Hulu is a terrific service. Who could argue with free, current episodes of primetime TV on your computer? But for months now, Netflix has been eating Hulu’s lunch. And Hulu’s plan to fight back sounds more like a swan song. More »
We’re still waiting to see just what the fallout for Hulu is going to be from the recent Comcast acquisition of NBC, and while many have feared that the cable company would try to kneecap Hulu to protect its market, a Wall Street Journal article has us wondering if maybe things could go a rather different way. The article, coming hot on the heels of Netflix posting promising Q4 results, suggests that Hulu management is considering transforming the purely on-demand service into more of a traditional cable network, offering “live” TV content in addition to the current archive of episodes. That could certainly give Comcast new life.
Meanwhile, NBC, Disney, and News Corp., three companies that recently teamed up to speak out against FCC stipulations to the Comcast buyout, are apparently at odds regarding how much of what Hulu offers should be available to non-subscribers. There’s talk that Disney may pull some ABC content and News Corp. may pull some Fox content from Hulu’s free offerings, offering it instead on Netflix and other premium competitors. It all sounds a bit speculative at this point but, with cable subscriptions declining for the first time in years and online content viewership skyrocketing, it’s obvious that some changes are afoot.
Hulu looking to become more like cable, at risk of losing some ABC and Fox content? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
No huge surprise here, but the FCC just approved Comcast’s purchase of NBC Universal by a 4-1 vote. Details of the ruling aren’t out yet, but FCC chairman Julius Genachowski had been pushing for strong regulations forbidding Comcast from cutting itself sweetheart deals on NBC content or prioritizing its own video traffic on its pipes, so we’d assume that’s part of the agreement here. The only nay vote was from Commissioner Michael Copps, who said the deal “opens the door to the cable-ization of the open Internet.” Ouch. We’ll let you know when we find out exactly what the FCC’s actual conditions are — and keep in mind this deal won’t be wrapped until the Justice Department weighs in, which is expected to happen next week. Can we say it? Oh, we’re going to say it: stay tuned!
Update: That was fast, as Comcast/NBCU announced it’s received permission from the Justice Department as well. Check out the triumphant press release after the break or scour the official site for more details on what conditions may have applied. There will also be a conference call at 4 p.m. so let us know what else you may be interested in finding out before then. So far details include a promise of a “focused mechanism for online video providers to obtain access to certain NBC Universal content,” and that the newly formed entity will retain its economic stake in Hulu, while giving up its voting and board representation rights.
Continue reading FCC approves Comcast’s purchase of NBC (Update: Justice Department too, it’s done)
FCC approves Comcast’s purchase of NBC (Update: Justice Department too, it’s done) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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This article was written on October 25, 2010 by CyberNet.
Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.
HP Slate Will Cost $799
Engadget has both some images and a video of the HP Slate in action, which will run you a cool $799 when it is released. Specs include a 1.86GHz Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD for storage.
Summary of Apple Announcements
If you haven’t read about all of Apple’s announcements last week this will get you up-to-speed on the new MacBook Air, OS X Lion, Mac App Store, and iLife ’11.
Windows 7 Sells 240 Million Licenses
Microsoft announced that in the first year of availability they’ve sold over 240 million licenses of the Windows 7 OS, which makes it the fastest selling operating system in history.
Microsoft Office 365 Available Next Year
The cloud-based Microsoft Office 365 will offer online versions of the Office suite for a monthly fee starting next year.
HP Unveils webOS 2.0
The next generation of Palm Pre and webOS will include things like Flash Player, Skype, an updated Facebook app, and many enhancements throughout the entire operating system.
Hulu Blocks Google TV
Google TV users might be a little discouraged to find out that Hulu doesn’t work, at least for right now. There was a modification you could make to change the user agent, but that has since been plugged by Hulu. So you’ll just have to wait for the Hulu Plus subscription service to be made available.
Xbox.com Gets an Update
The redesigned Xbox.com now has a browser based Avatar editor, the ability to play web games with your Xbox LIVE friends, and more.
Dad and Son Send HD Camera and iPhone to Space
A father/son duo created a nice weather balloon rig that reached a maximum altitude of 100,000 feet, and captured it all on video. Thanks to the onboard iPhone they were able to retrieve the balloon about 30-miles from where it launched.
Insomnia Keeps Your PC Awake
Windows users can download this handy little utility if they want to prevent their computer from going to sleep. As long as the window remains open the PC will remain in “insomnia” mode.
Anandtech’s In-Depth Windows Phone 7 Review
If you enjoy reading long and detailed reviews about gadgets this is one you won’t want to miss. It covers just about every aspect of the new mobile OS.
Change Your Aero Color Based on Weather Temperature
Windows 7/Vista users can enjoy this nice free app that will adjust the color of the Aero glass to match the current temperature outside.
