Disney’s Dream Desk is my worst nightmare

Disney's so-called
Dream Desk PC is a dreadful blue box with an LCD slapped on the front of it and a pair of signature mouse ears protruding from the top.
The Disney logo is displayed prominently on every surface – including the matching blue printer. Of course, it's Intel Inside, running Windows XP Home Edition (ugh).

There are a few notable exceptions to how horrible I think this thing is. First off, the optical pen and tablet is a brilliant idea for a PC intended for kids. The Combo drive (reads DVDs, reads & writes CDs) is also a nice touch.

The Dream Desk setup will set you back $950. For that, you get the abovementioned PC, printer (a Disney-branded
Lexmark inkjet), keyboard, kid-sized mouse, and the optical pen and tablet.

If the spending stopped there I might be more forgiving, but that $950 is only the beginning. Once you turn the thing on you are assaulted by a never-ending supply of Disney marketing that no kid can resist. Better get your credit card back out, Moms and Dads. There's even a button on the keyboard that takes you straight to Disney's $9.95-a-month Toontown Online site.

Kid-sized computers are a great idea. Overpriced kid-sized computers that exist only to sell more stuff are a bad idea.

Buy your kid an eMac, load it with edutainment software and a kid-friendly internet filter, grab a pocket mouse, one of those cool roll-up rubber keyboards, a $39 color printer (probably free with your mac purchase), low-end Wacom table, and then sit back and relax while your kid discovers the true joy of computers as a vehicle for both fun and learning. Your child and your wallet will thank you for it.

For the record, I think Apple would be wildly successful with a kid-specific Mac. Since I think it's a great idea, odds are good that it'll never happen.