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Apple, Pixar And Disney To Merge? 212

Posted by CmdrTaco from the sources-less-reliable-than-slashdot- dept.
Master Bait sent in the freakiest merger rumor: Apple + Pixar + Disney, with Steve Jobs as the chairman... you can read more at the ever untrustworthy Drudge Report, so take this whole thing with a grain of salt the size of a Ford Taurus.
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Apple, Pixar and Disney to Merge? More

Apple, Pixar and Disney to Merge?

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  • New Mice (Score:4)

    by grahamsz ( 150076 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @04:17AM (#946216) Homepage Journal
    Cupertino 06/10/00 - Apple today announced that they will be merging with Disney in order to obtain disney's mouse technology. Having proven their success with 'Mickey' for over nearly 80 years, Apple are keen to revamp disney's mouse in a variety of different translucent colours in a bid to entice consumers to think differently.
  • It's impossible to prove that a rumor of this sort is not true. You can only prove that it is true, or suggest that it is not true.

    Refrag
  • How about:

    Apple computing: Now more mickey-mouse and buggy than ever!
  • So that explains where Steve Jobs got the idea for colorful iMacs - they're in technicolor!

  • Could you get me a map to find my way around that paragraph?
  • Seinfeld is a known big-time Mac-o-phile.

    He's also into classic VW's and Porsches big-time. Coincidence?

    if it ain't broke, then fix it 'till it is!

  • Re:Yay! (Score:1)

    by znu ( 31198 )
    So did it break? I've watched an iMac come crashing off a desk on to a hard wood floor -- it still booted up just fine.

    --
  • That would be an interesting merger considering Microsoft has already merged with the Devil... (Or is it run by the devil???)
  • re: Sales tax, you're wrong. If the company you're doing does business in the state you purchase in, you need to pay tax. Thus, as long as you live in the same state that the Disney Store you're buying at is in, you have to pay taxes. (actually, you have to pay taxes no matter what, but they rely on you to remit them yourself when the business isn't in a position to do so)

    As it stands, I believe that Apple and Disney both have presences in all 50 states - you're out of luck unless your state has no sales tax at all.
  • Doubtless fuelled by the Jobs/Pixar Pixar Disney connection and the fact that the Pixar movies , well at least the toy stories represent some of Disneys biggest money spinners of recent years.

    I don't think there is any doubt that Disney would be very interested in buying Pixar, since Pixar gets a lot of cash from Disney for those animated features. Plus, Disney only has a 5-film contract with Pixar, and you would have to expect that a renewal, which they should want to start negotiating right about now, is also going to be extremely lucrative. So Pixar has no huge interest in being bought out...except that they do (see below).

    As others have pointed out, however, Apple is an entirely different matter. I think some posters underestimate the possible value that Apple holds for Disney, but there is no doubt that Apple stockholders would do extremely well under certain buy-out scenarios, as could Pixar stockholders.

    And here's why: Apple and Pixar stocks are both relatively cheap in the market when compared to Disney, at least when measured by P/E ratios; Disney (symbol DIS [yahoo.com]) has a P/E of over 80, while Apple and Pixar (symbolols AAPL [yahoo.com] and PIXR [yahoo.com] respectively, have P/Es stuck in the 25 range. In other words, a dollar of earnings by Disney is thought to be worth over three times as much as a dollar of earnings by Steve Jobs, Inc. This is, of course, a bit absurd, but it does point out that Disney is in a position to offer a very nice premium (say, 50%) over the market price for both companies and still make it look like a win. And, given all the extra earnings Disney could have by effectively voiding their contract with Pixar, this might still be quite an attractive deal, even if Disney has to swallow Apple, too. (And why Apple, too? Most likely because Jobs is CEO of both, hence responsible to the stockholders of both, and could probably get into trouble if he furthered the interests of one over the other in such a high-profile deal.)

    But things get even more interesting when you realize one other thing, which is that Disney has a substantial retail presence that would seem almost ideal for selling the iMac. The world's cutest PC, playing the Toy Story 2 DVD-ROM in the Disney store. Oh, wanna buy the iMac? Just click on the "Buy an iMac" icon on the task bar and launch a browser to buy the iMac on line, hence no sales tax (and no need to carry inventory), even though you're standing right there in the store.

    None of this means that the deal will happen of course, but the deal does have a larger degree of face plausibility than you'd expect from most stuff you drudge off the web...

  • Anytime you see the word merge, replace it with buy.

    Example: (press) NationsBank merged with BankAmerica to create Bank of America.
    (reality) NationsBank bought BankAmerica to create Bank of America.


    Refrag
  • They are try to merge to form a monopoly for overpriced (yet good quality) merchandise...computers...dvd's...etc.
  • Jobs and the Woz really were blue boxers, but that was some time before they started Apple; I don't recall that they used the blue box money to start the company.
  • (looks north)

    You mean Chicago walled off in the North to protect us from those dirty Canucks?

    Chicago rules
  • Picking nits...I think they were Quadra 700s

    --
    Max V.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • The reality is that this story is, in all likelihood, probably true. They probably are secretly talking about merging two or more of these companies ... but, does that mean it'll happen? Hell, no.

