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While Hulu.com is not the YouTube killer its creators promised, I am still pretty impressed. The site is backed by two powerful TV content providers - NBC and Fox.

Hulu is one reason NBC shows like The Office aren’t available on iTunes anymore.

The site is in private beta right now, but I have been using it for a few months now and I like it. Imagine a nice 16×9 video window that has an easy to use interface (See examples). Want to fast forward, you can. In fact there is a time line that breaks down where the ad breaks should be. In my case, if I want to skip Jay Leno’s writer-free monologue on the Tonight Show to see the main guest, I can click past the second break.

The site has ads, but they are quick and to the point. What I noticed is that some of the ads even are geared to a web audience. They are not the same as you will see on TV. I can handle it.

Another thing I like is that Hulu breaks down videos by show or clip. Meaning you can watch an entire episode or just watch a quick clip of that funny sketch on Saturday Night Live or quick joke on Family Guy. Perfect for killing a short amount of time.

While we started 2007 off focusing on Joost, I have to admit I like Hulu better. Why? While Joost looks nice, it is a lot like the Sex Pistols song, “We’re so pretty, oh so pretty…we’re vacant!” I just never found a lot of compelling content on Joost. Meanwhile there are plenty of shows old and current from both NBC and Fox on Hulu.

And being P2P, Joost locks you down to a certain computer. Being a web site, Hulu.com is portable. Watch it at home or on the go. That is truly valuable.

Hulu talks about upcoming HD video on the web which should be really interesting. But it isn’t all rosy. While it could have been the network I was on, one time I did have a sluggish experience as my video stream stopped and started. That is annoying and probably why the site is still private beta as the infrastructure is being expanded for new users.

Overall I like Hulu and really have to wonder if this is the next step in the evolution of the media and the slow death of traditional television.

If you’re a Hulu user, I would love to hear your thoughts, but still want to hear from you even if you are not a Hulu user.

(Image courtesy of Flickr user michael.vanos)

I talked about starting this book last month and finally finished it a few weeks ago. If you like the TV network nightly newscasts then you must Reality Show by Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post and CNN.

Kurtz gets inside information on the news biz because he spent time with the folks in the newsrooms of each network.

What makes it fascinating is the timing. We are seeing the changing of the guard in anchors and a whimsical viewing audience. How will the networks survive?

If you work in local TV, you will actually see similarities in how the big boys do it compared to your newsroom. Plus, it is fascinating to read the background of the anchors and how many were told they were no good on the way up.

You can read Kurtz’s blog from the book tour here.

Lane widening for big vehicles will take nearly all trees on Kirby, City Forester says

I’m tired of writing about Axl Rose’s new Guns N’ Roses and the long coming album Chinese Democracy. Bloggers keep reporting release dates that turn out untrue, the band tours with no sign of a complete album and I am sick of it.

Ok, but I can’t resist this rumor that has appeared several places now. Chinese Democracy is finished but now Geffen and Axl have a legal fight brewing on just how to release the reported $13 million album.

MetalSucks has more.

RELATED
GUNS N’ ROSES’ ‘Chinese Democracy’ Album ‘Was Finished Before Christmas’
SLASH Itching To Start New VELVET REVOLVER Disc

(Image courtesy of Flickr user Dave Nicoll)

Will Dark Knight’s viral web marketing campaign change after Heath Ledger’s death?
For nearly nine months, Internet-savvy movie fans have been tantalized by a Web marketing campaign to slowly unveil the new look for one of Hollywood’s most popular characters: the Joker, nemesis to Batman and a central figure in the next installment of the Warner Bros. film franchise based on the Caped Crusader.

Apple’s MacBook Air is beautiful and thin, but omits features
Apple finally has entered the subnotebook market, introducing a lightweight laptop meant to please road warriors. But, typical of Apple, the company took a different approach from its competitors.

Utterz now supports webcam posting
Utterz now supports posting via webcam.

CBS to make Internet music Unit, Last.fm, more like radio
CBS said Wednesday that it would expand its Internet music service, Last.fm, to allow users to listen to any song on their computers whenever they wanted, up to three times.

Second Life is having economic woes too
In the real world, banks are reeling from the subprime-mortgage mess. In the online game Second Life, a shutdown of the make-believe banking system is causing real-life havoc for thousands of people.

Can the Touch Revive Apple’s iPod Sales?
Investors are all in a tizzy that Apple is only promising them a 30 percent growth, year over year, in its first-quarter revenue. But looking at the company’s fourth-quarter 2007 results, it’s clear that the company is doing very, very well.

Roger Ebert is headed to Houston for surgery, most likely in the Texas Medical Center reports the Chicago Sun-Times:

Fresh from his coverage Tuesday of the Academy Award nominations, Roger Ebert is headed for Houston to undergo yet another surgery.

If all goes well, the Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic for the Sun-Times and host of the syndicated “Ebert & Roeper” should be free of complications from a series of cancer surgeries he has had in recent years.

Although a tracheostomy left his speaking voice “on hold” and kept him off his television show, Ebert managed to resume a full load of writing duties.

READ THE FULL STORY

(Thanks Ed!)

Went and saw the Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World and Against Me at the Toyota Center in Houston Tuesday night. It was a good show in parts and VERY loud. You might say I am just getting too old, but I swear that Metallica in the same venue wasn’t THAT loud a few years ago.

The Foo Fighters delivered as usual. This was the third time I have seen them. Dave Grohl is an excellent front man (and drummer although he did not touch them all night). Grohl set Taylor Hawkins up to be booed by the crowd when he announed Taylor was from Dallas (if the reverse were true, Dallas would boo too). Needless to say Grohl is a funny guy.

In the middle of the show, a second stage drops into the middle of the arena, and the Foos play an acoustic show. Original Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear showed up in Houston for this part along with other musicians.

Jimmy Eat World has a few hits I like, the rest of the time I was bored. I didn’t like how they shot spot lights into the audience. Where I was sitting, it was actually blinding. So not only was I experiencing hearing loss, but I was also blinded.

Against Me needs to put up a sign behind them that says who they are. People around us thought they were Jimmy Eat World. I knew better because I’ve heard their music on Liquid Buzz 94.5 HD2. It’s not bad.

Well, as of this writing, I still have a ringing in my left ear. Guess that means we rocked?

RELATED
- Foo Fighters bring heart, humor to Houston show
- Interview: Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters

(Image courtesy of Flickr user diandrawr - image not from Houston show)

We now know that Star Jones is one of those people who will not stick around during a TV interview that is not going her way. From TMZ:

Don’t ever question Star about her star treatment!

In this video, a reporter attempted to get some answers from the former ‘View’-er about claims that she took money and other pricey perks from a Detroit non-profit for a speaking gig she never delivered, but Star didn’t want to hear a word about it.

She abruptly interrupted the interview, pushed her way through the crew and stormed out of the office.

WATCH THE CLIP

(Thanks Joe!)
(Image courtesy Flickr user Chance98)

Frances Buch worked for CBS television in the 1940s. She was the first female television director and an early on air talent. Read her story.

(Thanks Ed)

HouStoned has a funny pretend scenario where writer John Royal takes Houston sports media figures and makes them political pundits.