Neither Steve Jobs’ widow nor a representative of his trust will be on the ballot when Disney shareholders meet in March to vote on re-electing the company’s board of directors, Reuters reports. That’s despite the fact that the Jobs trust is Disney’s largest shareholder.

Jobs had been a Disney board member, and the company’s top shareholder, since Disney bought his Pixar studios in 2006, and he’d been helping Disney move forward into the digital era, Reuters reports.

Jobs died of pancreatic cancer last October.

The Steven P. Jobs Trust owns nearly 137.3 million shares, or 7.7 percent, of Disney’s common stock, according to a proxy filed by Disney yesterday and cited by Reuters. The proxy also says that Jobs, as he had requested, received no compensation for being on the Disney board.

In the proxy filing, Disney said 10 of its 11 current board members would stand for re-election, including Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Disney CEO Robert Iger. Board Chairman John Pepper Jr. announced last year that he would leave the board at this year’s annual meeting, which is set for March 13. Iger is expected to take on the chairman role.

The news agency said Disney had not responded to a request for comment and that Apple had declined to comment.

A new report on Apple offers up an interesting detail about the evolution of the
iPhone and gives a fascinating–and unsettling–look at the practice of overseas manufacturing.

The article, an in-depth report by Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher of The New York Times, is based on interviews with, among others, “more than three dozen current and former Apple employees and contractors–many of whom requested anonymity to protect their jobs.”

The piece uses Apple and its recent history to look at why the success of some U.S. firms hasn’t led to more U.S. jobs–and to examine issues regarding the relationship between corporate America and Americans (as well as people overseas). One of the questions it asks is: Why isn’t more manufacturing taking place in the U.S.? And Apple’s answer–and the answer one might get from many U.S. companies–appears to be that it’s simply no longer possible to compete by relying on domestic factories and the ecosystem that surrounds them.

The iPhone detail crops up relatively early in the story, in an anecdote about then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs. And it leads directly into questions about offshore labor practices:

In 2007, a little over a month before the iPhone was scheduled to appear in stores, Mr. Jobs beckoned a handful of lieutenants into an office. For weeks, he had been carrying a prototype of the device in his pocket.

Mr. Jobs angrily held up his iPhone, angling it so everyone could see the dozens of tiny scratches marring its plastic screen, according to someone who attended the meeting. He then pulled his keys from his jeans.

People will carry this phone in their pocket, he said. People also carry their keys in their pocket. “I won’t sell a product that gets scratched,” he said tensely. The only solution was using unscratchable glass instead. “I want a glass screen, and I want it perfect in six weeks.”

A tall order. And another anecdote suggests that Jobs’ staff went overseas to fill it–along with other requirements for the top-secret phone project (code-named, the Times says, “Purple 2″):

One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing more than 10,000 iPhones a day.

“The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” the executive said. “There’s no American plant that can match that.”

That last quote there, like several others in the story, leaves one feeling almost impressed by the no-holds-barred capabilities of these manufacturing plants–impressed and queasy at the same time. Here’s another quote, from Jennifer Rigoni, Apple’s worldwide supply demand manager until 2010: “They could hire 3,000 people overnight,” she says, speaking of Foxconn City, Foxconn Technology‘s complex of factories in China. “What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?”

The article says that cheap and willing labor was indeed a factor in Apple’s decision, in the early 2000s, to follow most other electronics companies in moving manufacturing overseas. But, it says, supply chain management, production speed, and flexibility were bigger incentives.

“The entire supply chain is in China now,” the article quotes a former high-ranking Apple executive as saying. “You need a thousand rubber gaskets? That’s the factory next door. You need a million screws? That factory is a block away. You need that screw made a little bit different? It will take three hours.”

It also makes the point that other factors come into play. Apple analysts, the Times piece reports, had estimated that in the U.S., it would take the company as long as nine months to find the 8,700 industrial engineers it would need to oversee workers assembling the iPhone. In China it wound up taking 15 days.

The article and its sources paint a vivid picture of how much easier it is for companies to get things made overseas (which is why so many U.S. firms go that route–Apple is by no means alone in this). But the underlying humanitarian issues nag at the reader.

Perhaps there’s hope–at least for overseas workers–in last week’s news that Apple has joined the Fair Labor Association, and that it will be providing more transparency when it comes to the making of its products.

As for manufacturing returning to the U.S.? The Times piece cites an unnamed guest at President Obama’s 2011 dinner with Silicon Valley bigwigs. Obama had asked Steve Jobs what it would take to produce the iPhone in the states, why that work couldn’t return. The Times’ source quotes Jobs as having said, in no uncertain terms, “Those jobs aren’t coming back.”

Apple, by the way, would not provide a comment to the Times about the article. And Foxconn disputed the story about employees being awakened at midnight to work on the iPhone, saying strict regulations about working hours would have made such a thing impossible.