    I'm a big Apple fan and have been for 9 years. Anybody remember the Sun buyout rumor a few years ago? The IBM one? Is everybody forgetting that we recently found out that not only were those rumors completely true, but that they were ready to go ahead with the Sun buyout except they couldn't quite agree on a price??? I've worked for a $100 million Silicon Valley electronics company for 9 years and we recently completed a merger -- surprised all of us except for just a few. I didn't even know that we were in secret talks with companies for a couple of years.

    The point is that just because some insider says they are in merger talks doesn't mean you jump to the conclusion that there's going to be a merger. It's very common here in the Valley to periodically entertain mergers and acquisitions because it's very much seen as a way to stay competitive -- NOT a big deal. (if you do it right, like we did, absolutely nothing changes in the companies except that they become financially tied together)
  • I think Jobs is both saving AND messing up apple.

    On the one hand, they have rid the Beige Macs from the line. They have Changed it from numbers (bad for humans) to 4 recognizable brands (good for humans). They no longer resort to Quadra 8100 or somesuch. It is an iMac, and the specs are listed as needed/required. It is the G4, or the Powerbook (which I think still has numbers) and the iBook.

    They also retire the previous release, and they have been consistent on releasing OS in the past 2 years. That is a good thing, as it shows a positive direction for the company.

    Bad things include but are not limited to: The hockey puck mouse, the chiclet keyboard, and the 15in std monitor on the iMacs. Then again the iMac never claimed to be high end; it serves more of a family computer role. Unfortunately, the >$1000 price does not match the surfing machine image. It is quite expensive in its target market.

    The $1800 (loaded with 256 RAM)DV is a great entry lever video editing system, something you still cannot get at that price point in PC land. The G4 systems have an astronomical price, decent performance, and good standard features. All this and a usable interface.

  • Great, now we'll have to worship Mickey & Steve Jobs. Or should I say iMickey.

    Maybe Steve will slowly change the face of Mickey into his own image. Slowly changing all past episodes...so that our kids will never know the difference.

    M...I...C..... See you really soon!
    K...E...Y..... Why, Because we love you!
    J...O...B....S....Mickey Jobs!
    Mickey Jobs!

    Rader

  • If you purchase from a company that has no presence in your state they are PROHIBITED from collecting sales tax for either state. The federal government has the exclusive right to regulate interstate commerce. You also do not need to remit sales tax in your own state because nothing was sold in your state.

    That said, anyone can purchase something in their own state and not pay sales tax, e.g. for resale or a non-profit. If you wind up using the item for a taxable purpose you are responsible for paying the appropriate tax.

  • Actually I have always felt that Steve Jobs is more of the artistic type. Steve Woz was the
    computer guy in the apple duet. Jobs was good at marketing.

    Even in the movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley", Jobs was portrayed as being artistic.

    Jobs is the one that keeps coming up with the artistic computers. I really don't care what my
    computer looks like on the outside. I even try to buy the most standard looking case, just
    because it is easier to tear out the guts. But then again, I'm not the majority in the market.

    Steven Rostedt
  • Calling Microsoft a "predator" is like calling Jeffery Dahmer a gourmet.

    Even lions don't kill and eat any and all other lions for the sake of competition and survival.

    An animal that kills it's own kind is a murderer. An animal that will not tolerate the survival of ANY others of it's own kind is genocidal.

    if it ain't broke, then fix it 'till it is!

  • Re:This one is always popping up .. (Score:4)

    by / ( 33804 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @04:19AM (#946238)
    Indeed. There seems to be some simple harmonic motion in the cycle between this rumor and the rumor that Apple is about to go out of business -- the longer it's been since one rumor was published, the more likely it is for the other to pop up.
  • Hi all, I hope nobody is buying or selling stock based on this rumor. It's about three years old, possibly the oldest unfulfilled rumor in the mac world (with the exception of world domination.) Let's talk about a really good rumor, like a proposed Apple branded Palm OS device that has the handwriting technology of the old Newton. cmdrsalamander
  • I think that with the AOL/TW thing, Disney has a lot more to worry about than slapping a pair of mouse ears on each iMac.

    Apple does not have an internet strategy, like Microsoft does in MSN. Apple probably doesn't need one. But to compete against other content providers, Disney sure as heck DOES need an internet strategy. (a Disney-branded proprietary ISP). We can all breathe easy here, because a Disney/AOL merger would have been very nasty. But AOL/TW is what Disney is going to have to compete with, and they're going to be given a run for their money, and don't need to branch out into making computers. That would be a horrible error.

    if it ain't broke, then fix it 'till it is!
  • Pahroza, NationsBank bought BankAmerica to form the company Bank of America. Why would you think any different?

    • Bank of America's Corporate Center is located in Charlotte as was NationsBank, not San Francisco as was BankAmerica
    • NationsBank's CEO is the current CEO of Bank of America
    • BankAmerica's CEO is no longer with the company
    • The board of directors only has four members from the former BankAmerica out of 18 members total


    Refrag
  • And, of course, the impending puns about the iMick.

    Of course you can't neglect Pixar's role in the whole thing. Ultimately, it'll be Apple hardware rendering Pixar's movies to be distributed by Disney. Pun or not, I think that's *DAMN* funny. Not a BAD idea, but an amusing one.

