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Through his twitter, Kingdom Keepers author Ridley Pearson has announced that the developers of the Kingdom Keepers online game are now accepting applications for beta testing. The only requirement for applicants is that they are at least 13 years of age.
To apply for beta access to the game, fill out the application here.
The US Patent Office has recently published a patent application by Disney Enterprises which appears to be the groundwork for Disney’s announced digital rights management (DRM) technology dubbed ‘Keychest.’
The technology is intended to allow an individual to purchase the right to a movie or a song or book or any other type of protected content and be able to play that same content on any number of multimedia devices with just the single purchase. For example, songs purchased through iTunes are limited not just to iPod/iPhone/iTunes devices, but specific ones. With ‘Keychest’ technology, that song might also be able to be played on a PC using any copy of iTunes (or even another application), on any other mobile device, etc. The same would apply for movies. For example, purchase the latest Disney film on DVD and immediately be able to stream it on your friend’s computer or play it on your cell phone, all at no additional cost.
But, as Disney has been quick to note, Keychest is not a form of DRM. Rather it’s a technology to introduce a system in which a trusted authority can validate that an individual has the rights to a particular multimedia item. So for example, purchasing a song on iTunes would notify the trusted authority that you now own that song and when you attempt to play it on a different, compatible device, that device can confirm with the trusted authority that you own the item and allow you to play it on the alternate device.
Through various actions by the Walt Disney Company that we have already reported on, we believe that it’s not Disney’s intent to actually create the system using Keychest technology, but rather that they will license the technology out to a company (or perhaps an independent organization composed of various licensors) that will operate the authority under its own name and that Disney will be a client, having already registered several domain names which support the notion that the technology will apply to Disney films.
For your daily recommended reading, here is the Keychest Patent Application.
Earlier today I had the opportunity to visit Disney Online at the International Toy Fair in New York City and got a preview at Disney’s newest massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, The World of Cars in addition to some of the new and not-yet-released enhancements to Disney Online’s other worlds.
Sharing a lot in common with the Club Penguin model, the World of Cars is completely Adobe Flash-based. This means there are no downloads required aside from the common plug-in that most folks should already have. Although I probably should know better than to be impressed to how the game has been implemented inside the Flash engine, I still am. The game looks very appealing with a great heads-up display (HUD) loaded with information and controls while still leaving plenty of room for the actual gameplay.
As you might imagine, you will assume the role of a car in Radiator Springs. The action in the game takes place after the first movie — Lightning returns to the sleepy town after winning the Piston Cup and has set up shop in the middle of Downtown Radiator Springs. Throughout the game, you’ll encounter all of your favorite characters from the film with all new original dialogue as recorded by the original actors with exception to Owen Wilson (Lightning), Paul Newman (Doc Hudson) and George Carlin (Fillmore), the latter two having passed away prior to the studio work. For those three, Disney has brought in soundalikes who do a really good job at filling in some rather large tires.
Meeting the characters, who are non-player characters (NPCs), meaning they’re automatic and interaction is quite limited, you’ll often find a yellow exclamation point over their heads. This means they want to talk to you and might even have a job for you. Performing jobs for the characters will yield you rewards, often being money and additional jobs.
Click here to read more about World of Cars and see some exciting Pixie Hollow news
On April 4, ESPN360.com, ESPN’s 24/7 broadband sports network, will become ESPN3.com. At that time the network will also introduce new features and functionality that will enhance the viewing experience. Details of these enhancements will be released closer to the launch in the spring.
“The name ESPN3.com more closely aligns with the existing naming convention for our networks,” said Sean Bratches, executive vice president, sales and marketing. “We have approached this as a network for years, and as users have become more accustomed to engaging with content across various screens, it made sense to make adjustments that reflect both the product’s and the industry’s evolution.”
Added Damon Phillips, vice president, ESPN3.com, “The network will continue to offer the same great content that sports fans have come to expect, with more than 3,500 live events annually. We look forward to rolling out new enhancements to offer the best viewing experience possible in the months ahead.”
ESPN3.com will continue to give consumers control over their broadband sports viewing experience with the ability to pause and rewind live events. Fans will continue to be able to toggle between up to 20 events in a main viewing window, and with a single click, jump to another event. Video can be viewed in widescreen (16:9) and normal (4:3) views and can be expanded to full screen or reduced to a compact size. Recently completed events will continue to be archived and available for on-demand replay.
ABC News today announced that ABC News programming from its platforms and shows will be featured on a branded page on Hulu, an online video service. The site will feature short form news content and long form programming from morning to night — including “Good Morning America,” “World News with Diane Sawyer,” “Nightline,” “This Week,” “20/20? and “Primetime” limited series.