While it’s common knowledge that Apple is a product trendsetter via the
iPod,
iPhone,
iPad, and MacBook Air, its status as a standard setter is not as widely known.

Ever heard of Thunderbolt? If you have (many CNET readers undoubtedly have) it’s almost entirely owing to Apple, which has been the exclusive adopter of that interface technology, developed by Intel, on its Macs. While it’s unclear whether Thunderbolt will catch on in a big way, the fact that Apple has first-adopter status is one reason other device makers are taking a serious look at the technology. And recent reports suggest that Acer, Asus, and Lenovo are moving to adopt Thunderbolt.

But Apple’s standard-setter status is particularly conspicuous in display technology, according to Richard Shim, an analyst at DisplaySearch. He points to the probable adoption by Apple of Sharp’s IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) technology in its future iPads.

“For Sharp, IGZO is a big deal,” said Shim, in a phone interview this week. Why? If Sharp can make those displays in commercial volumes for Apple, IGZO may become an industry standard for the next-generation of displays, not to mention a licensing bonanza for Sharp, according to Shim.

IGZO’s potential benefits include improved brightness at lower power consumption for very-high-resolution displays, according to Shim. That would, of course, include the rumored 2,048-by-1,536-pixel screen on the iPad 3.

Whether Sharp is able to supply the IGZO display at volumes–ultimately tens of millions of displays per quarter–that Apple needs for its upcoming spring iPad update is still unclear. But one thing is fairly certain: Apple has invested significant sums in Sharp’s manufacturing facilities. So, the question really is, will Apple adopt it later rather than sooner?

“Sharp is the only one that can make those [IGZO] displays,” said Shim.

And how would this technology cascade into mass-market adoption? A couple of recent examples may provide some guidance.

IPS: “IPS was marginal for a long time and largely ignored until Apple said it was important,” said Shim, referring to In-Plane Switching technology, now trumpeted by virtually every display supplier because of the viewing angles it provides. “All of sudden a moribund technology became important in the market,” he said.

As was so often the case with Apple, the late Steve Jobs was the proselytizer-in-chief. “IPS was really ignored in the notebook market [and] was written off until [Steve] Jobs started talking about it on stage,” according to Shim. (But that’s not to say that IPS display tech was unknown in professional display circles before Jobs touted its virtues.)

Gorilla Glass: The same can be said largely of Corning’s Gorilla Glass. “Gorilla Glass was not a big deal. In fact [Corning] didn’t know what to do with it. [Then] Jobs called up Wendell Weeks [CEO] at Corning and said, hey, I want to use this glass. Then all of sudden it becomes popular,” said Shim.

Of course it would be remiss not to mention the Retina display on Apple’s iPhone 4 and 4S–a major selling point for both those phones. And that appears to be what Apple is trying to achieve with the next iPad (though it will not have the pixel density of the iPhone’s Retina display).

Apple isn’t the only company with the clout to move hardware standards into the mainstream, though. Intel is capable of this and so is Samsung. The former with technologies like Wi-Fi and now the ultrabook (which is really a riff on Apple’s MacBook Air). The latter with display technologies like Super AMOLED.

But Apple’s status as the most influential consumer-electronics product company in the world (I think it’s safe to say that), gives it an unrivaled ability to establish de facto standards.

So, will IGZO make it into the so-called iPad 3? And if commercial production of IGZO is running late, will this push out the release date of the next iPad or will Apple turn to its tried-and-true suppliers LGD and Samsung for more traditional displays?

Those two suppliers are probably capable of making 2,048-by-1,536 displays in the volumes that Apple requires. Which means 2,048-by-1,536 will likely become the next resolution rage if it lands on the iPad 3, regardless of whether IGZO makes the cut.

Velodyne makes subwoofers, great ones in fact, and the brand is now following a string of speaker manufacturers venturing into the headphone market: Klipsch, Polk, PSB speakers. Velodyne has just introduced a sharp looking in-ear headphone. It’s called the vPulse, and I think they have a winner on their hands.

You’d expect that when a subwoofer company makes an in-ear headphone, the device would make a lot of bass, and the vPluse delivers on that score. The big bass drum that opens “Cindy, I’ll Marry You Someday,” from Robert Plant’s “Band of Joy” album was deep and powerful. I compared the quality and quantity of bass with what I heard from my Monster Turbine Gold in-ears ($300), which have potent bass response, and the vPulse had a lot more low-end fullness. So much so, the overabundance of bass clouded the headphone’s overall clarity, and that’s easy to hear in direct comparisons. But the heavy beats punching through Amon Tobin’s electronica CDs had more weight and visceral punch than I’ve ever heard from a set of ear buds. The vPulse is a bass lover’s headphone.

