[RoBoPet]

With all due respect to other comments regarding networks, itunes, ownership of content, and portability... these comments overlook the obvious. Portability is not really much of an issue for those of us who just aren't that interested in watching video on our cell phones, iphone, or ipods. iTunes - yes it is great - but it also has problems... permission problems, download problems, quality problems, and you have to pay for it.

For me - and I have to assume that I am not in some minority user status - hulu is a god send.

I don't want to own all the content I watch. It is not important to me to have every show in my collection - especially if I can access and watch it for free anytime I like on a FREE service like hulu. I don't want to have to pay for cable. And honestly I really don't want to have to pony up $2 everytime I want to check out a tv show on iTunes. Commercials? Who cares - I get them on cable anyway. In iTunes I get adverts on the site. Watch a few commercials - so I can see my favorite shows for FREE!? Sounds like a deal to me.

Here's my breakdown. iTunes is better than cable with out a doubt. Hulu is a great alternative to both iTunes and cable and other fee based services.

And regarding portability - I thought the iphone was supposed to be able to work with youtube. Browse the internet from your iphone right? The proof of delivery on this was something less than stellar... online access via the iphone i something of a joke right now. But do we assume that it will always be so? Are we assuming that streaming video on demand will never be a possibility for the iphone? I don't think so. You can bet that in the not too distant future providers like hulu will be accessible via the much beloved iphone and ipods with wireless. I think comments to the contrary indicate truly antiquated thinking about potential for the future of services like hulu.

In any case my personal experience with hulu as a beta user has been great. Rather than knocking a great service try it out. IT'S FREE ! If you don't like it don't use it. I signed up for beta and got an account. Several friends of mine did too. They happily access shows they really like via their browsers and normal web connections. The popout features on hulu have been great too - a lot of people find they really are more productive when they have the TV going in the background while they work. Hulu is great for this.

So yes if you want to own all your shows - iTunes is great. But if you want to watch tv for free when ever you want then Hulu is a truly amazing option that is legal, easy to use, and completely free. (I consider an occasional 15 second station break free). Seems kind of silly to get so negative about a great service that doesn't cost you anything.

[Chris Breen]

With all due respect, some of your points are a little glossy.

To begin with, you can watch its content whenever you want, provided that whenever you want you're sitting in front of a computer that's connected to the Internet. Not having the ability to stream the thing to a real TV or place it on a device that you can watch during a flight is a failing.

The iPhone and the web: Do you have an iPhone? Have you tried browsing the web via a WiFi connection? If so, what's the problem? Works fine for me (lack of support for Flash notwithstanding). Yes, EDGE is slow, but at least you have the option to surf slowly if you have to. Hulu is broadband or nothing.

More productive with the TV on in the background? Seriously? Man, I've got to get a job like that.

As for the negative comments, I think you're seeing the reaction of those such as myself who've grown accustomed to controlling the content they consume via devices like the iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, and TiVo. In this regard Hulu is a step backward as it's forcing an old model -- one where commercials are a requirement and you're required to use a particular hunk of equipment (a computer) -- on an audience that is kind of over that experience.

In addition, NBC leaves iTunes and this is the alternative? Ick.

Yes, there's free and then there's free and unencumbered. Hulu may be the first, but it's nowhere near the latter.

[Mochi]

Wow man! with all due respect talk about glossy ! Free and unencumbered? Well yeah, you are free to roll the dice and pay money for shows you've not watched. Free to be a good consumer and spend a lot of money on expensive tiny screened devices of questionable merit. You are free to get a job where you can watch tv shows while you work. Or you are free to spend your off work hours at your current job "controlling the content you consume".

Personally I am not interested in wasting my time watching tv on an iphone. Yes I've got an ipod - I like it - I will use it occasionally for videos when traveling - its good for music. I've tried the iphone and it seems to me to be an enormous waste of money - but I'll grant you it is an entertaining novelty item.

I guess the definition of unencumbered forgot about the cost of entry for an iphone or ipod. iTunes yes it is great - a really great online institution. But it is not free and it's not unencumbered. The truth is Some people like to pay a lot for their content and don't mind those dollars going to major corporations. Others don't. Those that don't, usually have a lot better things to do with their time and money than watch TV (on a computer, an ipod, an iphone, or apple tv.)

I'd rather give my money to local arts institutions than put those hard earned dollars into Apple's or NBC's corporate pockets or the pockets of any other mega-corp. To those lonely folks out there who are spending their time peering at tiny screens while they control and consume their content I say the following: Look around. Go outside. Go dancing. Go to a concert. Learn to play a musical instrument. Support your local symphony. Read an actual book that you can get from a real library or a local (not a chain) book store. This is from someone who's been making her living in art and design on Apple computers for the last 10 years and who has a total of about 3 hours a week to watch tv (rabbit ears and PBS are more than enough. I'm sure that hulu now that I've heard about it will provide a nice alternative for more.) But seriously if you have more time than that on your hands that is being filled with videos and tv, you need a hobby. Put your iphones away and go out and do something in your communities that makes a positive difference. Be truly creative. Don't play make-believe with glossy little iTrinkets.

[Chris Breen]

Mochi, while TV was once black and white, the lives of most people aren't. It's quite possible, even likely, that those who happen to enjoy their iPods/iPhones/Macs/technological gewgaws also have other interests. Many of them might coincide with your own. A good number of the Mac users I know have a background in the arts, either professionally or as a serious hobby. Just because they happen to enjoy their iTrinkets doesn't preclude them from also being creative people.

So, less of the high horse, if you please. Good on you for being an artist. I spend far more of my day making music than watching TV. And because I do, I like to use what little time I devote to the boob tube to be focused on the content I want to see (meaning no commercials and on devices that allow me the most freedom).