    And since nobody's done it yet, can you imagine a Beowulf cluster of Steve Jobs?
  • This is more crap news. As soon as the media decided that Apple wasn't going out of business, it was merging with Disney. Blech.

    We haven't seen this one before a few times.
  • You actually think the people working on the movies say, Hey, let's stick our favorite OS into the movie? Hell no, Apple pays to have their stuff in movies. Practically EVERYTHING you see in a movie that is branded was paid for by the company. That's how studios make back some money on the movie set ... they have a person whose only job is to sell branding in the movie. When forrest gump decided to go running, do you think the director said, "Props! Get me some shoes!!"? No way ... the branding person went out and called Nike, said we're doing a scene featuring shoes, how much will you pay?

    Um, no, they don't say "let's put our favorite OS in a movie," they say "let's put a computer in a movie," and it happens to be a Mac because the majority of people working on the movie are Mac users and that's what they have handy. Yes, sometimes Apple pays them, but they usually don't, although they do often provide free computers.

    --

  • Disney hasn't gone down hill already?

    Refrag
  • Here's a few one-liner thoughts.

    1) Apple now has to buy its customers...

    2) The new Disney Character iMacs, now even less ergonomic with character faced mice and classic Disney scenes preburnt into the monitor. Comes in such wonderful flavors as poison apple. Includes the World of Disney screensaver package and the MDE (Mickey Desktop Environment) for Apples newly renamed operating system Creationism.

    3) Pixar will be dumping all of their high-end graphics machinery and customized code for a stack of iMac DV's, but customized for SMP...

    4) The new Pixar desktop assistant, a jumping, mute desklamp that gestures help files and procedures to you in its cute and witty but speech free way of expressing itself. The ultimate in userfriendliness, as now computer users not only do not need to be computer literate, but they can also lack basic reading and speech skills entirely.

    5) iMac Story, the touching story of a bunch of fruity flavored fishbowls, in a desparate attempt to save iMac blue from the clutch of Bill Gates.

  • They have Changed it from numbers (bad for humans) to 4 recognizable brands (good for humans).

    That was a serious problem (which is better, a 5500 or a 6100?), but now they have a similar problem at the opposite extreme: no model numbers at all. Those who know the internal codenames (Yosemite, Yikes, Sawtooth, Wallstreet, Lombard, Pismo) or iMac revisions (Rev A, Rev B, Rev C, Rev D) can tell them apart, but Apple isn't very helpful about this.

    Know what Apple says is the easiest way to tell the difference between a Yikes G4 (PCI graphics) and a Sawtooth G4 (AGP graphics), entirely different models with different motherboards and different features, other than opening up the case and looking inside? Go here [apple.com].

    --

  • the point i was making was that disney's been around forever. pixar hasn't been. i will not insult pixar by saying they haven't done their share of good, in fact my favorite disney movie to date was made by pixar. but having 20 years of experience in the video/animation/computer scene doesn't quite match disney's long record. but then again, there's people who will tell you that disney's just another formerly good company who's recently become a corporate bag of sleaze. the underlying point is that i still think jobs is best suited for computer-centric companies like apple or pixar. but then again, that's just my opinion. take it for what its worth.
  • Okay, how many times are you gonna post this same misinformation to Slashdot? Do you have any idea what a laughing stock MacOSRumors.com is in the (already lame due to an almost total lack of real info) Apple rumors world?

    It's a more reliable rumor than the one about Disney buying out Apple and Pixar.

    Besides, I have seen photos from a few different sources that clearly show Macs at LucasFilm and ILM. And Maya is being ported to Mac OS X.

    --

  • Screw it, call me a cracker, a whitey, do I care that you make racial comments? Hell no

    No, I think I'll call you a fag, a geek, a loser and a virgin. A psycho. A goth. A Columbine killer. Hit any closer to home? Then perhaps you'll think twice before making offensive remarks in future.

  • of course, the first series were 700 and 900. My bad :)

    Pope

    Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! Monopolies offer Choice!

  • 1 ear (Score:1)

    by Hans ( 1533 )
    Will this mean the future Mickey Mouse will have just one ear?
  • Though it is more likely that the meeting with Jobs and Disney is to discuss future joint projects, a merger is not totally unthinkable. Since both companies are doing fairly well at this time, a merger would benefit both. Disney would definitly benefit from Pixar's animation department, and Apple's hardware and software resources would only help. On the other hand, Apple could certainly benefit from Disney's marketing department, it's a win, win situation. But, Jobs as CEO of Disney? Not any time soon, big waves are moving at Disney, but none of them include a position for Jobs. Jobs doesn't have the vision necessary for Disney, even as President, a appropriate position for Jobs, Eisner isn't going anywhere.
  • This still isn't as scary as the AOL-TW merger, IMHO.
  • But the girl uses IRIX old 3d file manager to
    navigate the system. To bad it wont work on newer
    versions of IRIX since I cant run on our
    O2's at school.. buhhh!!!
    http://www.sgi.com/fun/freeware/3 d_navigator.html [sgi.com]
    is the url for the software..

    "One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promotional Ad
  • I think this story is bunk, but if something
    like this were to happen, don't count out SGI.

