Amazon is off to a banner year with its customers, according to two studies from Harris Interactive  and Foresee. 

According to the 2013 Harris Poll RQ Study — "RQ" standing for "reputation quotient" — Apple and Google join Amazon in the top five as companies that are seen as more than simply "tech" firms, while the Walt Disney Company, Johnson & Johnson, and The Coca-Cola Company maintain their "great reputations."

The Sundance Film Festival has a solid history of showcasing interesting films that have gone on to be big hits, like Little Miss Sunshine, Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, Clerks, and Hoop Dreams.

But it's looking like Jobs — which stars Ashton Kutcher portraying Apple founder Steve Jobs' quest for glory — may not be one of them.

The film, which closed out the 2013 festival last week, received mixed reviews. The Guardian's Ed Gibbs gave it two out of five stars, calling it “an overly reverential and saccharine view” of Jobs, who died more than a year ago.Continue reading...

Facebook details ding Zynga shares as partnership ends.

CNN needs more vibrancy in programming, incoming CEO Jeff Zucker says.

Lipitor generic cholesterol pill production halted by Ranbaxy following glass contamination.

Amazon tops Walmart with wealthy Americans, study says.

AT&T named best 4G network in Consumer Reports annual ranking, but places last for voice/text quality to #1 Verizon.

Chevrolet partners with Dailybreak for holiday push.

Chuck E. Cheese sees revamped mascot lose consumer appeal.

Cool Whip breaks new ground with frosting.

Duke Energy forces out CEO in settlement.Continue reading...

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing files for bankruptcy.

Chipotle faces federal probe.

Facebook deals with aftermath of less-than-stellar IPO showing, as NASDAQ admits some fault and site faces pressure to perform for advertisers. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, surprises with post-IPO wedding to his longtime girlfriend.

Alibaba and Yahoo strike a $7 bullion stock deal.

AT&T sings praises of Facebook fans.

Apple and Samsung talk today about ending smartphone-patent war.

Barclays to sell $6.1 billion BlackRock stake.

BMW Guggenheim Lab prepares Berlin debut.

Carl's Jr. seeks $100-million IPO.Continue reading...

Disney's R&D unit, the Pittsburgh-based Disney Research, is described by Extreme Tech as “the bleeding edge guerilla technology arm of The Walt Disney Company.”

Disney Research describes itself thusly: "a network of research labs that collaborate closely with academic institutions We're able to combine the best of academia and industry: we work on a broad range of commercially important challenges, we view publication as a principal mechanism for quality control, we encourage engagement with the global research community, and our research has applications that are experienced by millions of people. We're honoring Walt Disney's legacy of innovation by researching novel technologies and deploying them on a global scale." Or as its logo states, it's "The science behind the magic."

One of its latest innovative novel technologies has the potential to make all button interfaces obsolete: Touché, which senses hand gestures and turns the human body and everyday objects into virtual touchscreens. The possibilities are huge, as the presentation below at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Austin, Texas, has demonstrated.Continue reading...

Amazon considers remedy for Kindle faults.

Anheuser-Busch InBev plans reality show for Budweiser brand.

Apple and HTC face judgment day on patent dispute, as Apple celebrates 100M apps from the Mac App Store and The Beatles' success on iTunes.

AT&T reportedly gets a break in its T-Mobile acquisition plan.

Auto Nation seeks new dealerships in existing Sun Belt markets, while U.S. auto dealers get creative with promotions.

Diamond Foods faces challenge over payments to walnut growers, complicating acquisition of Pringles from P&G.

Disney Four Seasons hotel begins construction.

General Mills takes G-WIN digital innovation initiative global.

GM faces potentially long investigation of Volt fires.Continue reading...

Adobe acquires web marketing firm.

AT&T and T-Mobile explore joint venture as Plan B to merger.

Burger King launches QSR fries battle as Wendy's moves closer to topping the chain in market share.

BMW and Toyota will cooperate on diesel engines and green research.

Boeing makes peace with labor.

Coca-Cola gets frosty reception for white holiday cans; partners with (RED) for World AIDS Day.

Foursquare rolls out new buttons for publishers.

Google+ enhances brand pages.

Intuit to offer free tax advice on the phone.

McDonald's finds way around Happy Meal toy ban in San Francisco.

NBCUniversal plans second Harry Potter theme park.Continue reading...

BP claims victory in Russian case.

Boeing rides Dreamliner on confidence into Dubai Air Show.

Burger King deems new menu items a success.

CBS includes Charlie Rose and Gayle King in revised The Early Show roster.

Citigroup to sell EMI units for $4 billion.

Facebook retreats on privacy dispute with U.S. government.

GE foresees strong growth in emerging markets.

GM raises alarms in Europe with restructuring pledge as its Buick division bets on a lush interior in new Verano compact.

Kohl's adds $30 million to holiday marketing budget.Continue reading...