Listening to a great live recording of Jeff Tweedy singing “Jesus, Etc,” I heard the vPulse projecting a big, wide-open soundstage, bigger than most in-ear headphones. The stereo imaging is closer to what I get from full-size headphones. But the bottom-heavy bass balance is impossible to ignore, so other in-ears sound puny by comparison. The bass was much too ripe in my quiet apartment, but it sounded great in the noisy NYC subway. In fact, I kept listening to the vPulse after I finished writing the review, I really love these headphones on the subway!

The orchestral soundtrack to “A Single Man” exhibited a lush balance, compared with what I heard on the Thinksound ts02 in-ear headphones ($100). The ts02 had superior resolution of fine detail, which I like, but the vPulse’s more laid-back sound was appealing in its own right. Allison Krauss’ “Paper Airplane,” with its finger picked guitars, was gorgeous.

The vPulse’s flat, 43.5-inch-long cable is remarkably tangle resistant, and features convenient control of playback, volume, tracks, and even a button to enable users to answer their phones. I got a better than average ear fit, and found the vPulse extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

The vPulse retails for $89, and comes in Black or Electric Blue. I have the latter, which looks great.

In the movie, Christopher Dodd will be played by Robert DeNiro. Or Carrot Top.

I cannot quite decide which because I cannot quite decide just how, well, threatening Dodd truly intended to be when he spoke this week.

Dodd, should you have been too busy illegally downloading “The Godfather” series to have noticed, is the chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America.

This organization has enjoyed a troubling week as the SOPA and PIPA legislation–of which Hollywood is rather fond–was scuppered by millions of anonymous people (some of whom work at Google) who use that Internet thing.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Perhaps a tad frustrated by this peculiar militancy, Dodd appeared on Fox News, where he warned the following: “Those who count on quote ‘Hollywood’ for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who’s going to stand up for them when their job is at stake.”

I feel sure that, on hearing these words, a few flip-floppish politicians shivered as they would at the sight of an angry Joe Pesci.

However, Dodd continued: “Don’t ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don’t pay any attention to me when my job is at stake.”

At this point, there were surely politicians who cowered from supporting SOPA drifting into their nearest restroom, either feeling ill or desperate to pop a pill.

Yet, the more I consider Dodd’s direct overtones, the more I am moved to admiration. Somehow, politicians always seem to not say what they mean. Indeed, some might offer that being a politician necessitates the use of a code that some would describe as, well, obfuscating.

Dodd, a former Democratic senator, seems to be creating a new template. This comprises saying exactly what he thinks and what he’s going to do if you disagree. It also comprises fully describing how the world works, without any recourse to mollifying words or codified gestures.

It is so refreshing that not even DeNiro–in his finer Mafioso roles such as “The Godfather” and “Analyze That”–would choose to communicate in a manner quite as incisively pure as Dodd.

Which is why Carrot Top, such a fine roaster of Gene Simmons, suddenly came to mind.

I know that Carrot Top hasn’t had too many starring roles. However, he is a very simple, direct comedian, one who picks props up, defines them and tosses them away.

Which is what, some might say, Dodd is inching toward in his Fox News declaration.

After the RIAA’s vice president of communication, Jonathan Lemy, offered an attemptedly witty tweet about kids being unable to do their homework when Wikipedia went dark to protest SOPA, one wondered why spokespeople who could choose to present a strong case for their side, somehow veer into the thicket.

However, Dodd, who described the shutdown of Wikipedia and other sites as “an abuse of power”, seems to believe that presenting one’s case is merely half the job.

The other half of the job? Well, do you see that crowbar?

For nearly three years, “Star Wars” fans everywhere have been coming up with their own takes on the beloved film’s many famous scenes–15 seconds at a time.

This is “Star Wars Uncut,” a project to remake George Lucas’ 1977 classic, entirely from fan-made scenes. And while the in-progress results have been available all along for all to see, the project’s developers had never publicly released their finished product. Until now.

Today, as Laughing Squid wrote, Casey Pugh and Jamie Wilkinson, the “Star Wars Uncut” creators, finally released their director’s cut of the work. And while you’re no doubt intimately familiar with Lucas’ original version, the crowdsourced approach may leave you feeling like you’ve seen a film that’s at once very familiar and altogether new.

Since the project began, in 2009, Pugh and Wilkinson have invited fans to submit their 15-second scenes, and thousands have done so. Along the way, Pugh and Wilkinson came up with a project that was both very popular, and very well received. In fact, the two won an Emmy Award for their work. And what work it is. Think R2-D2 as a Red Bull can, 8-bit graphics, Stormtrooper babies, a Barbie version of the Jawa’s transport, and so much more. All done by fans.