    They are shopping themselves for sale, having
    spun-off MIPS and Cray.

    They make the hardware and software that Disney
    and Pixar use.

    And they made colorful boxen when Apple was still
    making beige boxes.

    But seriously, SGI is more in need of a takeover
    than Apple.

  • "You've got Spam, Doc!"
    Better Steve Jobs in charge of entertaining the masses with Disnixarple (which they already do, btw) than Steve Case with AOL-Time-Warner-Brothers.

    Jobs is already top dog at two out of three firms in question and Disney would be much less well off right now if not for Pixar and several hit movies in a row. The reason this rumor is getting passed around is because it is so reasonable. Jobs is not a geek, he's a visionary type of CEO-- like Walt was. If there's any truth to this, maybe Eisner's looking to retire. The go.com thing isn't going nearly as well as Disney wanted it to and several other Disney divisions are anemic. Jobs might be just the guy to get the company cruising again.

    I'd love to buy a Winnie-the-Pooh branded iMac for my daughter (which, of course, will have Yellow Dog Linux installed on it before she ever touches it).
  • As my wife has just cunningly pointed out. Take a letter or two from each: DIsney APplE pixaR (note case) Diaper. Should appeal to the kids.... M.
  • Which is why some folks think of it as untrustworthy. Clearly a front for the vast right-wing conspiracy! :-)
  • Now we can see apples in more movies. Why are all computers in movies apples?
  • Don't forget that giant Thinking Machines Connection Machine 5 in the back!
    --
  • Jobs would have to be CEO over Eisners very dead body. (Which of course would be cryo-froze and put up in the castle along side Walt).

    I think that's about right. :-) But do note that Eisner is now 58 years old (I believe) while Jobs is only 45. Jobs waited 14 years (I think) to regain the CEO title at Apple, and, as long as he was given decently free reign over his corner of Disney, probably wouldn't be in any huge hurry to become CEO of Disney. Or, maybe he would, in which case the deal would never happen.

  • i wouldn't call pixar prestigious. artistic, sure. prestigious, no. they haven't been around long enough, and show us that they have one good trick - computer animation.
  • BUT, and here's the big point: IF Disney does buy both out (which wouldn't surprise me because of pixar and the success Disney has had with them) Steve Jobs will NOT become Chairman of the MegaHuge Conglomorate that will result. The reason for this is that Disney deals in more areas than just a few films and stuff, they have several theme-parks, hundereds of stores accross America (and a few over seas I hear now) along with a slew of other things Steve Jobs would not be qualified to President over even if that was the only way Disney would get Apple/Pixar. Besides I'd hate to see Disney go down hill because Steve Jobs didn't like ohhh say Disney World... scary thought huh?
  • ... calls the Drudge Report untrustworthy?

    Now that's the pot calling the kettle black!

  • I wonder how their stocks will do today.

    I own stock in those 3 companies...

  • Who said it'd be a merger? I think they're saying it'd be an acquisition.

    Apple doesn't have an image as an innovator? Are fuckin' serious??? Why do you think Microsoft's OS uses a GUI that looks so much like a Mac?

    Ease of use is relative -- sure Windows is easier than Linux, but who's saying that it's easier than the MacOS? No reputable people I know of...

  • ...Brittle, high-strung Steve Jobs introducing each Sunday episode of "The Wide World of Disney."

  • This went around the Apple rumors sites over a year ago (and you know how reliably *they* are). If you want the proof from the tin foil hat crowd, turn a blue and white G3 on its side and it looks like a Mickey Mouse head

    Here's [theapplecollection.com] a link on that particular one.

    Here's AppleInsider's report [appleinsider.com]on the merger rumor, from February 1999! And you think Slashdot is late with the news sometimes!

  • These rumors never take into account Michael Eisner. Why would 48 year old Eisner want to step down as chairman of Disney? I forsee a long and prosperous alliance of Disney and Pixar with a remote chance of Disney aquireing Pixar, and I can envision a possible Disney-branded Apple product. Jobs as CEO of Disney OTOH is extremely unlikely; Jobs is perfect for Pixar and fairly good for Apple, but why would anybody take a chance at replacing the extremely succesfull and popular Eisner with Jobs who has no real experience marketing movies?

    I'm not saying Jobs would be necessarily bad at the job, but the Disney shareholders know that Eisner is good at it.

  • Lots wife certainly takes salt more seriously now.
    ^-- Biblical reference to a woman who was turned into a pillar of salt.

    I however, don't take this merger seriously at all. Or the source.
  • They're also in many TV shows that have computers prominently displayed. To name a few...

    ER
    Just Shoot ME
    Drew Carey
    News Radio

  • Actually, Steve Jobs is in no way a computer guy in terms of what you see at slashdot. He's a showman and entertainer, though so far he's found his niche in the computer industry, that doesn't preclude him from wanting to go elsewhere. Why would he want to chair disney? Well, he chairs Apple and Pixar, and Disney really isn't that far a leap from where he's at with Pixar right now.

