It’s Just Cool: Hulu Desktop

Hulu's relatively new desktop app turns your computer into what you wish your TV could be: a massive source of on-demand television content easily managed via remote control. And if you're one of the few who's slung a PC or Mac off your LCD or Plasma TV, you now have the ultimate on-demand set-top box.

My experience is with the Mac version via a Mini I keep connected to my TV. Start the Hulu app, and you're ready to navigate all of Hulu's content easily with an Apple remote. As you can see from the picture above, the app organizes content in the same fashion as the Hulu website, allowing you to easily track down a particular show.

Clicking the left or right buttons on the remote while watching brings up a progress bar across the bottom of the screen showing your current playback position. With the same buttons you can then scrub the pointer around to wherever you'd like to continue playback. When you pause during scrubbing the app displays a picture-in-picture still from the pointer's location. Truthfully this all sounds much more complex than it really is; just run and enjoy.

The best part: It's free. If you're interested, follow the link below to grab a copy for Mac or Windows. (Sorry, Linux fans.)

Hulu Desktop [Hulu Labs]