Walt Disney joins club Hulu
The Walt Disney Company has confirmed that it will become a joint venture partner and equity owner of Hulu. The agreement is expected to "enhance" Hulu's programming line-up with Disney content, including series such as Lost, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Scrubs.
Parrots Join Humans On The Dance Floor

So you think you can dance? Maybe. But Snowball, a Backstreet Boys-loving cockatoo, certainly can, scientists say. Parrots are perhaps one of only three kinds of animal species that can truly move to a beat.

Sony to showcase new PSP at E3
Sony will reportedly showcase a new version of its popular PSP at the E3 conference in June. According to 1UP.com, the upgraded device is expected to be named PSP GO!

Bethesda confirms Elder Scrolls novels
Bethesda Softworks has confirmed that Del Ray will be publishing two novels based on The Elder Scrolls video game series. The books, written by Greg Keyes, are expected to contain originalstories set in the vast Elder Scrolls universe. Keyes' prior workincludes the Age of Unreason tetrology, along with three New York Timesbestselling Star Wars novels in the New Jedi Order series.
IBM Computer To Play 'Jeopardy'

IBM has unveiled a computer that will match its wits against human contestants on the TV quiz show Jeopardy. David Ferrucci, an artificial intelligence researcher for IBM and project director of "Watson," the system that will compete on the popular game show, says "Watson" is "pretty close" to being competitive with Jeopardy's grand champions.

IBM designs supercomputer to play Jeopardy!
IBM has announced the development of an "advanced computing system" that will compete with human contestants on Jeopardy! The system, codenamed "Watson," is capable of quickly responding tosophisticated queries that require an accurate comprehension ofambiguous expression.

Put The Meaning In Reverse

For each sentence given, change just one letter in one word to reverse the sentence's meaning. For example, given "The guard will not let you through the gate," you would change the T in "not" to a W for, "The guard will now let you through the gate."

Technology: Plot Inconvenience For Writers

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with novelist Thomas Perry and TV producer Marti Noxon Bynum about how to make fictional plotlines believable in a time of rapid technological development. How does a storyteller create tension when characters can sidestep traditional obstacles with a simple cell phone call or text message?

Warner offers Blu-ray alternative to desperate HD-DVD owners

Warner offers Blu-ray alternative to desperate HD-DVD owners
Warner Home Video has announced a new $4.95 trade-in program (notincluding shipping) in the hopes of enticing desperate HD-DVD owners topurchase Blu-Ray movies.
How Now, Wench? Talking Like Shakespeare

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley declareth Thursday "Talk Like Shakespeare" day in honor of the 445th anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth. And folks in the Windy City are learning to speaketh the Shakespearean lingo.

Video-on-Demand available in HD via Amazon
Amazon expanded its Video on Demand service on Tuesday to include morethan 500 HD television shows and movies from Sony Pictures, WarnerBrothers Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios HomeEntertainment, Showtime Networks, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. CanAmazon catch up with Netflix?
Ask Not For Whom The Cliche Tolls

On Shakespeare's birthday, and with the 150th anniversary of the debut of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities on April 30, it seems like the best of times — and the worst of times — to foist on you, dear reader, the art and asininity of the literary cliche.

Sony, doesn't love you, doesn't love you
A senior executive has admitted that problems at the Sony Corporation have prevented it from bundling games into a promotional package or cutting the price of the Playstation 3.

Lego Rock Band to hit store shelves by holiday season
Warner Bros. and TT Games have teamed up with Lego, Harmonix and MTV to create a new title known as Lego Rock Band.

Microsoft on a roll: New Xbox 360 bundle announced
We have to give props to Microsoft. It has the oldest current-gen gameconsole on the market, but the company has found an effective strategyto keep sales numbers high and the PS3 at a distance. Consumers will beable to purchase a new high-end bundle in May. Sony, are you watching?

Students Think It's Baracking Cool

Some students at a high school in Albany, N.Y., are having a bit of fun with the president's name. They're not using Obama's name as a joke, but as a way to inspire fellow students.

Watch out Hulu: YouTube’s coming with video
Google’s YouTube video streaming site has announced a partnership withHollywood studios, which will deliver both television shows and moviesto United States viewers. Among the partners agreeing to delivercontent to the site are CBS, BBC, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lions GateEntertainment, an independent film studio.

