Hulu Starting a $9.95 Premium Subscription Service in May?

Hulu has been one of the darlings of the Internet thanks to its high-quality content that’s available for free. Millions of users love streaming television shows over Hulu, but will they love it enough to pay $9.95 a month for it? According to The LA Times, the company is preparing a premium service that could launch as early as May 24:

Under the proposal, Hulu would continue to provide for free the five most recent episodes of shows like Fox’s Glee, ABC’s Lost or NBC’s Saturday Night Live. But viewers who want to see additional episodes would pay $9.95 a month to access a more comprehensive selection, called Hulu Plus, these people said.

I go through phases with my Hulu consumption. There are some weeks when I absolutely love it and can’t get enough of its streaming awesomeness. There are also months when I don’t use the service at all. I would be willing to pay $9.95 a month for Hulu…but it would have to work across multiple devices like my consoles, iPhone, etc.

How about you? Do you dig Hulu? Would you be willing to drop money on a premium Hulu subscription?

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Live Long and Prosper: Leonard Nimoy Announces His Retirement

Leonard Nimoy, best known as Mr. Spock from the Star Trek television series and movies, has announced that he’s retiring at age 79. He told The Toronto Sun:

I’ve been doing this professionally for 60 years. I love the idea of going out on a positive note. I’ve had a great, great time.

I want to get off the stage. Also, I don’t think it would be fair to Zachary Quinto. He’s a terrific actor, he looks the part, and it’s time to give him some space. And I’m very flattered the character will continue.

Nimoy’s Spock is one of the most iconic characters in the history of geek culture. It’s great to see him leave on a high note. His performance in the Star Trek reboot was excellent, but prior to that he touched the lives of millions of nerds around the world for decades. He will be missed.

Out of curiosity, do you have a favorite Mr. Spock moment?

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BlackBerry 9670 Spotted: OS 6 CDMA Flip Phone (?!?)

Boy Genius Report has posted pictures of the BlackBerry 9670 — a CDMA clamshell phone running BlackBerry OS 6.0. Using CDMA tech means it will be headed to Sprint or Verizon in America. Here are more details from the site:

The BlackBerry 9670 is a CDMA device packed to the brim with a full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera (a first!), Wi-Fi, a 360×480 internal display, huge external display, trackpad, OS 6.0, microUSB port, microSD internal storage slot, Bluetooth, and a metallic finish casing.

I really have to roll my eyes at RIM on this one. A flip phone? Really?!? I’d quote the Black Eyed Peas and say that the company is “so 2000-and-late”…but it would be more accurate to say that it’s stuck in 2002. The smartphone market is currently dominated by candy-bar and slider phones. I don’t hear anyone clamoring for the return of clamshell phones. Perhaps RIM thinks the Motorola RAZR is still cutting edge. *sigh*

Perhaps I’m wrong about this one. What do you think of the design? Do flip phones have a place in 2010?

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Iron Man 2 Dev Diary: Behind the Music with Lamb of God

The latest Iron Man 2 developer diary tells the story of how Sega and Lamb of God teamed up on the game. Members of the band and the dev team talk about the collaboration between developer/publisher and band. Lamb of God’s single “Hit the Wall” is the game’s official theme song. It’s a cool clip and I hope you check it out!

Coffee Talk #128: Predicting the Rest of This Gen’s Console Wars

In preparation for my interview with EEDAR Jesse Divnich, I wanted you ladies and gents to play analyst for a second. This console generation is roughly halfway over, depending on how long you believe this gen will last. The Nintendo Wii has slaughtered the competition. The Xbox 360 has done very well. The PlayStation 3 had been picking up steam since August 2009. How do you think the rest of this generation will play out?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Big Ben’s suspension, Crystal Bowersox almost quitting American Idol, or RIM being stuck in 2002, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Reminder: please submit your questions for EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich here. He’s cool, smart, and awesome. You should ask him some questions.

In preparation for my interview with EEDAR Jesse Divnich, I wanted you ladies and gents to play analyst for a second. This console generation is roughly halfway over, depending on how long you believe this gen will last. The Nintendo Wii has slaughtered the competition. The Xbox 360 has done very well. The PlayStation 3 had been picking up steam since August 2009. How do you think the rest of this generation will play out?

Will Nintendo be able to sustain its ridiculous momentum? If not, will it still be able to edge out the others? Will Natal give Xbox 360 a boost in the casual market? Will the PlayStation 3 be able to do the same with PS Move? Do you think Sony can catch Microsoft?

Let your opinions fly (please) and predict the rest of this generation’s console wars!

Blizzard Bans Over 320,000 Battle.net Accounts

Blizzard has swung its mighty banhammer to the tune of 320,000 banned accounts. The offenders were apparently up to no good in Diablo II and Warcraft III. It’s also interesting to note that a lot of the bans are a result of the community policing itself. Here’s a quote from Blizzard’s forum post:

Many account closures come as the direct result of tips emailed to our hacks team by legitimate Battle.net users. If you come across a hack, find a site responsible for distributing hacks, or have a replay of a newly available hack, please report this to our hacks team at hacks@blizzard.com or through our Hacks Report Form at http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&tag=hacksform

It’s great that the community helps sort itself out…but I have to wonder if some players are viewed are narcs.

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Nintendo 3DS Coming in October?

According to CVG, the Nintendo 3DS is coming earlier than expected — October 2010. The site revealed:

UK industry sources have today informed us that the platform holder is readying an October launch for the system — which it will announce at E3.

While Nintendo’s handheld gaming systems have sold well every month of the year, releasing the 3DS in October would allow it to take advantage of the extremely lucrative holiday sales period. As I mentioned during GDC, the developers I spoke with were aiming to finish their games by the end of the year, so October could be a feasible release.

What do you think of CVG’s rumor? Is October too early? Or is it just right?

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BlackBerry 6.0 Screens Unearthed: Too Little, Too Late?

Boy Genius Report has posted a bunch of screens of an early version of RIM’s BlackBerry 6.0 software. The site claims to have seen the OS in action. BlackBerry fans will want to check it out, as the OS looks like a much-needed advancement. While RIM is still king in the business world, its OS is laughably crude compared to modern, consumer-oriented operating systems iPhone OS, Android, and WebOS. Meanwhile, RIM’s competitors have made significant strides in the enterprise space.

BlackBerry 6.0 is expected to launch on a new phone this summer.

If you get a chance to check out the screens, I’d love to know what you think. Will BlackBerry 6.0 be enough for RIM to stay competitive in the consumer space? Or will the company continue to get trounced in the consumer market while slowly losing ground in the business space?

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Nintendo Classic Controller Pro Now Available for $19.99

Nintendo has announced that the Classic Controller Pro for Wii is now available for an MSRP of $19.99. The controller is available in black and white colors. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Featuring two rows of shoulder buttons and ergonomically designed grips, the Classic Controller Pro is compatible with more than 460 Wii, WiiWare and Virtual Console games. It plugs directly into the Wii Remote controller to provide a unique control option for veteran gamers and newcomers alike.

Are any of you planning on buying one? If so, are you going black or white?