I was recently sent a Disney Netpal for review. My choices were “Blue Magic” which is dark blue with tiny Mickey heads, or “Princess Pink.” Figuring on getting my son’s input, I opted for “Blue Magic” to avoid any hassles.
Hardware:
Here are the Hardware Specs of the unit I received:
- 1.6 GHz Atom Processor
- 1 Gig of RAM
- 72 Gig of Storage
- 3 USB Ports
- 1 SD Card Slot
- Wireless Networking
- Built in Web Cam
Software:
The system came loaded with Windows XP and few Disney Apps. Most notably is Disney Mix Central which is a media player and a front end for The Disney Mix Central Online Media Store. This is the iTunes of the Happiest Place on Earth™ where you can download music, videos and TV Episodes of your favorite Disney Show, Phineas and Ferb of course.
Parental Control is done through an application provided by Disney. With the Parental control software you create user accounts and decide how they access the computer. For younger users there is the Disney Desktop. A locked down desktop that provides them only with the programs you allow them and when. Once the Disney Desktop is loaded the child can customize the look with different Disney themes. Sorry, no Phineas and Ferb theme, but there are plenty to choose from. The Web Browser is also locked down. There is no address bar, so you can only access sites listed in the favorites. Parents can add sites to the favorites list, but beware if you allow access to Web Searches as there are no filters in place to prevent the search from returning anything inappropriate.
Overall my kids, who are nuts about Disney, got a kick out the Disney Netpal. They wish some of the Disney Desktop themes were available on the XP desktop. The parental control was easy to navigate and even my 15 year old had a hard time running amok on the Disney Desktop. As anyone with a teenager can tell you, this is the ultimate in parental control.
