Hulu plus for Xbox 360 is out

Image via CrunchBaseDisclaimer: I am in the middle of one of my well-documented encounters with Insomnia. You've been warned.

Very early impressions:

Noticed the Hulu plus sponsored mode on the dashboard around 5:45 AM DST.
Took me a few clicks and one failed Google search to find out how the hell to download the stupid dashboard app. Eventually found it by going to the only obvious place in the dashboard where such a thing would be.
The dashboard app had an update, this was installed instantly and with no interruption.
I already have Hulu Plus, logging-in was painless and did not involve going to hulu.com to authorize the device.
Usage is consistent with the UI for things like Netflix and the Zune Marketplace. It took me less than a minute to get up to speed.
Watched a Daily Show clip, looked fine even if the volume was a bit off. And yes, there are ads even if you pay for Plus, which is the same experience as using a browser or the Roku HD.
Watched a trailer for Priest in HD. It looks perfect, which worried me since it is one of those movies with a trailer that is just TOO GOOD and makes you wonder if they simply crammed all of the good stuff into the trailer and the rest of the movie is going to suck.
Checked out my queue, both of my shows still there are web-only, which really irritates me. Why the hell Archer and COPS haven't released rights for non-browser viewing? Hello? We are almost halfway through 2011!

And that's it. It took me maybe a minute to install the app, login was a non-issue and the UI is consistent with the way other video apps work in the console. The user experience is no worse than using the Roku HD. And don't forget that Hulu plus is free until next week since the launch was sponsored by Jack Link's Beef Jerky.

Comments

On sleep deprivation and Incan Monkey Gods

From: Dilbert comic strip for 08/03/1992 from the official Dilbert comic strips archive. I was trying to show this strip to a coworker who is dangerously toying with the harsh mistress that is Insomnia. What shocked me is how quickly I was able to look up the strip, which was published when he was just 11 years old, and two weeks before my just-out-of-college ass shipped out to US Army Basic Training.

The Black Hole

If this was a minigolf hole, you can't reach B from A. Ever. If this was a room lined with mirrors, and you lit a candle at point A, you can't see it from B, not even reflected. Update: I guess I didn't explain this all the way through. You can't reach B from A with just one stroke, there's no direct line between them, and there is no way to bounce the ball (assuming perfect conditions). Thanks to Ben for pointing this obvious error.

Add custom speed settings to your ifit map workout

Ifit.com allows you to build a workout walk/race/bike route simply by clicking on a Google Maps interface. You can then use a compatible ifit-enabled workout machine to recreate the route automatically. The problem is that the user interface still isn't final, so there are features in place that aren't exactly obvious. For example, if you create a workout your machine starts at 1 MPH, because that's the default. But how to set it to start at say, 3 MPH? Easy, just switch from map view to graph view: That button switches from the Google Maps interface to a chart that allows you to visualize and control effort: You can't change the elevation, this is fixed due to the geography that you selected. But you can drag the yellow (speed line) to change the speed of your device. What if you want to have segments at different speeds? Easy, just click and drag and it will break the line, and you can drag each segment of the line independently: ...

The Insomniac Coder

Search This Blog