    If these rumors are true (which i can't see... why would Disney want to buy apple now that they've completed their "recovery"? Theye'd have to pay $1.25-$1.50 on the $1.00 in order for it to make sense for the shareholders, and at the price that Apple's at these days, that'd end up being what? $30 billion. Nevermind that 2 years ago they were worth around $2 billion. To reiterate, now is not the time to buy apple.

    Yes, Jobs would love to run Disney (according to what I've read, esepcaially telling is Gil Amelio's final pages in his "700 days at apple book" where he issues a warning to Michael Eisener (That's the right name, right?) to beware if Steve Jobs ever sets his sites on running Disney.

    The only problem is that it makes no sense for Disney to buy Apple. Pixar, yes. Apple, no. And if they can't be unwoven, that's going to be an aweful lot to spend in order to get a new CEO/Chariman.
  • Pixar and Diney have done so much work together before this is no surprise at all. Apple have a fantastic platform with the G4. Project Appleseed (http://exodus.physics.ucla.edu/appleseed/applesee d.html)has shown us that clustered G4's can make one heck of a supercomputer. Roll on Toy Story 3.
  • This time it is more likely.
  • A conglomerate rooted in innovation - not a bad idea. Let's face it, these 3 companies do go hand in hand. The Mac has always been the best consumer-accessible (discounting high-end solutions like SGI packages) platform for video editing. Disney & Pixar have already worked successfully together a "Toystory" and "A bug's Life", and with Apple they could create a division emphasing marketing the use of technology in home filmaking and video editing on a level accessible to the consumer - with the Disney name backing it up, this could be an ingenious plan.
  • Other big media mergers that have had equally evil ramifications have happened *cough cough* AOL *cough cough*. I extremely doubt that Jobs would be president, as disney is a MUCH larger company, is internationally recognized, and is more closely aligned with Pixar.
  • eheheh Disney sells iMacs. Thats Funny.

  • > buhhh!!!

    snuh!!!

    Err, sorry, I couldn't resist...

  • Even MacOS Rumors [macosrumors.com] denounced the rumor on their page.
  • There was this show on TV by saban (i forget what it was called, but it basically sucked) which was your basic 'giant transforming good guy vs giant monster in city' fare, only the fights happened inside cyberspace. I only bring it up because whenever they shwoed the computer itself at all they always had it so it could be VERY clearly seen that it was a Compaq. So much in fact, I beleive they actually *sharpened* the image of the word so it's more noticable on screen.


    ----
    Oh my god, Bear is driving! How can this be?
  • ... I knew you could.

    So why was this moderated to interesting?

    Steve M
  • It's not accurate to refer to CmdrTaco as "Editor-in-Chief". This title comes from the newspaper. A single guy above all others makes the final say as to what gose into the newspaper.
    On Slashdot CmdrTaco dosn't do that. His say is equal to all others.

    Also Slashdot isn't a "news" outlet. Not in the traditional terms anyway. It links the news rather than reports it. So someone ELSE is doing the accual reporting.
    Some times the news is from CNN.. some times it's from ID software.. sometimes it's from Microsoft and some times it's on somones home page tucked away some place.
    Thats Slashdot...
    You get your originl commintary and Slashdot is TRYING to generate some original news storys itself. But mostly it's links around the web.
    And you have this web forum you can TALK about it on. Of course idiots like you end up filling it up with first posts and hot gritz.

    It's a novil approch to the news. Hay it works pritty dang good... Just say a few works and link.
    I prefer this format to the news format where someone basicly gets on a podium and spoon feeds us. TV and Newsprint can't "link" us. Newsprint can only give us as much as space will allow and they can't violate copyrights. TV News is worse having to cram the worlds events into a 30 min TV program.
    Slashdot has similer issues. But in Slashdots case it's post or no post. There is no editing down for size. 30 storys is 30 storys. Each story reported as full as posable and if posable from more than one source.

    The Drudge Report is for the most part an option site mistaken for a news site...
    I don't think Matt Drudge dose that intentionally. Just people can't tell opinions from news...
  • <flame>
    Did you even bother to read the 15 line article?
    </flame>
    Here's a quote:
    "Steve will not sell PIXAR without APPLE," said one company source who demanded anonymity. "Steve will not leave APPLE for DISNEY. He wants DISNEY to take both."
    And it makes sense for Disney to want Pixar, they are in contract to make five films, the third one already in production.
    (Also from the article)


    Finally, so I don't get flamed, I admit that this post doesn't actually contain original thought
  • Occasionally they show completely hogwash operating systems and web-design such as the webpages in "The Net" - they take what makes computer things recognisable and then put together their own.

    ----
    Oh my god, Bear is driving! How can this be?
  • First off I was browsing through and noticed all the posts were one of three things.
    1) "..this has already been posted.."
    2) "..iWalt..iMouse..iWorld.."
    3) "..Mickey Jobs.."
    I noticed that all the comments sucked and the humor was dry at best. Oh, what do we have here.. karma whores? Hrm, no good.
    *scroll scroll*
    Hrm, browsing at 0.
    *click*
    Browsing at -1...
    1) "..MDMA..Beer.."
    2) "..Penis Bird.."
    3) "..YOU SUXOR.."
    *click*
    *typing http://www.k10k.net*
    ahhhhhhhhhhh
  • It seems that the Apple-Disney thing comes up every three of 4 months or so. I'll believe it when I see it.

