What the Heck Is Hulu?

I noted the spate of stories last spring when NBC Universal and News Corp. launched a joint venture called Hulu. I grasped that it had something to do with TV and the Internet, but I never quite figured out the real deal. This story from the Los Angeles Times unwraps the mystery. Hulu lets you watch TV shows, clips and episodes on your computer -- much as you can on network sites, but the links are all in one place. The story calls it a department-store model as opposed to a single-label boutique -- Nordstrom, not Abercrombie & Fitch. It's like Joost, only better and less intrusive. I got rid of Joost--too many annoying e-mails. I went on hulu.com after I read this story, and I liked what I saw. Also worth noting: Hulu signed a deal with rival Viacom allowing it to show complete episodes of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report."