Posted 07/24/09 at 11:35:45 AM by Paul Lilly

We've seen some third-party USB makers toy with adding movies to USB sticks -- PNY being the first by adding Ghostbusters to a 2GB USB thumb drive -- and now Disney is looking to do the same thing, only with microSD cards.

According to news site TGDaily, Panasonic and Disney have inked a deal to distribute Disney movies on microSD cards, the first of which will be the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy this November. Looking longer term, Disney plans to release future titles on DVD and microSD at the same time.

Buyers will be able to view the movies on car navigation systems, mobile phones, and other portable media players with a microSD card slot, as well as some existing Panasonic TV sets that come with card readers already built in.

There are a couple of caveats, however. First, the card/movie bundles will only be available in Japan, at least initially. And secondly, the $53 price tag and included copy protection may scare off some potential customers.

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Posted 06/17/09 at 10:00:24 AM by Paul Lilly

In what could turn out to be a huge score for Asus, the Eee PC maker has teamed up with Disney to build a Disney-branded netbook being dubbed Netpal. Aimed at kids between the ages of 6 and 12, the netbooks will come in "Princess Pink" (with florals) or "Magic Blue" (miniature Mickey Mouse icons).

Disney's influence will extend beyond the casing. A kid-friendly user interface will sit on top of Windows XP making it easy for users to change the desktop with customizable themes, which will include Cars, Toy Story, WALL-E, and more, says USA Today. The Netpal also comes with a Magic Desktop 'gadget tray' with icons for a Disney browser, email, and parental controls.

On the hardware front, the 8.9-inch Netpal will pack an Intel Atom processor and a 16GB SSD or 160GB hard drive. It will also come with WiFi. Other specs are not yet known, but we imagine it will resemble any other Eee PC.

The Netpal is due out in late July for $350.

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Posted 05/01/09 at 02:15:11 PM by Paul Lilly

At long last, Hulu and Disney finally inked a deal giving Hulu permission to stream full-length episodes of such programs like "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives," and more. Under terms of the new deal, Disney will join the video sharing site as a partner and according to un-named sources, take a 27 percent stake in the venture, DigitalDaily reports.

"From our landmark iTunes deal to our pioneering decision to stream ad supported shows on our ABC.com player, Disney has sought to meet the constantly evolving viewing habits of our consumers, and today’s Hulu announcement is the next important step in that ongoing journey," Disney CEO Bob Iger bloviated. "Disney and Hulu share a focus on delivering the highest-quality entertainment experience and we look forward to working with Hulu to build value for our consumers, our brands and our shareholders."

The deal should inject a ton of new content into Hulu, which according to a joint press release, will include full-length episodes of primetime programs, ABC Family series, ABC Daytime and SOAPnet shows, classic series from ABC's library (like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", "Dancing with the Stars"), Disney Channel hits (like "Wizards of Waverly Place" and "Phineas and Ferb"), yet-to-be-determined library titles from The Walt Disney Studios, and short-form content.

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Posted 03/31/09 at 05:15:47 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The Walt Disney CO and Hulu.com have revived talks over the addition of ABC programming to the popular video-on-demand service. According to a report on paidcontent.org, which cites anonymous sources, Disney may settle for an equity stake in Hulu for allowing ABC programming on the video website. The talks have been described as “serious” and “definitely real” by different sources.

Although major ABC shows are reported to be at the heart of the discussions, the sources haven’t ruled out the possibility of the talks being expanded to include more content from Disney’s stable. Hulu is a joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp with each having a 45% stake. A source has revealed that one of the arrangements being discussed is to allow Disney to be on equal footing with the two majority stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Disney and Youtube have struck a deal paving the way for ad-backed Youtube channels featuring videos from Disney and ESPN. These video channels will only be available in the U.S and won’t feature entire shows from the Disney stable. The ESPN channel and the ABC channel are scheduled to go live in April and May respectively. But, according to another paidcontent.org report, Disney’s deal with Youtube will not affect its talks with Hulu.

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Posted 01/13/09 at 05:26:09 PM by Andy Salisbury

CES there was a new kid on the block by the name of Disney Star Guitarist that was looking to teach you how to play an actual guitar instead of memorizing the five color-coded buttons.

The game works about the same as guitar hero, little gems float down the screen and once they hit a certain spot it’s up to you to place your fingers in the right place and strum (you can find a video here). Only this time, instead of the aforementioned color-coded buttons, you’re using actual strings, on an actual guitar.

Should the game actually be good enough to hold people’s attentions (read: not just Disney songs), there could be some real value here. After all, as a drummer I can see it as a good possibility for someone that plays Rock Band on the harder difficulties to hammer out a beat on a real kit. Perhaps the same rule could apply, once someone’s had enough opportunities to play “Hakuna Matata” on the 5-string?

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Posted 09/28/07 at 08:03:21 PM by Paul "One4yu2c" Lilly

AMD unleashes another 'Black Edition' processor, XP gets a longer life, Apple makes good on their promise, and more!

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