Comcast Cable

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC (d/b/a Xfinity) is the cable division of Comcast. Comcast Cable's CEO is Neil Smit, its chairman is Brian L. Roberts, and its CFO is Catherine Avgiris. Comcast Cable went from $23.7 billion in revenue in 2007 to $48.1 billion in 2013.

Branding

In 2010, Comcast began promoting Xfinity, the company's rebranded trademark for triple play services in Comcast's largest markets, including the company's digital cable, cable Internet access, and cable telephone services and radio. Comcast Digital Cable was renamed "Xfinity TV", Comcast Digital Voice became "Xfinity Voice", and Comcast High Speed Internet became "Xfinity Internet". Comcast Business Services remains under the "Comcast" name. A marketing push involving the new Xfinity brand took place during the 2010 Winter Olympics coverage on NBC, which was in the early stages of a merger with Comcast.

The Xfinity rebranding has been controversial as a purported effort to sidestep the negativity of the Comcast brand. In February 2010, TIME listed Xfinity at number 2 in their Top 10 Worst Corporate Name Changes list.

Dota 2

Dota 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux in July 2013, following a Windows-only public beta testing phase that began in 2011, and is the stand-alone sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), a mod for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion pack, The Frozen Throne. Dota 2 is one of the most actively played games on Steam, with maximum peaks of over a million concurrent players.

Dota 2 is played in matches between two five-player teams, each of which occupies a stronghold in a corner of the playing field. A team wins by destroying the other side's "Ancient" building, located within the opposing stronghold. Each player controls one of 111 playable "Hero" characters that feature unique powers and styles of play. During a match, the player collects gold, items, and experience points for their Hero, while combating Heroes of the opposite team.

Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses (EG) is an eSports organization based in the San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1999 by Alexander Garfield, the organization fields players in various fighting games, Dota 2, League of Legends, StarCraft II, World of Warcraft, and Halo. Evil Geniuses was also considered as one of the best Quake clans in the late 90s.

It is a subsidiary of GoodGame Agency, which in turn is owned by Amazon.com Inc. through its division Twitch. GoodGame Agency also owns Alliance, a similar eSports team for primarily European teams.

History

Evil Geniuses was founded as a Counter-Strike team in Canada in 1999. Philadelphia native and future CEO Alex Garfield started working for the team in 2004.

Evil Geniuses acquired a Defense of the Ancients (Dota) roster on April 12, 2008, made up of players transferring from team eMg. EG entered the StarCraft: Brood War scene on April 25, 2009, with the recruitment of World Cyber Games USA champions Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson, and Dan "Nyoken" Eidson, along with Eric "G5" Rothmuller, Jake "LzGaMeR" Winstead, and Bryce "Machine" Bates. EG saw its North American DotA squad depart on December 3, 2009, following two months of minimal practice and insufficient exposure.

Despicable Me

Despicable Me is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy film from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment that was released on July 9, 2010 in the United States. It is Illumination Entertainment's first film. The film was animated by the French animation studio Mac Guff, which was later acquired by Illumination Entertainment. It was directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, with story by Sergio Pablos. The film stars the voice of Steve Carell as Felonious Gru, a supervillain who adopts three girls (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher) from an orphanage; and the voice of Jason Segel as Vector, a rival of Gru who steals the Great Pyramid of Giza. When Gru learns of Vector's heist, he plans an even greater heist: to shrink and steal the Earth's moon.

The film earned positive reviews from critics, and grossed over $543 million worldwide, against a budget of $69 million. It launched the Despicable Me franchise with a series of films, including the sequel Despicable Me 2 in 2013, and the prequel Minions released in 2015 and featuring Gru's Minions as the main characters. Another sequel, Despicable Me 3, is scheduled for release in 2017.

Despicable Me (franchise)

Despicable Me is a computer-animated comedy film franchise distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Illumination Entertainment. It consists of three feature films, six short films and additional merchandise. It centers on Gru, a super-villain (who later becomes a dad and superhero); his yellow-coloured Minions; and his three orphan girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes. It began with the 2010 film, Despicable Me, and its 2013 sequel, Despicable Me 2. A prequel featuring Gru's minions, titled Minions, was released in 2015. The franchise also includes a simulator ride attraction Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood.

Films

Despicable Me (2010)

Despicable Me, the first film in the series, and the first film from Illumination Entertainment, was released on July 9, 2010. It was directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, based on an original story by Sergio Pablos. The film stars Steve Carell as the voice of Gru, Miranda Cosgrove as Margo, Dana Gaier as Edith, Elsie Fisher as Agnes, Jason Segel as Vector, Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario and Julie Andrews as Marlena, Gru's mother. It tells the story of Gru, a super-villain who adopts three girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes, from an orphanage to try and steal a shrink ray from Vector (otherwise known as Victor), his rival, to shrink and steal the Earth's moon. Despicable Me received positive reviews, and grossed over $543 million worldwide, against a budget of $69 million, launching a new franchise.