timing

Companies looking to get a piece of the Hulu pie had until this week to put in their first round of bids for the video streaming service. And, it appears that four companies have gone in for a slice.

Former News Corp president Peter Chernin, private equity fund Guggenheim Digital Media (which is headed the former interim Yahoo CEO by Ross Levinsohn), satellite operator DirecTV, and cable operator Time Warner Cable have all put in bids, according to Reuters.

Hulu has supposedly been looking for a buyer over the past couple of years, and recently several companies have allegedly expressed … Read more

Don't let this app trick you; it has very little to do with Apple's video-chat app. Instead, FaceTime Zone lets you read user information and documentation about FaceTime. It pays you for your trouble with pop-up ads and a junky, hilariously bad layout.

If you want to enter or exit this app, you have to click away from a pop-up ad first. Once you're inside, FaceTime Zone has three buttons that give you information about what FaceTime can do, complete with some stock video-chat photos and a goofy layout. Since you can't use FaceTime on Androids, … Read more

Times Tables Trainer FREE is an application that makes learning multiplication tables a little more entertaining. It is a themed application that encourages kids to learn multiplication tables and have fun at the same time.

Times Tables Trainer FREE is an incredibly well executed, yet easy-to-use program. Once the app installs it opens a basic interface. The main menu consists of a start button and a settings button. Once the start button has been pressed the game begins. Starting with level one, which covers all the one multiples, the application goes up to level 10. In order to pass a … Read more

More customers are satisfied with Apple's phones than any other handsets, but they're not as happy as they were last year, a new report said.

According to an American Customer Satisfaction Index report issued today, Apple received a score of 81 (on a scale of 100) in terms of customer satisfaction. But the company dropped 2 percent from its 2012 position, and the iPhone lags the customer satisfaction rating of 86 for Apple's desktop, laptop, and tablet business.

At the same time, satisfaction with Motorola phones jumped 5 percent from 2012 to 77, and Nokia grew 1 … Read more

AT&T customers should be able to use any mobile video chat app before too much longer.

Preloaded video-chat apps will work over AT&T's cellular network for all customers, regardless of device or data plan, by the end of 2013, according to a statement from AT&T.

Customers with unlimited data and an LTE device should expect to be able to use video chat apps from Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry over the AT&T network by mid-June.

Here is the full statement from AT&T:

For video chat apps that come preloaded on … Read more

At Google I/O, the company announced some small updates to its Google Now service. One of those updates added the ability for Android users to create location- and time-based reminders.

There are a few different methods for adding a reminder to Google Now. You can use your voice or enter it manually.

To create a reminder by voice, launch Google Now and say "Google" or tap on the mic icon. Once you hear the beep to alert you that Now is listening, start the command with "Remind Me" and add in what you're afraid … Read more

Google on Thursday unveiled several new apps -- or "Glassware," as it calls them -- for its wearable computing device. The apps include Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Evernote, CNN, and Elle and join the apps already available from The New York Times and Path. The new apps are currently available to Glass owners.

While the apps have limited functionality compared with their mobile and Web versions, many companies noted the first release is only the start of what their Glass apps will soon offer.

While it appears Netflix is continuing to grow as the dominant video streaming service in the U.S., its competitors are also growing, according to Internet research firm Sandvine.

What gives?

Video streaming, or "real-time entertainment," is on the rise overall and those companies involved are seeing their businesses grow. However, their market share has remained static. According to a survey (pdf) released Tuesday by Sandvine, Netflix has 32.3 percent of the market share, while YouTube has 17.1 percent, Hulu has 2.4 percent, and Amazon has 1.31 percent. And, those numbers haven't changed … Read more

Those who spend most of their time working from a computer may need an application to track their time. Time Clock for Mac is an easy-to-use application designed to do just this; but its operation is ultimately so clunky that it detracts from its usefulness.

Time Clock for Mac is available for free and has no restrictions. After downloading, the program installs easily without any interaction required by the user. At startup, there are no tutorials or user instructions available, which was a disappointment since the menu looks dated and the program's operation was not obvious. It was also … Read more