Sure, Facebook is positioned to become the new homepage of the web, but I think the new Digg is a solid step in the right direction. It’s ten times easier to use, ten times prettier, and interactive. Quality work Kevin Rose.

Hulu Plus’ announcement got my pretty excited, today. All episodes of current and past seasons of popular shows available in HD on my iPad, iPhone, PS3, and TV for $9.99 is pretty good. Some things, though, are not so good and some things are still up in the air. I emailed Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, and asked him about two things that I was confused about (and slightly angry): content availability and advertising. Check out the email below:

Mr. Kilar,

First I’d just like to say I’m an avid Hulu user and have been waiting for some method to watch Hulu on my iPad and iPhone for months now, and I’m totally pumped and will easily pay the $9.99 for Hulu Plus. If only I could get an invite code!

But I do have a couple of questions:

How soon will Hulu Plus content be available for streaming after airing on TV? House, for instance, is available for streaming 8 days after broadcast airing now; will Hulu Plus have that same 8 day delay? And if there still is a delay, why is it there if I’m now paying for this content? I think Hulu Plus content should air same-night as broadcast content; if I’m giving you $9.99 for it, I should get it near-instantly.

What is this $9.99/month used for if Hulu Plus is ad-supported? I’d guess you have to pay content providers for rights to more shows, but you’re getting that from this new $9.99 pricing; so why keep playing ads in these Hulu Plus shows? Development of the software for the new supported devices couldn’t have cost so much that you’d need to recoup losses with ads.

Thanks,

Jonathan Friedman

life tip: New York in the summer, generally not a very good idea.

After reading Matt Buchanan’s article about Mobile Me, iTunes, and the Cloud, I decided to email the overlord. Here’s that email:

Dear Steve,

I’m gonna start out by saying this: you’d be hard-pressed to find someone as devoted to your company and your products than myself.

I’ve had every iteration of iPhone (and proudly stood in line on launch day for each one) and stood in line on both the WiFi iPad and 3G iPad’s launch days (I got my mom a 16GB WiFi at launch, then got myself a 64GB 3G). I’ve used every iteration of iMac, and my first real computer (after using a crappy emachines for a year and switching to my Dad’s old PowerBook G3) was the iMac G5. I’m now running a top of line MacBook Pro on my desk while I take my iPad everywhere.  And I’m waiting anxiously for your WWDC keynote next week where you’ll hopefully be announcing the next iPhone. If you asked anyone that knows me, you’d see that when anyone brings up Apple in any context, I become a drone that is programmed to rave about the company and/or defend it from attacks from Googlers, PC users, and BlackBerriers. Just thought you’d like to know my level of devotion.

So now here’s the point. Android’s got some nice features. While most of those are outweighed by its clunkiness, fragmentation, speed issues, and general lack of beauty, it’s got some good ones: wifi syncing, non-obtrusive notifications (just like on the Pre), widgets, and that’s pretty much it. I’m gonna focus on the wifi syncing, though. But I’d love me some widgets and non-obtrusive notifications.

I just read this article by Matt Buchanan, an editor at Gizmodo (undoubtedly not one of your favorite sites right now), but it was great. It was about the cloud and MobileMe and iTunes and the fact that Google’s got us beat right now in terms of the cloud and syncing. It suggested mashing MobileMe and iTunes into one service all in the cloud. http://gizmodo.com/5552953/why-arent-i-the-center-of-the-apple-universe?skyline=true&s=i - that’s a link to the article and it’s called Why Aren’t I the Center of the Apple Universe. John Gruber had a similar post a week back - http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/05/27/agarwal-mobile-me.

Now, I don’t know what you’ve got up your sleeve (and I’m guessing whatever it is is pretty good), but the fact that I had to plug my iPad in at the store to activate it before using it as I walked out was pretty disappointing. I wanted to buy my grandmother an iPad to replace her computer, all she does is email and web and solitaire. But I couldn’t make it a gift that she could unwrap and use out of the box without opening it first and setting it up on my computer. It’s just a little disappointing.

My favorite line from the gizmodo articles is probably the one they pull-quoted: “the only big computer to which an iPad should connect is a server rack somewhere in North Carolina.” I think it’s totally true, and I get to that below.

I don’t care about not having Flash or not being allowed to run certain apps because they haven’t passed the review process. Flash is crappy and I agree with you that it’d kill the performance and battery on the phone. I care that Google’s got some good stuff brewing with their sync.

MobileMe is fantastic, all my info in sync is great. The fact that you guys bought LaLa only makes me hopeful that some sort of cloud-based iTunes is coming. Whether it’s full on wireless syncing or just the ability to stream content from a web-based iTunes that’s getting all of it’s files from your giant data center in North Carolina, it’d be great.

If I could just type in my MobileMe account to activate my phone (just as Android users enter their Google account to activate theirs) and all my info (contacts, calendar, email, etc) and iTunes stuff (music, apps, etc) would be there, I’d be in heaven. Because thinking about it, you’ve already got my purchases stored in cloud (well, my purchase history) for iTunes, and you’ve already got my info. That right there is enough to start my iPad, my iPhone, and basically my computer. Sure, hardwire syncing is totally necessary for big files like video, big music playlists, large size apps; but you’ve already got a good setup for that: when an app is over 20MB, you force users onto WiFi. You could do the same thing for over-the-air file syncing, whether it be music, videos, apps, whatever. And sure, you’d probably need to make MobileMe free so that all users could do that, but then limit the storage given: screw the 20GB included, make it 5GB and make services like iWeb publishing (despite the fact that Google Sites is free) and extra storage premiums. It’d be cutting edge because you’ll do it well (I mean, you do everything well), and it’ll make the user experience TEN times better. That’s just an idea, but personally I think it’s decent. And I get that there’s a lot more to it then that, but it’s a start.