    Would that mean macs on the ESPN anchor desks? In every disney hotel room?

  • drudge, drudge, drudge... (Score:3)

    by option8 ( 16509 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @04:35AM (#946291) Homepage
    or should i say slashdot, slashdot, slashdot...

    this little 'rumor' has been floating around for a long, long time - well, since 1997 or so. the speculation was there from the moment jobs stepped back into cupertino. that the G3/apple logo on the side of the blue G3s sported a distinctly mickey mouse-shaped hole didn't help things a bit.

    this is - for those of you that are not familiar with, or do not read on a fairly regular basis, or are not (as i am) addicted to, the mac rumor web scene - pre-macworld-news-vacuum-speculation

    disney doesn't want apple - apple is a hardware company with all kinds of actual inventory and an actual market to deal with, and not an entertainment company. if apple made action figures, maybe. also, apple doesn't want to be disney-fied. hell, they just got NeXT-ified, and things are still settling down from that. and besides, jobs would never stand for it.

    that doesn't preclude disney from throwing a lot of money at apple to produce special disney editions of the imac and ibook - which is more likely - featuring various characters from disney films, or at the very least a nice kid-oriented game/software bundle.

  • Re:Yay! (Score:5)

    by Phroggy ( 441 ) <slashdot3@ p h roggy.com> on Monday July 10, 2000 @04:39AM (#946295) Homepage
    Now we can see apples in more movies. Why are all computers in movies apples?

    Remember how everybody says the Macintosh has a niche market, and other than that they've got really low market share? Well, guess what that niche market is? That's right - graphics, music, sound, video, film, etc. etc. The people who make movies use Macs.

    Of course, it doesn't hurt that Apple often gives computers to movie studios for use in movies. And sometimes they do cobranded marketing, like for Mission: Impossible.

    Remember when Forrest Gump bought stock in a fruit company? Apple didn't call the movie studio and ask them to use their logo. The movie studio called Apple and asked for permission.

    Something you might find interesting: Apple Masters [apple.com].

    --

  • Eisner ain't letting go (Score:3)

    by Kagato ( 116051 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @04:40AM (#946297)
    Jobs would have to be CEO over Eisners very dead body. (Which of course would be cryo-froze and put up in the castle along side Walt).

  • Look. A couple years ago Apple was in bad shape. There were bankruptsy rumors and takeover rumors. At the time, they were plausable. Barely.

    Since then Apple has seen an amazing rebirth and return to amazing profitability. Even in the dark days this sort of crap was barely believable, but now days it is just absurd.

    Actually, I think you have it backwards. The reason why Apple nearly went under is that they had a plunging market share, a confusing product line-up, and a niche in an ecosystem where Microsoft seemed to be the unstoppable predator. Who is going to hand over much money for that? Not many people outside the computer industry itself, since Apple itself showed that you couldn't just bring in some soft drink king and build a successful hi-tech company with it.

    These days, you have a growing, stylish, up-market computer and software film with close ties to the entertainment and video production industries as well as the closest possible tie-in to a major creator of animated features. Looks way more attractive, especially if the stock for that company trades at a way lower earnings multiple than most of its competition. Or than many of its potential acquirers.

    Again, I don't put too much stock in this rumor given the personalities involved, but to claim that it makes no sense from a business perspective, given some of the other deals we've seen recently, is seriously mistaken.

  • Re:Stories Like This are Crap (Score:3)

    by Our Man In Redmond ( 63094 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @07:28AM (#946313)
    Why the hell would Disney want Apple?

    <RANT>Why the hell would Disney want the Anaheim Angels or the Anaheim Mighty Ducks? It's not just that the Angels, with all their talent, miss the playoffs year after year. IMHO a company like Disney has no business whatever owning a baseball, hockey, or any other sports team. I can see them owning ABC as a guaranteed market for its content. But ESPN is a considerable stretch. And baseball and hockey teams, for cryin' out loud? It's not like they're Ted Turner and they need them to fill air time on ABC.

    So Disney taking over Apple makes as much sense as a number of other acquisitions they've spent money on in the last several years while Disneyland falls apart [aol.com], which is to say none at all. </RANT>

    Actually, though, the main reason I don't believe this merger rumor is that I can't see Michael Eisner giving up control of Disney under any circumstances that don't involve carting him out of his office feet first.
    --
  • I know that Apple paid the producers of Mission Impossible a bunch of money to show Macs and Powerbooks quite prominently on screen. Apple went on to do commercials showing their computers in clips from the movie. I'm sure the Mac people were not pleased when Ving Rhames made a comment about his notebook being a "786".

    -B
  • Must be that time of the year.

    Lets see.. Wow! my watch lost almost 4 minutes, I'll have to get a new battery soon.

    Rember last year when Disney was going to buy apple, or the year before that? This time apple is going to buy Disney?

    Did anyone hear that Dell was going to buy Universal?

  • test (Score:2)

    by quonsar ( 61695 )
    ignore this

    "I will gladly pay you today, sir, and eat up

  • It could be accurate. Keep in mind it took 36 CPU-hours in order to render a frame. Perhaps they were rendered in parallel on separate machines/groups. With a bank of systems doing rendering, at 36 hours a frame, if there were a thousand machines/groups, that would drop your estimate to less than a full year.

