Youth Ministry Geek » hulu

Get Rid of Your Cable Bill

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:40:25 +0000

With every announcement of a major media company making their content available for free (with ads, of course) online, I have inched closer and closer to freeing myself of the tyranny of my local cable company. The major hangup for me has been that all those companies have been on their own sites which would mean that even if I hooked one of my computers up to a TV, I would end up having to go to each site to “channel surf.” Then Hulu came around making that problem a little less by aggregating a lot of that content into one site. But it was still incomplete until now.

I had been hearing about Boxee for the mac for a while and decided to try it out. Wow. Here’s a little equation that I think explains it perfectly: Hulu + Glory = Boxee. Can you access Hulu content? Yes. But you can also access a plethora of other online content from podcasts to MTV that all comes preloaded. And don’t worry, if you find some specific site or YouTube stream that you like, you can plug it in manually!

What this means for me is that I am going to save at least $50 a month by cancelling cable TV and using a computer hooked to my TV to get all the network content online. I mean, that’s enough to feed a family of five for one month and still have enough for two more latte’s!

Unfortunately, Boxee is Mac and Linux only, but rest easy. It is based on the XBMC software that has PC as well.

My Best of 2008

Chris — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:42:26 +0000

2008 was a big year for me and tech. It seems like a lot of the tools that I use everyday were not part of my workflow a year ago. Not all of them were new in 2008, but they became part of my everyday life this year. Maybe they can help you too.

Twitter – Love it or hate it, this has become a great tool for communicating, building community, and having fun. It’s by far my favorite social network.
Skype - Definitely not new, but I have started using it more than ever. Communicating with co-workers, or family when I’m away from home it’s great. I think it has one of the best video chats out there.
iPhone – This is another one you either love or hate, but I love it. I didn’t jump on the bandwagon when they first came out because it didn’t work with my exchange email, but now that it does, I think it’s one of the best smartphones I’ve used, and I’ve had a lot of them.
Evernote – This has become an indispensable for me when it comes to gathering information and keeping synced to all my devices.
WordPress – Another one that wasn’t new in 2008, but I really starting digging into it, and I think it’s the best blogging platform out there. It powers this blog and it’s definitely part of my everyday life now.
YouVersion – I just love having the versions of the Bible I like to read with me where ever I go. I still haven’t found myself using a lot of the tools it offers, but maybe in 2009.
Hulu – This one doesn’t really have anything to do with work, but I have found there are many shows that I enjoy watching that I just catch on Hulu whenever it works for me. There are a number of these tv streaming sites popping up, but Hulu is still my favorite.
Dropbox – I almost didn’t put this one on, but when I stop and think about it, I use it everyday to share files or keep them synced over multiple computers.
Mozy – Nothing about backup is exciting, but I feel a lot better about my data since I started using it.

What was your best from 2008?

Chris

POLL: You and Technology 2008

Free TV Online

Chris — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:23:44 +0000

I know more and more people who are giving up their cable subscriptions and opting to watch tv from the internet. Some are doing this to simplify their lives, others to save a few bucks. I have been thinking about this myself. Josh, over at morethandodgeball.com is living this right now, give his reviews of best sites for this. Here are his thoughts:

Hulu – this is the best of the bunch. Hulu is definitely the leader in online television, having worked out deals with multiple networks. The interface is super clean and works flawlessly, the queue feature stacks up shows you subscribe to in order so you never have to change the channel – the shows you want to watch just keep on coming. All this and tons of 720p HD offerings and even full length movies. Rate the commercials, lower lights, pop-out windows, embedding of videos anywhere on the web … a totally impressive experience. A+

NBC – the official website for the NBC network doesn’t get much love in my opinion. Though you can watch a ton of different shows in full length, there is nothing here that isn’t done better online somewhere else. They should just send everything to Hulu. C

CBS – there’s a few shows you can only get on the web (legally) from CBS’s official website. They’ve got a great video player, social viewing rooms and the quality is great. I like CBS, but sometimes have trouble when viewing full screen and it crops off the bottom half of the picture. Too bad I just don’t watch that many shows on CBS, but that’s another story altogether. B

ABC – ABC’s online player is absolutely impressive. At full screen, the video plays super smoothly and sometimes could fool you you’re watching a 720p TV signal. While the interface is impressive, it takes a little longer than the other to load and “click on to continue” comercials totally break up the experience. Still though, great looking TV shows (LOST next month) help pull this one up to almost awesome. A-

Sling – a slick new site that entered Beta (think early release for final testing) this week. Slick interface, limited ads, looks great full screen. It has the potential, but not quite there yet. B+

Joost – This is an interesting brand new one, with some great CBS content and some channels around personalities rather than a network. Behind the game, especially with Hulu running the table. B

Of all of them, I think Hulu is still the best, it’s fast and reliable. If this is something you are in to you might want to check out Boxee (sorry it’s only for Mac and Linux) it allows you to access online video through your computer or tv. I think I have a few invites left if they are still requiring them. Also don’t forget about streaming Netflix if you are a subscriber.

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