to create your own "page." There, you can add videos, audio, games, widgets, and a variety of other elements to make your page your own. Think of it as a custom home page. As you might expect, most of the elements you can add to your page are Disney-branded. So, you can have a "101 Dalmatians" background or play a "Pirates of the Caribbean" game. Once complete, you can check out other users' pages, chat with friends, or join groups. It's a powerful service and it's well-designed.

eBay Neighborhoods eBay Neighborhoods is a collection of groups of eBay users who communicate, review products, upload content, or just discuss the topics of their choice.

After signing up for eBay, you can easily join one of the company's neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods range in size from a few members to thousands of members that center on topics ranging from coffee to sports. The members in each group engage in discussions on those subjects. They can also review products and post blog entries. Some of the bigger neighborhoods have a lot of activity, while others have little activity. Either way, eBay Neighborhoods isn't a bad place to communicate with people who share your interests.… Read more

ABC content starts arriving on Hulu

It's here, sort of. Several months after the big announcement that content from Disney's ABC Entertainment division would be coming to Hulu, the entertainment conglomerate's shows have started arriving.

The primetime drama "Grey's Anatomy" debuted on the video hub Monday, and more shows will roll out over the next two weeks.

These include, according to Hulu, consistent hits like "Desperate Housewives" and "Scrubs," along with more recent additions to the network such as "I Survived A Japanese Game Show."

Disney joined Hulu in April, giving it a joint … Read more