I admit I was skeptical when Hulu.com first launched. It was around the time when NBC pull out of iTunes Store and cooked up this new venture with FOX. Well, that was a year or two ago. Since then, NBC has returned to iTunes, and Hulu proves that it has its own place in the world. To me the relationship between Hulu and iTunes is equal to yesterday’s television and DVD. People buy DVD movies even if the movie is shown on television or on cable. Shows and movies on iTunes is something that you own, you can play them any time and anywhere, on your mac, on your AppleTV, on your iPhone, on your iPod. Hulu, one step better than yesterday’s television broadcast, can plays at any time you want, but is subject to your Internet connection and how many 30 seconds commercial you can stomached (and you can’t fast-forward them, unlike the 3 minutes commercial breaks on your Tivo~), luckily they keep the commercials in minimum, usually maybe 4 in an hour. I didn’t think it was possible, but seems like Hulu and iTunes can co-exist and complement each other.

Now the past few months we witness the drama of Hulu trying to keep their contents in the cage of the web browser while Boxee tried to liberate them. Now we found out why Hulu does that – they release their own app Hulu Desktop. Now for people who has a giant HDTV in their living room who wishes to toss cable for Hulu, this app does nothing for you, but for me, someone who watch his shows exclusively on his 24″ iMac, this is a welcoming addition to Plex and Front Row! From the design point of view, the interface of Hulu Desktop is sexy! The high gloss black make Boxee looks downright ugly. Even Plex and Front Row doesn’t look as good by comparison! The interface works well with the remote, just like all the other media center apps. You got all the contents in Hulu with easy navigation. It has fast become my destination for all late night talk shows – which i don’t mind with some commercial interruption, unlike scripted shows which I would said don’t u dare to interrupt me!

One fun trivia about Hulu is its name. It comes from the two Chinese words for calabash or bottle gourd. They choose such a name because in ancient times or in myths, calabash was usually hollowed out and used to hold precious things range from water to medicine to magic. Hulu also sounds like another two Chinese words which means interactive recording. It’s obvious the name is highly appropriate to what the creators want Hulu to be.

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Tagged: Apps · Hulu · Internet · Television