Opera 11 Alpha Available with Sample Extensions
The testing phase of the next major Opera milestone has begun, and there are some sample extensions available for you to take for a spin.
Desktop Email Notifications for Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, and More
This free utility will let you monitor and manage messages from all of your email accounts.
Play Most Video Types on Android with VPlayer
The free VPlayer app for Android lets users watch videos in DivX, Xvid, MKV, WMV, FLV, and RMVB formats.
No Hassle Way to Download and Convert YouTube Videos
The DownloadTube.org site lets you paste in a link to any YouTube video, and have it converted into a more widely supported video format.
Keep iTunes Libraries in Sync with MediaRover
MediaRover is a free Windows and Mac utility that will keep your songs and playlists in sync across multiple machines.
KeySharky Adds Hotkey Support to Grooveshark
Firefox and Chrome users can grab an add-on that provides customizable hotkey support for the Grooveshark music streaming site.
TinyUmbrella Updated for iOS Users
TinyUmbrella is a free app used to save your SHSH blobs so that you can rollback to an older version of iOS if needed. The app has been updated to include a new UI, and has some other features that are pretty nice.
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Hello, inevitable. It simply had to happen, and now, it is. As Comcast, NBC and the FCC attempt to work out stipulations over Comcast’s proposed 51 percent buyout of NBC Universal, a smattering of major media companies are paying close attention to the play-by-play. Naturally, the precedents that are set from this deal will affect future agreements of this caliber, and lobbyists for both Disney and News Corp. (as well as Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes) aren’t standing over on the sidelines any longer. All three outfits have reportedly been “voicing their concerns this week with the FCC, worried that such conditions could undermine their own efforts to profit from the nascent online video industry.”
We’re told that the media mega-corps are worried that the rules — if hammered down — could interfere with ongoing negotiations with online video providers, and in turn, give them less leverage to monetize and control their content on the world wide web. In other words, if NBC Universal is forced to provide content fluidly to all ISPs (and not just Comcast), what’s to say other content makers and internet providers wouldn’t also be forced into similar deals, regardless of whether or not they’re involved in takeover negotiations? Needless to say, we’re nowhere near the end of this journey, and while the nuts and bolts are pretty dry to think about, the outcomes could have a serious impact on our future viewing habits.
Time Warner, Disney and News Corp. bigwigs speak up against FCC stipulations in Comcast-NBC deal originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Gallery: iGUGU InterneTV hands-on
iGUGU InterneTV works as promised in its strange little niche (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You may or may not know that chiptunes have a very special place in our hearts. Regardless, the documentary about the people behind this intriguing genre, Reformat the Planet is an enthralling watch for music fans and nerds alike — it’s a film we seriously really enjoyed. Well, now you can watch it on the internet — Hulu, to be specific — where it belongs. In fact, we’re so crazy, we’ve embedded it after the break. Woohoo!
Chiptunes documentary “Reformat the Planet” now available to watch in its entirety on Hulu originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, here’s a bit of welcome news from Samsung’s press conference, though it’s got little to do with Samsung itself — Hulu Plus has finally been confirmed for the Android platform. There’s been some friction between Hulu and Google as of late, but it seems preferred partner Samsung is helping to work those differences out, as Hulu CEO Jason Kilar demoed the code-complete app running on this Galaxy S smartphone. He didn’t provide a release date, though. Drat.
Hulu Plus headed to Android, no promises about when originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Good news, Hulu Plus is finally coming to Xbox 360 this spring. Better news, both Hulu Plus and Netflix will be compatible with Kinect. We imagine it’ll be just like Zune Video’s interface, but there really wasn’t much of a demo during Ballmer’s keynote tonight. Excited? We are.
Gallery: Netflix and Hulu Plus for Kinect
Netflix and Hulu Plus with Kinect coming this spring to Xbox 360 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As you can imagine, the thought of a marriage between a broadband / cable TV service provider and a content provider for television and movies has more than a few folks concerned, which is why it’s taken a while for the FCC and its erstwhile chairman Julius “Caesar” Genachowski to draft the conditions under which it would let Comcast snatch up 51 percent of NBC Universal. According to the Wall Street Journal, the FCC wants to require that Comcast make any content owned by itself and NBCU available to competitors (including streaming video providers) “at reasonable, nondiscriminatory terms.” Additionally, Comcast will be barred from prioritizing its own video streams above others or interfering with rival Internet traffic. Of course, without the actual announcement, it’s hard to know what impact this will have on everyone involved (especially Hulu), although with any luck the actual proposal will see the light of day soon enough. Even then, it will need to be approved, which could happen early next year.
FCC proposes rules for NBC-Comcast deal originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Dec 2010 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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