The Internet

Hulu debuted some interesting features in their Hulu Labs section, including a desktop client that allows you to use a standard Windows Media Player or Apple remote to control playback of their video content. Hulu was just a convenient source of online movies and television before. Now, it lets people sit back and use it in the same manner as a television. That’s huge.

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The good folks at Lifehacker has tossed together a comprehensive list of feeds to watch the Obama inauguration.  I pointed out the Hulu link earlier in this blog, but this gives you some other options in case something goes wrong.  Remember, this is going to be an extremely popular event attracting viewers from around the word, so you might encounter slow feeds or skipping videos at some of these sites.  To keep an uninterrupted feed, you might want to have a couple of locations open and available, just in case.  Don’t start one feed until you’ve stopped the other, though - you’ll notice a slowdown on video playback on all of them, especially on a slower computer.

In a move seemingly destined to crash servers around the globe, Hulu will be streaming the inaguration live on Tuesday, January 20th.  If you head over the site now, there’s a countdown clock and a link to help embed the code in any website or blog you may have control over. Let’s hope Hulu has the strength to withstand the onslaught.

Tossing in a tape, setting the VCR and hoping nothing went wrong used to be the only line of defense between a show’s original broadcast time and your busy schedule.  With TiVO, cable DVRs and the like, it’s easier than it used to be, but it still requires you to keep up with the schedule and set your device to record the shows.  And what happens when you run out of hard drive space?  There are a few places for you to catch up with your shows.  Mostly for free.

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