Nintendo pitches $20 Wiimote precision extension
How do you increase the price of a new controller for your gameconsole: Simple. You market a new feature as additional hardware ratherthan as an integrated part of your controller. In Nintendo’s case, thatwould translate into a 50% increase, if you plan on adding the new WiiMotionPlus to your WiiMote â€" or 33% if you buy the Nunchuk as well. Afully decked out 4-person controller system for the Wii costs astunning $320. Too much?

Dolby adds 3D voice to online games
Two upcoming online games, Jumpgate Evolution and Mission Against Terror, will integrate Dolby’s Axon 3D voice platform, the company announced today.

Sculpting The Digital Dollar

This is a time of transition for the design and sculpture department at the U.S. Mint, where centuries-old techniques are slowly — and not always easily — giving way to incredibly sophisticated computer technology.

A Stitch In Time

Every answer is a familiar phrase in the form "_____ in _____," in which the first and last words given as clues are rhymes. For example, given "hide in spots," the answer would be "tied in knots."

If Your Name Was Smellie, You'd Change It, Too

People with last names like Shufflebottom, Smellie and Cockshott are on the decline in Britain, while names like Zhang and Wang are on the rise.

Myst comes to the iPhone
Myst is coming to the iPhone and iPod touch. The original developer,Cyan Worlds, believes that it can fit the entire game into teh device,including finelyrendered scenery and animations, original score and sound effects. Infact, the iPhone port is promised to pack every aspect of the originalMyst inpixel-perfect accuracy. EXTRAS: SLIDESHOWS

Nintendo not planning to cut Wii price
Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo said that the video game creatordoes not plan to make any pricing changes to its Wii console eventhough unit sales are declining in Japan. The company admitted that theWii has hit its lowest sales level in the Japanese market yet.

Sony films heading to YouTube?
Chicago (IL) â€" Rumor has it that YouTube and Sony Pictures arenegotiating a content streaming deal. CNet is reporting that sourcesclose to the discussion claim that an agreement between the twocompanies would make some Sony Pictures full length films available forfree streaming via YouTube.

Nintendo DSi on sale in United States

Resistance: Retribution PSP
Is there a game that can restore consumer confidence in Sony's Playstation Portable device? Resistance: Retribution might answer that call. Gamecore's Alejandro diggs beneath the surface.
Nintendo DSi on sale in United States
Today in the United States, Nintendo begins selling its much anticipated DSi portable game player. While the device has been on sale in Japan since the Fall, U.S. buyers will be able to shell out around $170 for a model in either blue (cyan) or black. The DSi includes front-facing 3.0 Megapixel and rear-facing 0.3 Megapixel cameras, two slightly larger screens, more memory, an SD card slot, and is backward compatible with DS line which, to date, has sold more...
Keep It Short

Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase, in which each word has a short "A" vowel sound. For example, given the clue "A pest weed in lawns," the answer would be "crab grass."

Talking Tomatoes Into Growing Bigger

The Royal Horticultural Society held open auditions to try to come up with the 10 best voices to encourage their tomatoes in a month-long experiment.

Hollywood panics! X-Men Origins: Wolverine pirated, hits web a month before official release
Late yesterday, an illegal copy of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine leakedon the web -- one full month ahead of the official premiere slated forMay 1. Naturally, it sent shivers down many Hollywood mogul's spines and also shocked analysts. It's also a big blow to 20th Century Fox, whofears the illegal copy and potentially skewed reviews could hurt the movie'srevenue. Being an avid movies fan, I'm tempted to download it. On theother hand, I know it would be bad for my...

Letters: A Sample Of Listeners' Comments

Melissa Block, Michele Norris and Robert Siegel read from listeners' comments — and from those whom they believe could be listeners. There was much reaction this week to a story about a far-reaching new plan that would provide an alternative source of energy — and blubber!

Google goes HAL with CADIE in April Fool's prank
A brief press release posted at 11:59:59pm last night has ignited a slew of controversy. Google's announcement was of a new artificial intelligence named CADIE, which stands for Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity. She's a HAL-like computer with her own homepage and YouTube channel wherein she demonstrates the full extent of her HAL-envy, and Google's continued appreciation of April Fool's Day jokes.