    Of course, an infinite number of monkeys at an infinite number of Macs with an infinite number of licences for rendering software could do the same thing, even if it took considerably more than said 961 years.
  • *rolls eyes* See, it was a joke. Everyone knows Disney ain't in the castle...or epcot...or space mountain.

  • DEBIAN, PIXAR, APPLE TO MERGE!!! (Score:3)

    by mcc ( 14761 ) <amcclure@purdue.edu> on Monday July 10, 2000 @07:48AM (#946338) Homepage
    Let's think about this for a second.
    This cyclical rumor keeps showing up despite the fact there is no factual basis for it. The only reason for assuming it in the first place is the hideously tenuous logical link that Steve Jobs, who is the [technically unpaid-- he gets a salary of $1 a year, plus some other slight "perks". The "perks" though, have included such things as millions of dollars of stock, and an airplane.] CEO of Apple, is also CEO of Pixar. That's it. The same person is working at both companies in a management position, and one of those two companies uses a third company for distribution and promotion purposes, so somehow in the warped minds of macosrumors it would follow that the three would merge.

    Let's extend this logic a bit. For the next three or four minutes, for the purpose of argument, we will say that I AM A MAC RUMORS SITE, and therefore EVERYTHING I SAY IS TRUE because i NEVER CHECK MY SOURCES FOR ANY DEGREE OF ACCURACY.
    Bruce Perens [technocrat.net] is an employee of Pixar. Bruce Perens [technocrat.net] is also the lead person behind the Debian open source linux distribution and head of the FSF. Whether the last two sentances are true or not is irrelivant; all i know is, like, Bruce Perens name was listed in the credits when i saw Toy Story 2, and, um, like, this r337 IRC d00d in #ircle said once that Bruce Perens ran Debian, and i'm a mac rumors site PH33R M3!!! So it must be right.

    Because the same person is working at both Debian and Pixar in a coding postion, clearly the two are about to merge. This would clearly be logical, because they both involve penguins in some way, and because Debian has a [as of yet prerelease] PPC distribution in the works. So when disney buys apple, which they obviously will, Bruce Perens will make sure they buy the FSF as well because he's so attatched to it! Right? ISN"T THAT COOL!!!)@#(*!)(*!!!!!FSADFA

    Please, please explain to me why the above is a lesser degree of bullshit than the rumors of apple, disney and pixar merging?
    You can't, can you? The apple/disney rumors ARE just as idiotic. SO WHY DO YOU KEEP POSTING THIS STUFF ON THE SLASHDOT MAIN PAGE???
  • http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~arobbins/imacs.jpg

  • Let's face it, these 3 companies do go hand in hand.

    So do Time Warner and AOL. The merge-happy economy of the past few years needs to be checked out, lest we lose our ability to choose whom we buy products from.

    From Schwabacher v. U.S., 334 U.S. 182 [findlaw.com]: The appellants contend that their share in the merged company is to be measured by, or their remedies [ 334 U.S. 182 , 190] as dissenters are to be found in, state law, but that the federal agency is bound to determine and apply that law. The Commission on the other hand refuses either finally to foreclose or to allow these claims. It apparently leaves it open to the state courts, or to the parties by negotiation, to add to the surviving carrier's capital obligations which the Commission has found to be just and reasonable, others founded only in state law and as to which it has made no such findings.

    The onus is on both the state and federal governments and the FTC to take a careful look at the slew of mergers currently going on. Nothing less than our precious capitalism is at stake.

  • Nice troll. Two responses already. Perhaps not quite believable enough. 7/10.
  • Look, I'm as skeptical as the next guy about things that pop up in unreliable sources like the Drudge Report.

    But when rumours persist in the business world, particularly about mergers, they often have some element of truth to them.

    Look at the recent separation between GM and GM class "H" (GMH) stocks. Rumours persisted for months about several companies, including AT&T, Sprint/MCI/WorldCom, and other companies buying GM in order to acquire Hughes Satellite. No, GM hasn't yet gotten bought out, but GM's behaviour regarding Hughes certainly has been consistent with these hostile takeover rumours. GM spun off the defense portion of Hughes, and kept Hughes Electronics. Then, GM split the links between GM and GMH stocks. Consequently, GM stocks fell and GMH skyrocketed. This behaviour is consistent with an attempt to prevent a buyout of GM.

    Furthermore, for how many months were there rumours about the AOL/Netscape merger? For how many months did AOL and Netscape continually DENY that there were any talks. But it happened anyway.

    I'm not saying that this proves anything about Apple/Pixar/Disney, but it goes to show that rumours of mergers often are at least partially true. Don't automatically dismiss it just because it is Drudge. Drudge has been right before, despite his sensationalist twist on things.

    I wouldn't doubt that it could happen. Quit laughing... :)

  • "We advise readers to be highly skeptical of this rumor."

    Whatever happened to "This rumor is NOT true"? I am highly skeptical of their dismissal of the rumor.
  • Look. A couple years ago Apple was in bad shape. There were bankruptsy rumors and takeover rumors. At the time, they were plausable. Barely.

