Hasta La Gadget!

Hulu might be going through some big changes within the next month, Variety reports. According to an uncovered internal memo, Hulu may find itself without a CEO at some point September, and the company may end up with less content to offer its viewers. If all of this is true, it could potentially change the streaming service as we know it.

Apparently Hulu’s CEO woes are brought on by the buyout of one of its investors, Providence Equity Partners. That buyout is expected to close sometime next month, and when it does, Variety says that “any Hulu executive with a significant number of vested shares” will be able to cash out. Hulu CEO Jason Kilar obviously has a lot of shares, and stands to make as much as $100 million in the event that the Providence deal closes successfully. That significant sum has Hulu worried he may take his $100 million and resign from the company.

Despite the worries, sources say Hulu isn’t searching for a new CEO just yet. Apparently Hulu board members have been talking to Kilar about his future with the company first, but so far those talks have been “without resolution.” This Providence buyout could bring more problems aside from having to search for a new CEO, however, as the memo also signals an incoming change in Hulu’s licensing agreements. It may not be long before News Corp. and Disney pare back their next-day offerings in an attempt to bring more visitors to their own websites, for instance.

Also a possibility is the end of exclusive content on Hulu. It’s suggested that these upcoming changes – or at least the possibility of them – might help convince Kilar to exit the company, but at the moment, all we have is this memo and Variety’s sources to go on. We won’t know what sweeping changes this Providence buyout brings with it until the purchase is officially on the books, but if these rumors are true, get ready for a pretty big shakeup at Hulu’s offices.

Hulu CEO reportedly on the way out is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Do you happen to be David Beckham or Toyota? Well, congratulations — you now have a Google+ vanity URL. The rest of us looking for the football star or car manufacturer need only type “google.com/+davidbeckham” or “google.com/+toyota” to reach those respective pages, enabling easy access to that must-see picture in front of a private jet, or a vehicle recall notice. Sadly, you’re probably not eligible for a custom shortcut of your own — here’s the word from Google:

At first, we’re introducing custom URLs to a limited number of verified profiles and pages. But over time we plan to offer custom URLs to many more brands and individuals, so please stay tuned!

So, for now, you better get comfy with “plus.google.com/108326689306432447266,” or whatever the good Goog has granted.

Filed under: Internet

Google+ offers custom URLs for verified accounts, other profiles to come ‘over time’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 21:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  Google  | Email this | Comments

Last year, Google launched its PageSpeed Service, aiming to improve our experience across the web while reportedly deferring its own financial interests. The concept was sound — similar services like Akamai work to accelerate web browsing by caching pages in much the same way — but there’s always room for improvement. The latest PageSpeed beta uses some straightforward techniques to improve performance even further, using a new rewriter called “Cache and Prioritize Visible Content.” Using this new tool, your browser will load content that appears “above the fold” before fetching text and photos that would be initially hidden on the page, while also prioritizing other content ahead of Javascript, which often isn’t needed as quickly as more basic elements. Finally, for pages that contain HTML that isn’t cacheable, such as when personalized info is returned, standard portions of the site are cached and displayed immediately, while other content loads normally. The new tool isn’t a perfect fit for every webpage, but we’ll take a boost wherever we can get it.

Filed under: Internet

Google updates PageSpeed Service so you don’t waste precious seconds waiting for pages to load originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  PageSpeed, Google Developers Blog  | Email this | Comments

Much like its desktop counterpart, Rdio’s Android app is constantly being tweaked — adjusting its style, adding features and generally doing the whole mobile update dance. Among a slew of standard bug fixes, the streaming music service’s latest app update promises playlist editing improvements, including the ability to jump directly from a song in a playlist to its parent album, clickable activity stream URLs and more complete search results. The update boasts some user interface improvements as well, placing new releases in a grid view. Ready to upgrade? Hit up the Google Play at the source link below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Rdio Android app updated with playlist and search improvements, puts new releases in grid view originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Google Play  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft and NBC have had what you might call a complicated relationship. They’ve been separated in the TV space ever since MSNBC became a solely NBC-owned entity in 2005, but the online fling has carried on to this day. If Daily Beast‘s tipsters are right, however, NBC may get a little less ambiguous with its relationship status and kick Microsoft to the curb. The now Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is supposedly irked at having to share equal control over the MSNBC website and wants to send Microsoft packing, buying out Redmond’s 50 percent stake. While the existing management would stay, MSNBC’s online staff would quit Microsoft’s campus and hop over to an NBCNews.com domain to reflect their newfound independence. An NBC representative wouldn’t confirm that an agreement had been signed, but did say talks had taken place — certainly much more of a response than most rumors get. With a signed deal rumored in a matter of “days,” there won’t be long to wait before we learn whether or not Microsoft gets dumped once and for all.

Filed under: Internet

Microsoft and NBC rumored calling it splitsville on the web, MSNBC.com to get friend-zoned originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Daily Beast  | Email this | Comments