June 16 - 11:10pm EDT   Disney has collaborated with Asus to produce a Disney-branded netbook, known as the Netpal, that focuses on the market for kids aged six to 12. The device is based on the computer maker's Eee PC, with a 8.9-inch display, Wi-Fi connectivity and an Intel Atom processor. Each machine will run on Windows XP, but with a customized interface featuring themes such as Mickey Mouse, Cars, Toy Story and WALL-E, among others. [full story]

June 4 - 12:10pm EDT   VUDU today added movies from Disney's various studios to its catalog in a significant expansion of its catalog. The initial roster includes about 60 titles and focuses more on mature titles such as No Country for Old Men but also includes children's titles like High School Musical 3. In a first, the device and video provider also claims to be the first to offer permanent, purchasable versions of these movies in HD. Competitors like iTunes are currently limited to renting in HD and purchasing in standard resolution. [full story]

May 20 - 5:05pm EDT   The free online video-on-demand (VOD) service, Hulu, may be expanding for the first time to a market outside of the US, with a launch in the UK as soon as September, the UK's Telegraph reported on Wednesday. Sources close to the negotiations tell the daily newspaper that Hulu is in talks with the UK's ITV and Channel 4 for content partners, and the service would bring over more than 3,000 hours of American TV content. Content from the BBC is also being negotiated. [full story]

May 13 - 2:15pm EDT   VUDU today signaled a partial change in direction with word that it will start offering ad-supported music and video through its service. Once limited to renting as well as selling movies and TV shows, the company is tapping Brightcove to provide ads for a free Sony music video service. It also plans to expand this to include other services but hasn't set out its plans to date, including whether or not it may extend this to TV and other long-form content. [full story]

May 1 - 7:20am EDT   Peewee PC has released a spill- and drop-resistant notebook for children aged 3-10, the Peewee Pivot Tablet Laptop. It has typical notebook specs with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and 60GB of storage, but, as a convertible tablet, lets users rotate the display 180 degrees and use the touch display alone along with the conventional netbook layout. A thick handle eases carrying the notebook for kids in either mode. [full story]

April 30 - 12:10pm EDT   Disney this morning said it has obtained an equity stake in Hulu. The deal, which puts three Disney executives on the Hulu board, gives the studio equal influence along with original founders NBC Universal and News Corp. (Fox) in addition to the ability to publish content on the streaming web video service. Most of its initial lineup will center on current and back-catalog TV shows from ABC and Disney, such as Lost and Dancing with the Stars, but should also include "popular library titles" from Walt Disney Studios. [full story]

April 20 - 10:25am EDT   Adobe has devised a new version of its Flash animation standard which should allow TVs and other electronics to stream content directly, according to an announcement. Called the Flash Platform for the Digital Home, the technology is now being licensed to OEMs and should ship in products scheduled for the second half of 2009. Some companies which have agreed to support the platform include Broadcom, Comcast, Disney, Intel, Netflix, Atlantic Records and the New York Times. [full story]

April 6 - 8:50am EDT   Google's video site YouTube is in discussions with Sony Pictures to carry the latter's full movies, a leak hints. Without mentioning sources, CNET asserts that YouTube hopes for a license to play the movies on its site. Most of the terms of the deal aren't specified, though expectations would likely see YouTube pressing for free, ad-sponsored versions of the movies. Neither company has agreed to comment on the slip. [full story]

March 27 - 2:00pm EDT   Multiple sources speaking with paidContent today claim that Disney is in "serious" talks with Hulu to bring TV shows to the web service. The media giant would bring over at least ABC's TV programming, such as Lost, and would potentially involve the Disney Channel and other networks that aren't heavily dependent on cable and satellite TV. In return, Disney would get an equity stake in the primarily NBC- and Fox-run venture. [full story]

March 10 - 3:20pm EDT   (Update with MarketWatch retraction) Steve Jobs made an appearance at a Disney shareholders' meeting Tuesday morning, reports indicate. The Apple CEO is said to have been re-elected to the Disney board at the meeting, following a renomination process which took place in January. The entire previous board has in fact been re-elected, with no shareholder raising an objection to any of the candidates. [full story]

March 4 - 9:20am EST   Disney chief Bob Iger late yesterday said his company is considering its own online video service. Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Media and Telecommunications Conference, the executive says the service would be subscription-based and could follow a potentially Netflix-like model with online downloads, DVD mailings, or both. It's not known whether the proposed service would be limited to streaming or else allow full downloads, though it would draw on Disney's own catalog of movies and TV shows. [full story]

February 23 - 9:15am EST   Pixar's WALL-E won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at Sunday night's Academy Awards ceremony, defeating competition from Bolt and Kung Fu Panda. The movie -- about a robot left on Earth after an environmental apocalypse -- was also nominated for Original Screenplay, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Song awards, but lost to movies such as Milk and The Dark Knight. The dominant title at the Oscars was Slumdog Millionaire, which took home Best Picture and Best Director trophies among others. [full story]

January 19 - 12:25pm EST   Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been renominated to serve on Disney's board of directors, in spite of medical problems, according to the company's 2009 proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Jobs is the largest individual shareholder in Disney, with 7.4 percent of stock, which came as a result of his former role in charge of Pixar. The Toy Story studio has since been absorbed by Disney. [full story]

December 26 - 1:25pm EST   Two Apple-related products performed extremely well at Amazon during the holiday season, the latter company has announced. Tracking orders from November 15th through to December 19th, the online retailer notes that one of the bestselling electronics items was the second-generation iPod touch, specifically in its 8GB capacity rather than 16 or 32GB. Apple's chief competition was split between a 52-inch red Samsung TV, and Acer's Aspire One netbook. [full story]

October 24 - 4:10pm EDT   TiVo announced on Thursday it will add to its current on-demand video library with the addition of a Disney and Jaman VOD services. Jaman offers a selection of international independent movies and foreign films and serials and launched on Thursday, while Disney film rentals will come via CinemaNow and begin next week. Either is at least thus far being offered in standard definition only with MPEG-2 encoding. The new content is accessible through Series2 and Series3/HD DVR hardware. [full story]