hulu

Facebook partners for easy song, film sharing--report

Following reports yesterday that suggested Facebook would use its upcoming F8 developers conference to announce some sort of music and/or video service, The New York Times says it has confirmed the service with anonymous industry sources, and the paper has provided some details on how the new service will look.

Yesterday, Dutch entrepreneur and developer Yvo Schaap spied a clue in the HTML for the Web sites of Spotify, Rhapsody, and several other major music services that pointed to some type of custom Facebook format. Meanwhile, The New York Post reported that Hulu and Facebook would announce at this … Read more

Facebook, Hulu to strengthen ties, report says

Facebook is set to announce stronger ties to Hulu next week at its F8 developer conference, according to a report in the New York Post.

Citing anonymous sources, the Post offered little detail, saying only that the social-networking giant would announce deeper integration between the two companies--integration, the Post said, that could lead to "the potential for users to see what their friends are watching on Hulu and share video content between their personal networks."

The Post also reported that other video providers could be involved, and mentioned that Netflix is "also very close" to Facebook.… Read more

Fanhattan review: One app to rule your iPad video

Devices like Apple's iPad are revolutionary for their myriad ways of accessing TV and movies, but discoverability across services is a huge pain. Example: knowing whether any Steven Spielberg movies are on Netflix streaming. Or, is your favorite TV show on Hulu, Netflix, or neither? Is it on iTunes, or maybe even Vudu? Fanhattan is an app that intends to help users tackle this problem by tying together a media-browsing interface and search that doubles as a launcher for those TV shows and movies. The app launched earlier this year, but a recent app update has added more features, including a Facebook connection. Is it the ultimate way to figure out what video to watch on your iPad? Well, it's close.… Read more

Orb Live streams tons of media

Meet Orb Live, a versatile media app that lets you stream free Hulu content, premium videos, and even your home media library right to your Android device. Since it requires no subscription fee, it's $9.99 download price may be a great deal for those wishing for more multimedia on the go.

Here's how it works. First, install Orb Caster on your PC or Mac (for free), and point the program to your multimedia folders so it knows which files to make available for streaming. You can also point it to your iTunes and have it stream everything … Read more

Orb Live hits Android, adds Hulu

Meet Orb Live for Android, a versatile media app that lets you stream free Hulu content, premium videos, and even your home media library right to your Android device. Since it requires no subscription fee, its $9.99 download price may just be a great deal for those of us wishing for more multimedia on the go.

Samsung, Fujitsu tabs power DoCoMo LTE service

Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo announced today it will launch two 10.1-inch tablets running Android 3.2 in October for its new LTE phone service.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE SC-01D and Fujitsu's Arrows Tab LTE F-01D will be the first tablets on the Xi (pronounced "Crossy") service and will come with a three-month free subscription to Hulu, which announced it is expanding to Japan this year.

The Samsung tab weighs 1.2 pounds and is an optimized version of the Galaxy 10.1 for DoCoMo's LTE service, poised to take on competition from … Read more

The 404 899: Where we take you to school (podcast)

Wilson begins this episode of The 404 Podcast with a few words of encouragement to our young listeners starting their first day of school today.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Tang excelled in all his classes and never once printed a cheat sheet on a Coke-bottle wrapper--unfortunately Jeff and I can't say the same for our own salad days. Anyone know how to calculate the area of a triangle?

Aside from recalling our high-school days, today's show rundown kicks off with Nike's announcement of the long-awaited shoes from "Back To the Future II." Nike's head designer Tinker Hatfield invited members of the press to a big announcement that's likely to coincide with this preview trailer showing Marty McFly's closet full of Air Mag 2015s. Power laces and light-up soles!

We'll also break news about a partnership between Google and Zagat's (rhymes with "da cat") Restaurant Guide, shed some light on reports about Netflix capping multiple streams, and you'll also find out how you can rent the studio set from the Conan O'Brien late-night show!

The 404 Digest for Episode 899

It's about time: Nike goes "Back to the Future." Conan writers put studio up on AirBnB. Scan shows what the right 3DS thumb stick add-on might look like. Google buys Zagat, in original-content gambit. Video voice mail from David showing a retro pinball arcade.

Video voice mail from Tessa and Matt on a backpacking trip in the Sierras. Justin's Daily Bathroom Break Video: Going to the Store: Normal Guy, Normal Walk.

Episode 899 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1547: Calm down: Netflix stream limits are just a bug! (They say.) (Podcast)

Carol Bartz is out at Yahoo and the stock is up, which has got to hurt. They're still raking in the cash, but shareholders hate nothing more than a plateau. Plus, Netflix swears that at least this time, its jerk move (restricting users to only one stream at a time) was a total accident, and they're definitely not doing that. Promise. Plus, Groupon's IPO roadshow is off and the IPO itself may be off for good, and the Droid Bionic has finally arrived. Hooray!

Yahoo's ad challenges: Social, mobile, operational

Yahoo, in the throes of a CEO transition after yesterday's ouster of Carol Bartz, has a central priority: fix advertising.

A company like Yahoo has two major constituencies, its audience and its advertisers. When it comes to making money, though, Yahoo has problems with both. People in the audience are spending more of their online lives on social networks and mobile devices, and the advertising market is shifting accordingly.

Compounding the problem is Yahoo's weak search-ad revenue, supplied through a Microsoft partnership after the rival took over Yahoo's search technology for its Bing site.

Plenty of companies … Read more

Netflix vs. Blockbuster: What's the best service for streaming and DVDs?

Editors' note (September 19, 2011): Since this story was first published, several important changes have occurred. Netflix has initiated new pricing plans and is spinning off its DVD-by-mail program into a separate company known as Qwikster; Starz content will be disappearing from Netflix streaming as of February 28, 2012; a new Blockbuster subscription streaming service is rumored to be debuting before the end of the year. We'll update this story in the future once the details on these new developments are fully revealed.

There are more choices than ever for your entertainment dollar, but Netflix and Blockbuster remain the only two that offer both online streaming and disc-by-mail options. Recent changes to both--a controversial Netflix price hike and a change of ownership for Blockbuster--make this a perfect time to re-examine how both of these vendors stack up against one another.

In the analysis below, we explain how Netflix and Blockbuster stack up against each other on both fronts (discs and streaming), look at the other competitors (including Hulu Plus, Amazon, Vudu, and iTunes), and make an overall recommendation on the best choices for you.… Read more