“We’re happy to be able to provide our audience with another way to watch ABC News,” said David Westin, President, ABC News. “We look forward to sharing our reporting with users on one of the top video destinations on the Internet.”
Select programming from ABC News NOW, the network’s digital channel, such as “Top Line,” a daily political program hosted by ABC News’ Political Director David Chalian and Senior Political Reporter and author of The Note,’ Rick Klein, will also be available on Hulu. The channel will also feature ABC News NOW’s “Good Morning America Health,” a health and wellness program, as well as ABC News Specials and content from the ABC News Archives.
ESPN today launches two new web-based players on ESPNRadio.com with the completely revamped super stream player with launch partner Yahoo!, introducing the new Instant Replay feature and the launch of Super Week webcam just in time for the days leading up to Super Bowl XLIV between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.
The new Instant Replay feature will give sports fans control over their digital audio experience, literally. Using exclusive technology, listeners will now have the ability to pause and rewind live streaming programming for up to 30 minutes on all accessible ESPN stations within the newly enhanced super stream player. Other highlights of the player include:
An all new Super Week webcam also debuts today, featuring content exclusively dedicated to programming around Super Bowl Week. The webcam will stream video and audio from fan favorite radio shows like Mike & Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Scott Van Pelt Show, Radio College Gameday, Super Week and more from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET live from Miami with a full screen video feature. The webcam will be supported by presenting sponsors Dove and Tabasco with associate sponsors FLO TV, Miller High Life, H&R Block and JCPenney.
MySpace Music will exclusively premiere songs from the upcoming Alice in Wonderland soundtrack Almost Alice, beginning with 3OH!3’s ‘Follow Me Down.’ In the upcoming weeks, MySpace is set to debut more tracks from the soundtrack including ‘Alice’ from Avril Lavigne on February 4 and ‘Painting Flowers’ from All Time Low, all leading up to streaming the entire album on February 28.
To listen to ‘Follow Me Down’ from 3OH!3, visit http://www.myspace.com/music.
ABC Entertainment Group and CafePress, the online epicenter for user-designed apparel and gifts, today announced a licensing agreement that allows TV fans to design and sell authorized show merchandise. Fans of the hit ABC shows – Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs and Schoolhouse Rock along with Legend of the Seeker (from ABC Studios) – can unleash their creativity to design custom apparel and gifts by following the official guidelines. Fans can visit CafePress.com to create products and purchase merchandise designed by other fans fully encompassing fan engagement within this merchandise platform. In addition, CafePress will be launching a shop featuring official Schoolhouse Rock merchandise.
“These days, fans have more and more ways to engage with their favorite brands, be it through online fan sites, social media networks or blogs. CafePress takes fan engagement to the next level by mobilizing a community’s passion to create a marketplace of tangible, unique products,” comments CafePress Vice President of Marketing Amy Maniatis. “Through our licensing arrangement with ABC, we’re able to engage top fan communities that are passionate about popular shows like Lost and Grey’s Anatomy to create merchandise that can be inspiring, personalized and often insightful.”
“Each week our dedicated ABC viewers tune in to follow the latest twists and turns of the Oceanic 815 survivors or to hear the latest gossip on Wisteria Lane,” comments ABC Entertainment Group Vice President of Business Planning and Development Mia Rondinella, “Through our innovative relationship with CafePress, we’re able to reward our viewers with a wholly unique and personal way to engage with the ABC shows and characters that they love. We value our fans immensely. Providing them with new and exciting ways to further express and share their passion for our shows is very important to us.”
Earlier this month, By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead
In the book, teenager Daelyn Rice, who has faced a life of bullying, decides once and for all that her next suicide attempt will be the last. To ensure success, she turns to a fictitious online website, http://www.through-the-light.com which helps its readers become ‘completers.’
With the pseudo-site obviously bound to gain attention from the web-curious, Peters and Hyperion have debuted a site today under the fictious name, opting instead to use it as a means of invoking discussions in addition to providing information and resources on teen suicides and bullying.
Bloomberg reports that Disney and Starz are in negotiations concerning future exclusivity the network has to upcoming releases from Walt Disney Studios. Currently, the Starz cable network has first rights to live action films from Disney and wishes to continue the option for as long as five years, but at dispute is the digital rights to the films which Starz would would be able to farm out to online services such as Netflix, whereas Disney is reportedly looking to prevent Starz from having such capabilities.
This shouldn’t come as any surprise, however, as Disney has been generating news lately with Iger constantly promoting Disney’s own subscription-based services, not to mention the forthcoming Keychest technology.
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