Now most likely, you’ve thought of all of this. So if you have, what do you think? Of the articles, of the idea, whatever? Because honestly, getting a response would make my day.

Thank you so much and have a good day,

Jonathan Friedman

Despite Dick Wolf’s original Law and Order coming to an end, there is a silver lining.

Law and Order: Los Angeles.

The ripped from the headlines cop drama is finally coming to the City of Angels and this guy could not be more happy.

NBC announced they’d be picking up the show for a 13-episode first season, but they didn’t announce the cast. So, with my mother’s casting blood in me, I’ve decided to crank out a cast list. I’ve made up the names for all the characters, except one who’s already been a lead in a L&O franchise.

Here goes:

Senior Detective Jennifer Sanchez (portrayed by Michelle Rodriguez): With acting roots playing cops, agents, drivers, and war pilots, Rodriguez is perfect for the role. She’s just wrapped up a few movies (Avatar being the most popular) and her last recurring role on TV was Lost. Hopefully she’s available, because with her Latin fire (remember how high the Latin population in LA is) and tough attitude, she’d be a perfect bad cop, female lead for LOLA.

Junior Detective Christopher Russell (portrayed by Jason Wiles): Of Third Watch fame, Wiles has the classic look of pretty boy LA cop. Unlike the similar character played by that kid from the OC on the NBC-cancelled, but TNT-revived, Southland, Wiles has the experience of playing a cop on Third Watch and has the chops to play a homicide detective in the racy City of Angels. Wiles also played the more professional and very LA role of a PR consultant on the political drama Commander-in-Chief. He’d be the perfect junior detective and would definitely get some fans to the show. Also, NBC’s already got close ties with him as they just wrapped his role in the upcoming summer mini-series Persons Unknown.

Captain Reynaldo Curtis (portrayed by Benjamin Bratt): To have Bratt back on a Law and Ordern franchise would be heaven. Originally fighting crime and taking names on L&O original, Ben Bratt has already been written out of the series as having moved to Los Angeles. Coincidence? Maybe. But a damn good one if you ask me. Bratt’s character is a veteran, widower cop who moved to LA. The set-up is easy: the Chief of D’s in LA calls his good buddy, the Chief of D’s in NY who knows that Rey Curtis is living in LA and might be a good name to call. Bum, bum. You’ve got yourself the new Captain of the homicide division. You’ve also got yourself some major headlines and PR (L&O vet comes back to lead cast, “Bratt’s Back, Law and Order: LA, coming this fall”; NBC would have a field day), and thousands of devout L&O fans for the show’s premier.

Executive District Attorney James Shah (portrayed by Naveen Andrews): Sure, you’ve seen him as Sayid on Lost, but you may not have known that Naveen has already guest starred on Law and Order: SVU. Playing a federal agent, Naveen did a stellar job and had a key role in the episode clearly proving he’s got the chops. Switch him up as an American-born Indian, who’s had the best education one can have (with the English accent if you’d like), Naveen could be the perfect lead ADA. The fact that he’s already been on L&O and is currently out of work (buh-bye Lost) only makes this choice even better.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Campbell (portrayed by Kim Raver): A TV vet, Raver would be the perfect choice for an LA prosecutor. Costarring with Jason Wiles on Third Watch, Raver played a paramedic. Then, she moved on to 24 as a legal analyst who stood by my man Jack Bauer’s side as he saved the day. Lastly, she played a powerhouse publication runner on Lipstick Jungle. She’s clearly got the acting chops to play a quick-witted, good-looking, and charming LA prosecutor and is the perfect fit for the role.

District Attorney Jonathan Randall Bolton (portrayed by Victor Garber): The veteran actor of the group, Garber has tackled the stage, the small screen, and the silver screen. Most recently, he’s played a partner at a law firm on Eli Stone. But before that, he rocked the role of a CIA agent on Alias. Garber not has the presence to play in the ranks of Fred Dalton Thompson and Sam Waterson (the beloved Jack McCoy), but he’s got the acting cajones to make the role of DA a bit more controversial, racy, and political—perfect for the LA scene.

UPDATE:

After thinking a bit more about the cast, I’ve got one more idea for a character, a damn good one I think.

Executive Assistant District Attorney Megan Browning (portrayed by Amanda Peet):

While I personally happen to be a big fan of her work, Amanda Peet is undoubtedly high quality. Back in the 90’s, she had a guest role on L&O and since then has starred in dozens of movies and had a lead role on fellow NBC (now-cancelled, but fantastic show) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Peet’s got the same looks and charm to play the role as Raver, but she’s got the power and tenacity to equal the performance’s of the strong female solo ADA’s on SVU and could easily lead a team as the executive ADA. Peet would be a classy choice and she’d bring a fan base to the spinoff.