g-smooth2k
August 12th, 2004, 11:15 PM
Source: New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/technology/circuits/05disn.html?ex=1092542400&en=3b3b4b43393c40ce&ei=5070)
Disney Dream Desk PC Pic (https://licensing.disney.com/Login/apps/loginpages/jsp/dcpdl/splash/disney_electronics/images/product_thumbnails/th-dreamdesk2.jpg)
Dream Desk PC (High Resolution) Image (https://licensing.disney.com/Login/ImageDownloader?File=/disney_electronics/high_res/D-PC.jpg)
Disney Dream Desk Factsheet(Word Doc) (https://licensing.disney.com/Login/ImageDownloader?File=/disney_electronics/DisneyDreamDeskFactSheet.doc)
Cuteness has long been a staple of the Disney marketing machine, and the company's new computer for children fits comfortably within that tradition. The Disney Dream Desk PC is a mouse-shaped model aimed at the 5-to-12 set.
Like other Disney products styled by Frog, the design firm behind the original Macintosh SE, the model sports rounded edges, big buttons and soothing colors.
The semicircles atop the blue-and-yellow monitor are instantly recognizable as the ears familiar to children everywhere. (Cleverly, they also function as stereo speakers.) Beneath is a standard Windows XP computer equipped with a Celeron D 2.66-gigahertz processor, a 40-gigabyte hard drive and 256 megabytes of RAM.
Disney said the $599 Dream Desk PC would be available through the Disney catalog and at www.disney.com beginning Aug. 12 and at CompUSA stores in mid-September. It comes bundled with ContentWatch's Internet filtering tools and multimedia children's software called Disney Flix, Pix and Mix.
In addition to the new blue-and-yellow PC, Disney is releasing other Dream Desk products in similar colors: a digital camera ($79), a video game controller ($19), a printer ($70) and a digital video camera ($99) shaped like the number nine.
There may not be anything technologically new about any of the gadgets, but it's easy to imagine them inspiring toy lust.
Source: PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1631833,00.asp)
Disney knows kids, and the company is hoping it knows what kids (and parents) want in a home PC. The bright blue Disney Dream Desk PC ($599 direct)—designed by Disney and frog design and built by German electronics giant Medion AG—will include a 2.6-GHz Celeron processor, a CD-RW/DVD combo optical drive, a kid-sized mouse, and a multimedia keyboard and digital pen. The matching 14.1-inch LCD monitor ($299) sports signature Mickey Mouse ears.
The family theme goes more than skin deep, though, as Disney will preload each system with a range of the company's games and learning tools. The Dream Desk will also come with ContentWatch's ContentProtect Home Suite, which contains three Internet protection tools: ContentProtect (for Internet filtering), EmailProtect (for e-mail filtering and spam blocking), and PopupProtect (for blocking pop-up ads).
The Dream Desk will be available for purchase through Disney's catalog and Web site beginning August 12, and exclusively at CompUSA Superstores beginning September 12.
Disney Dream Desk PC (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?&ref=cj&pfp=cj&product_code=314966)
Disney Dream Desk PC Pic (https://licensing.disney.com/Login/apps/loginpages/jsp/dcpdl/splash/disney_electronics/images/product_thumbnails/th-dreamdesk2.jpg)
Dream Desk PC (High Resolution) Image (https://licensing.disney.com/Login/ImageDownloader?File=/disney_electronics/high_res/D-PC.jpg)
Disney Dream Desk Factsheet(Word Doc) (https://licensing.disney.com/Login/ImageDownloader?File=/disney_electronics/DisneyDreamDeskFactSheet.doc)
Cuteness has long been a staple of the Disney marketing machine, and the company's new computer for children fits comfortably within that tradition. The Disney Dream Desk PC is a mouse-shaped model aimed at the 5-to-12 set.
Like other Disney products styled by Frog, the design firm behind the original Macintosh SE, the model sports rounded edges, big buttons and soothing colors.
The semicircles atop the blue-and-yellow monitor are instantly recognizable as the ears familiar to children everywhere. (Cleverly, they also function as stereo speakers.) Beneath is a standard Windows XP computer equipped with a Celeron D 2.66-gigahertz processor, a 40-gigabyte hard drive and 256 megabytes of RAM.
Disney said the $599 Dream Desk PC would be available through the Disney catalog and at www.disney.com beginning Aug. 12 and at CompUSA stores in mid-September. It comes bundled with ContentWatch's Internet filtering tools and multimedia children's software called Disney Flix, Pix and Mix.
In addition to the new blue-and-yellow PC, Disney is releasing other Dream Desk products in similar colors: a digital camera ($79), a video game controller ($19), a printer ($70) and a digital video camera ($99) shaped like the number nine.
There may not be anything technologically new about any of the gadgets, but it's easy to imagine them inspiring toy lust.
Source: PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1631833,00.asp)
Disney knows kids, and the company is hoping it knows what kids (and parents) want in a home PC. The bright blue Disney Dream Desk PC ($599 direct)—designed by Disney and frog design and built by German electronics giant Medion AG—will include a 2.6-GHz Celeron processor, a CD-RW/DVD combo optical drive, a kid-sized mouse, and a multimedia keyboard and digital pen. The matching 14.1-inch LCD monitor ($299) sports signature Mickey Mouse ears.
The family theme goes more than skin deep, though, as Disney will preload each system with a range of the company's games and learning tools. The Dream Desk will also come with ContentWatch's ContentProtect Home Suite, which contains three Internet protection tools: ContentProtect (for Internet filtering), EmailProtect (for e-mail filtering and spam blocking), and PopupProtect (for blocking pop-up ads).
The Dream Desk will be available for purchase through Disney's catalog and Web site beginning August 12, and exclusively at CompUSA Superstores beginning September 12.
Disney Dream Desk PC (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?&ref=cj&pfp=cj&product_code=314966)