And all essentially approved by Lucas. At the South by Southwest Interactive festival last year, Pugh and Wilkinson explained that Lucas loved the idea for the project and even invited them to his offices in San Francisco to talk it over. But they also said that Lucasfilm had been concerned about branding problems that might arise if a fan-made scene included commercial logos. As a result, the project has always been commercial-free and not for profit.

At SXSW, the creators showed the first 15 minutes of the then-unfinished director’s cut. What we saw there–and what you’ll see if you watch the whole thing now–is a wonderful piece of filmmaking. It begins, of course, with John Williams’ familiar score, and then the first in a long list of surprises: The @StarWarsUncut Twitter page, with someone typing in “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” in the “What’s happening” box.

Then, the also familiar “Episode IV” scrolling text setting the context for the film appears. You might wonder why that’s included, since it’s actual footage from the original movie. Until the end of the text, that is. And then, a classic moment: “First!” followed by a short blog comment thread. The audience lost it. And now you can too.

When I first caught wind of the Meizu MX, I have to say I was skeptical. That’s because Meizu is known in gadget circles, and especially to iOS fanboys, as that evil Chinese company that copies Apple designs to create its own
Android handsets.

Serious Android adherents, though, the sort who spend time loitering in dark corners of the Internet and seedy tech forums like XDA Developers (a great resource, by the way), have a different view of Meizu. To these bold folk, Meizu is a daring champion of innovation with the mission of proving that what Apple does is nothing special. In fact, Android phones can do much more than iPhones, with just as much flash and polish.

What’s the deal with the Meizu MX?
Meizu’s M8 was the first device to gain real buzz for mimicking the
iPhone‘s style right down to its clean user interface and app icon layout. Then came the M9, and now enter the Meizu MX, which went on sale in Hong Kong and mainland China on January 1. Equipped with a dual-core 1.4GHz Cortex A9 CPU and 16GB of internal memory, the MX packs a processing wallop. The phone also runs the Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread OS and Meizu has also said Ice Cream Sandwich is definitely on the way.

Other slick features include a 4-inch screen with a sharp 960×640 pixel resolution. That has qHD beat (960×540 pixels) and in fact is the same resolution as the iPhone’s vaunted Retina Display. I admit the Meizu MX’s screen is bright, though not the brightest I’ve seen. I’ve also enjoyed higher contrast on phones using AMOLED displays. To take snapshots, the MX boasts an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and the onboard camcorder captures video in full 1080p HD, not bad.

More than mere imitation
The real story of the Meizu MX, however, lies in its design and interface. At first glance I could have sworn I was looking at an
iPhone 3GS, granted a really thin one. Given the MX’s oval shape with its rounded corners and familiar black front facade, it’s no wonder this phone is only sold in Chinese markets. One step out of Middle Kingdom territory and bam, we’re talking instant lawsuit. The only major departure from Apple’s playbook is that the MX has a white plastic backing, instead of the iconic chrome. Weighing 4.9 ounces and measuring 4.8 inches tall by 2.5 inches deep and just 0.4 of an inch thick, the MX is very pocketable too.

Another interesting touch are two white capacitive buttons that consist of grouped LED dots. Their arrangement will intelligently morph to match the screen’s contents. For example, the left button will become a left arrow when inside an app or menu, essentially turning into a Back button.

The MX runs what Meizu calls Flyme OS, really a skin on top of Android. Notably, the whole UI has a distinctive iOS look and feel, including three side-scrolling home screens and Apple-like app icons. In fact, there’s no Android app tray to be found. Instead applications are added directly to the home screen. This can be confusing since apps I knew were installed, for instance Gmail, I had trouble finding until I opened them from within the Android Market. Still, you can create folders to place apps and tools inside to cut down on clutter.

Glitches aside, the MX’s software is pretty hot, filled with nice eye candy like engaging animations when launching apps or opening the keyboard. And while we’re at it, let’s talk about the MX’s keys. The keyboard is sure to get Apple fanboys steaming since it’s a virtual replica of the iPhone’s complete with buttons that pop out typewriter-style when tapped. After a little time with the layout, however, I found my typing on the MX to be both accurate and fast. I also found the phone responsive and nimble, navigating Gingerbread with pleasing speed.

The Meizu MX’s outlook

I don’t usually go gaga over unlocked smartphones, but the MX is different. First, it’s a pentaband GSM device, meaning that if I pop in either an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM, the phone will surf on their special flavors of HSPA+ 3G or 4G data networks. Frankly, I can’t wait to try it out. Of course, the MX takes only Micro-SIM cards and not the regular-size cards, so be warned. Also, it’ll be tricky to track one of these gadgets down outside of China. Still, it gives me a perverse pleasure carrying a phone that looks like an iPhone but does Android like no other. I recommend you try it yourself. Be sure to check back for a full in-depth review.