    Since then Apple has seen an amazing rebirth and return to amazing profitability. Even in the dark days this sort of crap was barely believable, but now days it is just absurd.

    Why the hell would Disney want Apple? Disney I could see buying Pixar, but Apple? And why would Apple want Disney?

    This just doesn't make any sense. I guess I'd chastize Slashdot for giving it enough credence to post at all.

  • The laughter and the questioning of Drudge for trustworthiness was actually more directed at Slashdot as a whole, not to you in particular...

  • This one is always popping up .. (Score:5)

    by scrutty ( 24640 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @04:03AM (#946369) Homepage
    Doubtless fuelled by the Jobs/Pixar Pixar Disney connection and the fact that the Pixar movies , well at least the toy stories represent some of Disneys biggest money spinners of recent years.

    For example http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/9902/disney-t o-buy-apple.shtml [appleinsider.com]

    Just feed Apple Disney merger into any search engine for many previous similar speculations, all equally uninformed ever since Jos took over the helm back at Apple.

    I seem to recall slashdot fetaturing it before as well ... here [slashdot.org] it is

  • Because on screen Apple computers have a wow factor that only SGI Workstations can match... PC's are ugly for the most part with the exception of Sony cases. Also it is the artist effect... many of those people are artists, and that is what they use every day of their lives for the most part. and Powerbooks are just sexy esp with the glowing white apple on top.
  • Well, it was actually PDI (through their association with Dreamworks) that did Antz. They have at least 2 pictures coming down the pipe: "Shrek" and "Tusker". Also Dreamworks has a multi-picture deal with Aardman (Chiecken Run), and they have at least 2 movies coming up, a version of the tortoise and the hare, and a Wallace and Gromit Movie. Fox has their association with Blue Sky Studios (they did 3D portion on Titan AE, originally it was going to be all 3D), and it wouldn't surprise me that they also got into it. Even ILM recently announced that they are trying to get into the 3D animated film business, and Digital Domain has always looked to expand and create content. As long as this houses develop and nurture their projects (instead of being mandated by the big studio), there should be healthy competition.

  • Re:Appleology (Score:3)

    by Darchmare ( 5387 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @05:17AM (#946385)
    Depends. The merger can't complete unless you can get Mickey to wear blue jeans and a black turtleneck sweater.

    - Jeff A. Campbell
    - VelociNews (http://www.velocinews.com [velocinews.com])
  • Not entirely: they had Apple Quadra 800s for the main GUI displays that 'Newman' from Seinfeld uses, and the "Security Camera" footage plays inside a regular ol' QuickTime movie window.
    Now, if I had a TV capture card, I'd break out the laserdiscs and make some pics for all to enjoy, but I don't

    Pope

    Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! Monopolies offer Choice!

  • Been there...done that (Score:5)

    by Wyatt Earp ( 1029 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @04:07AM (#946393)
    From macnn.com this morning...

    "Reigniting old rumors which have surfaced several times in the past few years, the latest edition of The Drudge Report speculates on an impending merger announcement between Pixar, Apple, and Disney. We advise readers to be highly skeptical of this rumor; AppleInsider first published an article more than 18 months ago that also suggested a possible Apple/Disney merger was in the works."

    This has popped up so many times, I laughed so hard when Drudge put this up there.

    And compared to Drudge.../. is hella better. When was the last time "the President's Talking Penis" was a 72 point headline on /.?

  • Competition for what, Animated feature-length films? FOX and Warners both tried, and failed. Dreamworks faired OK with Bugz, but as long as Pixar remains a seperate entity that writes its own scripts, no-on will do much to touch them in the 3D feature area.
    What else were you thinking of?

    Pope

    Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! Monopolies offer Choice!

  • Product Tie-Ins? (Score:3)

    by istartedi ( 132515 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @06:35AM (#946409) Journal

    grain of salt the size of a Ford Taurus

    Next we'll see stuff like "this new graphics card is sweeter than a Pepsi on a hot summer day".

  • Disney Teaming up with Apple... (Score:5)

    by cswiii ( 11061 ) on Monday July 10, 2000 @04:13AM (#946421)
    ...means a truly mouse-driven user experience.

    /me dodges tomatoes.
  • Now that's the pot calling the kettle black!

    My, My. Aren't we the picture of racial enlightenment? I rather you just say it than use boring, trite euphemisms like this bit. I can't believe that the moderators will let something like this slip, but as soon as some one says something in defense of one of the Truly Taboo Topics, Boom: -2.

    Wait, wait. Everyone's jumping on this guy assuming he's a troll. But you've missed 2 possible explanations. Isn't someone's .sig here "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity"??

    Possible explanation 1: Maybe "the pot calling the kettle black" is a mostly American/European saying. (I don't know). Since /. is so international, maybe he's never heard the saying before, so he doesn't unnderstand it.

    Possible explanation 2: Poor guy is a product of the American educational system and doesn't know that way back in time before aluminum, pots and kettles used to be made of cast iron, and were, well, black.

    So, give him a break. Assume he doesn't know that it's a silly saying. Maybe it should be changed to be more modern. Like, oh, I don't know, "There's Clinton calling Beatty a womanizer" ;)

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