Appletell

Since its introduction by Apple on January 9th, 2001, iTunes has become one of the most popular music library organization apps ever.  It started off simple and eventually became what it is today, a place not only to organize files, but to shop, learn, and watch.  With so much growth, large deals, and new features in the past few years, it makes me wonder where iTune’s place will be in the future.  When digital sales take over physical media, will it be because of iTunes?  Will iTunes one day start a revolution in how we purchase and handle all of our DVDs, music, and TV shows?  Or will iTunes eventually slip away into the past and be replaced by a whole new app or movement?

With the direction iTunes is headed now, it seems like it very well could be the driving force behind moving totally to digital sales for some.  It has one of the biggest music selections available anywhere, allows you to rent movies, releases new DVD titles the same day as hard copies, and contains all sort of other media, such as podcasts and TV shows.  With only a couple more deals and updates, iTunes could soon be the place to go for all of your media.  This would almost completely eliminate the need for physical media.  Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t think this will happen anytime very soon, but it is possible.  But what would seal the deal for moving completely to digital media?

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As most people know, the 2007-2008 television season was severely hampered by the Writers Strike that lasted over three months. It resulted in some cancellations, some delayed seasons (I want my 24!) and it also proved good for some other shows that likely would have been cancelled had the networks not needed new material to fill the schedule.

One group that was hurt by the strike are those who purchase season passes on iTunes. Many shows ran incomplete seasons, and so many people payed for many more episodes than they received. Apple answered this problem with a couple different deals:

For television shows that were cancelled because of the strike, Apple is offering partial refunds.

For television shows, like Heroes, that lost episodes because of the strike, Apple is offering two free video credits that will work for TV episodes, short films, or music videos. Feature films are not included.

These refunds, etc. have apparently been applied to iTunes accounts, so check in to see if you have any free video passes waiting for you!

Via [ArsTechnica]

MacRumors.com is reporting that Hulu, the joint venture between NBC and FOX, is planning an iPhone and iPod Touch compatible version of the site to be released as early as Thursday. MacRumors stresses that this is an anonymous tip, which means it is not very reliable.

An iPhone compatible site is technically feasible, because Hulu videos are based off of Apple’s H.264 video codec, which is what YouTube uses to get video onto the iPhone. BBC recently launched their iPlayer in the same fashion, so there is proof that it can be done. Making an iPhone compatible version would be a sizeable blow to iTunes, because up until now, if you wanted to take TV shows on the go, iTunes was the easiest and most obvious way to do it. If Hulu offers a free, on the go repository of all NBC, FOX and many old TV shows, iTunes might see a decrease in traffic.

The tip says that the iPhone version of Hulu will be released Thursday, so we’ll know in a couple of days.

Read [MacRumors]

Video site Hulu has moved out of private beta, effective Thursday. Hulu is a joint venture between NBC and FOX that was created after NBC pulled out of iTunes due to pricing disputes. It offers free streaming video of full episodes of most shows on General electric (NBC Parent Company) and FOX owned stations, plus some older shows, like “Who’s the Boss” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Hulu is funded by ads placed at commercial breaks in shows. A 15 or 30 second ad, usually from the same sponsor, plays 3 times during an hour-long show, and twice during a half-hour show.

In the new version, a Hulu operator notes, users can pick the ads they want to view. The new version also adds Warner Bros. full length feature films and NBA and NHL highlights and historic games.

While not direct competition to iTunes, Hulu is an obvious alternate to iTunes for watching TV shows you may have missed.

Via [Electronista]