As the World Turns: the Hulu/Boxee Soap Opera
March 10th 2009 14:06
If there's one thing I hate in this world, (actually, there are quite a few) it's when a decision is made with no apparent motivation other than to show that the "deciders" have the power to do so. Hulu's decision to block access to it's site through Boxee certainly qualifies. Boxee, an open source media browsing application designed to provide quick and easy access to streamable video and music content, had been the savior of my home entertainment system. Where I live, cable TV is very limited. I also work nights, so I miss a lot of the shows I could watch. I really would rather not utilize Bit-torrents, or shell out the bucks for better cable, satellite or DVR, especially if an alternative is staring me right in the face.
Sure, I can still get Hulu on my PS3, but it's not just a simple click away like it was with the Boxee hack on my Apple TV. And even if I could get past the frustration of navigating the PS3's web browser, it doesn't provide true full-screen like I was getting on my Apple TV.
The folks at Boxee are still fighting with workarounds to remain Hulu accessible. In fact, as I'm writing this post, the Twitter feed ishuluonboxee reports that Hulu is working. But no one has yet to offer a reasonable explanation as to why this is even an issue. I found stories on PC World, Engadget and CNET, all reporting on the absolute absurdness of the whole thing with no leads to answer "why?"
Ads are still shown, everything is exactly the same as it would be on a computer, just easier and more appealing to access, so it makes no sense. When record companies started suing P2P users last decade, at least that was understandable on principle. But Boxee is safe, legal and convenient.... I could ramble on and on, but it just makes my media-deprived brain throb relentlessly.
Fortunately, I have hope via Dan Moren over at Macworld.
"Some of you may remember my cardinal rule of technology (never bet against the hackers)--like many corporations, the content providers here (or, well, 'content witholders' in this scenario) don't seem to have realized that they're on the losing end of this battle."
Thanks Dan, let's hope the good folks at Boxee and those poor, confused NBC-Universal execs can settle their differences soon.
Sure, I can still get Hulu on my PS3, but it's not just a simple click away like it was with the Boxee hack on my Apple TV. And even if I could get past the frustration of navigating the PS3's web browser, it doesn't provide true full-screen like I was getting on my Apple TV.
The folks at Boxee are still fighting with workarounds to remain Hulu accessible. In fact, as I'm writing this post, the Twitter feed ishuluonboxee reports that Hulu is working. But no one has yet to offer a reasonable explanation as to why this is even an issue. I found stories on PC World, Engadget and CNET, all reporting on the absolute absurdness of the whole thing with no leads to answer "why?"
Fortunately, I have hope via Dan Moren over at Macworld.
"Some of you may remember my cardinal rule of technology (never bet against the hackers)--like many corporations, the content providers here (or, well, 'content witholders' in this scenario) don't seem to have realized that they're on the losing end of this battle."
Thanks Dan, let's hope the good folks at Boxee and those poor, confused NBC-Universal execs can settle their differences soon.
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