computerwoche.de

Archiv

First look: Hulu Desktop

29.05.2009
Some months ago, (or, at least, attempted to) from playing its content within the --an application that allows you to enjoy web-based streaming media content without the hassle of accessing it through a Web browser. And, at the time, many wondered what was in it for Hulu. Its commercials played within Boxee so Hulu continued to have the requisite eyeballs running over (or looking away) from one of its income streams.

Yesterday, a piece of the puzzle was revealed in the form of the beta . Unlike with Boxee, Hulu has complete control over Hulu Desktop's actions--actions such as commercial interactivity and advertising embedded in the interface that provides additional revenue for the company.

I've had some hands-on time with Hulu Desktop and these are my thoughts.

Hulu has already updated Hulu Desktop, and for good reason. The initial build was flaky. Although I was able to get it to launch once, subsequent attempts found an application that stalled out while attempting to load content. Thankfully an update, issued just hours later, appears to have fixed these problems.

that you have a Mac with an Intel Pentium Core Duo 2.0GHz or better with 2GB of RAM, running Tiger or Leopard over a 2Mbps or faster Internet connection. This is reasonable, though not an absolute requirement. I managed to get Hulu Desktop running on a Dual 2GHz Power Mac G5 with 1.5GB of RAM and it launched and played, though the video wasn't smooth. It did play smoothly, however, on my 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini with 4GB of RAM, that I .