Companies always show off great new toys at the annual Toy Fair and Hasbro came through with a few cool items this year.

From news.com:

From Sunday through Wednesday, the American International Toy Fair takes over New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center with all kinds of new and innovative play gizmos for kids of all ages. But toy giant Hasbro’s offerings were so extensive that the company had to take over a space across the street, at the Splashlight Studios building.

Of particular interest to me are:

A “Force Action” Star Wars light saber that has a spring-loaded blade. I haven’t seen a light saber with a blade that comes out on its own yet. Previous versions either have a permanent blade that would light up or a retractable one that would emerge when you swung the hilt. I wonder if the blade will somehow retract as well, or if you have to cram it back in like the old ones.

An exceptionally cool-looking Transformer from the upcoming movie. It is the 14-inch-tall “Ultimate Bumblebee” who is now a Camaro instead of a VW. I was initially upset at hearing that Bumblebee was no longer a VW Bug, as that car was essentially why he is called Bumblebee, but now that I’ve seen this figure I am quite excited.

An Optimus Prime voice changer from the upcoming Transformers film. I only hope that this mask is big enough to fit my head and that it actually makes you sound like Peter Cullen and not Darth Vader. The mask does look pretty darn cool.

Link

Universal Orlando has a survey up listing four possible Christmas festivities they are thinking of doing this year.
Let them know if you would you be interested in an expanded Grinchmas, a Rudolph and Frosty theme, a Rockefeller Center theme with ice skating, or a Shrekmas theme.

Go to http://www.visitorsatisfaction.com/holiday2007 for more details and to let them know what you think of their ideas.

From apple.com:

Lionsgate and Apple® today announced that movies from Lionsgate will be available for purchase and download on the iTunes® Store www.itunes.com starting today. iTunes customers will be able to purchase blockbuster Lionsgate films like “Terminator 2,” “LA Story,” “Basic Instinct,” “The Blair Witch Project” and “Dirty Dancing” and more than 150 titles coming to iTunes this month.

Now if only they’d start offering DRM-free, full DVD quality video, I might actually think about buying one or two.  I just can’t bring myself to purchase something that is locked down to iTunes and is lesser quality than the DVD I can easily buy from a local or online store, especially when older DVD titles are discounted so heavily.

Link

ABC was the first major network to launch online access to its popular television shows last year.  Now, after seeing its potential, they are taking the concept several steps further.

From mickeynews.com:

ABC.com is also planning to launch a new channel dedicated to America’ Funniest Home Videos, which made household pratfalls popular nearly two decades before YouTube took off. Users will be able to post their own family-friendly user-generated videos, which the site’s visitors will be able to rate and forward. Some clips from the site may end up airing on TV, said ABC.

The network is also planning enhancements to its broadband technology, given the popularity of video streaming full-length shows on ABC.com (the site has delivered 50 million streams since September). This spring the site will launch two additional viewing screens: one for full-screen viewing that promises higher resolution to users and a mini screen that viewers can place on their desktop wherever they’d like while performing other tasks.

The network is also unrolling a new ad option to its broadband player. The upcoming Pause Ad will consist of a static digital placement that will be displayed on the player’s screen whenever user’s pause a video clip. Going forward, ABC says that advertisers will also be able to geo-target video ads.

I’ve always thought an online version of America’s Funniest Home Videos was a no-brainer, especially since YouTube popped up.  Perhaps the site could occasionally run its own contest for the funniest video and award a cash prize online.

Adding the full-screen option to watching primetime television shows is a great move.  Watching a TV show in a tiny window in a web browser definitely prevents me from taking streaming television seriously.  It’s good to know that if I miss an episode of Lost, I’ll be able to simply pull it up online the next day and watch it full screen (that is, if I watched Lost).  The next step, hopefully, will be to somehow allow downloads of the shows.

Link

Wiggles World,” the park’s third area devoted exclusively to children, will feature specially-themed rides and attractions including The Big Red Car ride, The Big Red Plane ride, Dorothy’s Rosy Tea cups, Bouncin’ with Wags ride, Henry’s Splash Fountain, the S.S. Feathersword Pirate Ship play area, and the “Get Ready To Wiggle” show featuring the Wiggles’ friends. The area will also include retail locations selling Wiggles merchandise and and the Yummy Yummy Cafe serving healthy meals.

“Wiggles World” will be populated by The Wiggles’ cast of supporting characters: Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog and Henry the Octopus, who will pose for photos and perform in daily shows. The Wiggles themselves – Anthony, Sam, Jeff and Murray – will make an appearance and perform at the park in 2007.

The Wiggles are the most popular children’s entertainers in the world, and “Wiggles World” will be designed to leverage their vast recognition and status among children ages 2-6. Since 1991, The Wiggles have performed to more than 1 million audience members a year. To date, they have sold more than 22 million DVDs and videos and more than 5 million albums worldwide, and The Wiggles’ successful television show has been broadcast on Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney since 2002.