We believe there are only two significant brands in the film industry—”Disney” and “Steven Spielberg”. We would like to establish “Pixar” as the third. Successful brands are a reflection of consumer trust, which is earned over time by consumers’ positive experiences with the brand’s products. For example, parents trust Disney-branded animated films to provide satisfying and appropriate family entertainment, based on Disney’s undisputed track record of making wonderful animated films. This trust benefits both parents and Disney: it makes the selection of family entertainment that much easier for parents, and it allows Disney to more easily and assuredly draw audiences to see their new films. Over time we want Pixar to grow into a brand that embodies the same level of trust as the Disney brand.

This letter was available on the Pixar website until 2006, when Disney, utterly trounced by Pixar in the world of animated features, bought the company. [The Pixar Touch via David Cho]

The last time I visited Disney World, I was a bit distracted by the nausea that followed one too many rides after five too many scoops of ice cream. The visits before that though, I was entirely clear headed. Yet not a single time did I notice the always present background music switch tunes.

Mr. Q would be laughing maniacally if he read those words. That’s because those words mean that his baby, the project he worked on in the 1990s, grew up to be a success.

Apparently the original Disney World speaker system, set up in 1958, had an unnoticeable flaw: minuscule variations in sound volume along pathways. As someone walked closer to a speaker, music would seem louder than a few steps away. Despite not a single visitor ever complaining about this common sound effect, 20 years later good ol’ Mickey decided to do something about it. Some work and a team-effort later, they had Mr. Q’s system and algorithm:

The system he built can slowly change the style of the music across a distance without the visitor noticing. As a person walks from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland, for example, each of the hundreds of speakers slowly fades in different melodies at different frequencies so that at any point you can stop and enjoy a fully accurate piece of music, but by the time you walk 400 feet [120 metres], the entire song has changed and no one has noticed.

So how is a system which strives to be unnoticed manufacturing emotion? According to Mr. Q, the “life is sucked out of” the park when the speakers fail. An even slightly flawed speaker system could lead to frowns, while perfect music ambiance only leaves Goofy’s creepiness to achieve that. [Dustin Curtis via Boing Boing]

Disney World is essentially one big toy model, so in many cases, its miniaturisation through the magic of tilt-shift photography ironically looks more natural than actually being there. As a pile of trinkets, Disney World actually seems pretty normal. [TechEBlog]

Using prerendered chunks of track and a digital ruler, you can shape the path of their virtual roller coaster, bobsled track or jet flight. (Should you draw something that’s impossible to perform, the system will guide and correct you.)

As for the simulation itself, your fate is in the hands of an industrial robot arm from Kuka Robotics, like you’ve seen in car plants. We can only assume that the robot shakes you at high velocities until you feel dizzy or sick, all while fans occasionally blow air at your face to simulate velocity.

Several years back, I tested a similar build-your-own coaster ride at DisneyQuest. Some effects were actually pretty wonderful, but the customisation was fairly limited and the simulators were far more typical. Knowing my well-being is in the grasp of a robot that could literally destroy me makes the whole prospect a lot more exciting. [CNN]

Good old Stevesy runs pretty much the most profitable retail chain in the country, the Apple Store, and coincidentally also owns Pixar — and thus sits on Disney’s board. So he heavily consulted with Disney when they decided to totally redesign their retail store’s image, and it shows. From minor details like mobile checkout (employees carry small receipt printers on them) to bigger philosophies like community (there’ll be a small theatre, like in Apple Stores) and interactivity (karaoke, touchscreen kiosks, “live chat with Disney stars”), Steve’s fingerprints are all over the new concept. Hell, Disney store employees will even carry iPhones (or iPods Touch) to communicate. And that’s a good thing, in our opinion: Apple Stores certainly aren’t perfect, but they are a decidedly individual and interesting shopping experience, which Disney apparently needs. A Disney rep, apparently a fan of Fox angryface Gordon Ramsay, referred to some of the current stores as “a dog’s breakfast”.

Disney is rebooting 340 of these stores, with a possible flagship store in, of course, Times Square, and is spending about $US1 million to do it. They’re still working with real estate agents and ironing out the final details, but this could actually work out: Disney + Apple has previously equalled Pixar, and that formula has worked out pretty spectacularly. [NY Times]

The entire reader is browser based and the books feature animated illustrations and authentic character voices. Amazon, a colour Kindle Kiddie would be so cool! In the meantime the Disney Netpal netbook will have to do for viewing the interactive children’s ebooks, but a kid can dream. [Disney Digital Books]

Buzz was up there as part of a program by NASA and Disney to encourage students to study science, technology and maths. He’ll be honoured in a parade at Disney’s Magic Kingdom along with his space station crewmates and veteran Buzz Aldrin-on October 2.

Too. Freakin’. Cute. To infinity and beyond! [Orlando Sentinel and Newslite | Photo by Tony Landis/NASA]

After being interviewed by Lifehacker’s Angus Kidman, a spokesperson for the plant said “Sony DADC is open to other contracts but would not take on any adult titles or content.” They wouldn’t elaborate on why, but Gus speculates that it’s probably to ensure studios like Disney, which have strict policies in regards to the type of content that can be produced at the same plant as their titles, continue to use the plant.

Which ultimately means that the likelihood of you ever professionally publishing that home video you made with your girlfriend on New Years on Blu-ray is non-existent…

[APC mag]