Hulu unveiled a new subscription model for its video streaming service on Tuesday, and two console makers piped in to confirm that they’d be bringing the all-you-can-watch video offerings to their customers.

Microsoft said today that it would be carrying Hulu Plus on the Xbox 360, but admitted that the service wouldn’t be debuting until early 2011. It’s because they’re taking time to add Xbox Live party support and Kinect functionality to the service, so it says.

Sony, on the other hand, is jumping to offer the service right away via the PlayStation 3. According to the Hulu Plus guided tour, Hulu Plus subscribers will be able to view the service on PlayStation 3 in July.

Hulu Plus delivers high-definition video streams to TVs and mobile devices for a $10 monthly subscription. The premium service gives users access to the current seasons of selected shows from ABC, NBC and FOX as well as access to the entire runs of old shows.

Hulu Plus Coming To PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | GameLife | Wired.com

The US Federal Trade Commission has announced a final ruling on new labels for light bulbs.  The labels will break down the "lighting facts" of bulbs much like a nutrition label on food products.  With CFLs, LEDs and other lighting technologies filling the shelves alongside incandescents, the labels will help consumers find what they're looking for.

The major change that these labels bring is using lumens to indicate the brightness of the bulb instead of watts, that way all bulbs will use the same terminology and consumers can compare them easily.  Other statistics listed on the labels will be:  yearly energy cost, the bulb's life expectancy, light appearance (on a scale of warm to cool), energy used (wattage) and, for CFLs, a warning that it contains mercury.

The clear labeling of cost and energy savings over time, could help more efficient lighting win over consumers who haven't made the switch yet.

The new labels should start showing up in the middle of next year.

Government Mandates New Labels for Light Bulbs

Digital distribution outlet Steam today kicked off a "Perils of Summer" sale that will run through July 4, with each day bringing new daily deals "up to 90% off regular prices."

Steam 'Perils of Summer' Daily Deals - June 24
• Killing Floor [PC, Mac] - $5.00 (75% Off)
• Aion Standard Edition [PC]- $19.99 (50% Off)
• Trine [PC] - $4.00 (80% Off)
• Unreal Deal Pack (Unreal, Unreal 2, Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2004, Unreal Tournament 3) [PC] - $13.60 (66% Off)
• BioShock 2 [PC] - $14.99 (50% Off)
• DiRT 2 [PC] - $10.00 (75% Off)
• Counter-Strike: Source [PC, Mac] - $6.80 (66% Off)
• Overlord Complete Pack (Overlord, Overlord: Raising Hell, Overlord II) [PC] - $4.50 (85% Off)

In addition, a variety of publisher-specific discounts will run the entire promotion:

• Valve Complete Pack - $66.99 (33% Off)
• Atari - 66% Off
• Ubisoft - 33% Off
• Epic Games - 50% Off or More
• Telltale Everything Pack - $49.99 (50% Off)
• Introversion Complete Pack - $5.00 (87% Off)
• THQ Complete Pack - $49.99 (50% Off)
• Square Enix / Eidos Collector's Pack - $74.99 (25% Off)

Viacom plans to appeal

The battle between music and movie studios, internet users, and ISPs has raged for years. The content producers claim they are fighting to protect their copyrights while major web properties like Google's YouTube say that they are doing all they can to prevent pirated videos and content from being posted on their sites.

In 2007, media giant Viacom sued Google and YouTube alleging that YouTube knowingly allowed pirated video to be posted online violating copyright. Viacom sought damages of $1 billion. The legal battle raged on and in July of 2009, a judge in the case dismissed some of the damage claims Viacom alleged in the case. The judge ruled that damages were not available for content produced outside America. In March 2010, it was discovered that after the suit was filed Viacom managers had still been uploading video to YouTube and some had even tried to hide their tracks.

Reuters reports that Google and YouTube have now prevailed in the Viacom copyright suit. A federal judge in Manhattan has thrown the Viacom suit out saying that it would be improper to hold Google and YouTube liable under copyright law for merely having "general awareness" that illegal videos might be posted on the site.

Judge Louis Stanton wrote in his 30-page ruling, "Mere knowledge of prevalence of such activity in general

Stop the press! Mozilla has just released Firefox 3.6.4 -- you can download it by clicking 'Check for Updates' in the Help menu, or by visiting the Firefox website.

Firefox 3.6.4 brings crash protection for Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime and Microsoft Silverlight plug-ins -- under Windows and Linux (Mac will have to wait, it seems). With 3.6.4, if a plug-in crashes, you will be able to simply reload the tab. The browser (and the rest of your tabs!) should remain unscathed.

There is a slew of other changes under the hood, but nothing to write home about. You will find that 3.6.4 starts up a little quicker, and it might even shut down a little faster! Otherwise, it's simply more stable and secure. Install it.

Firefox 3.6.4 with 'crash protection' released

You can have my video games when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.

Think that sounds a little morbid? Well, an organization dedicated to protecting our pastime wants you to help convince the public that videogames are protected speech.

The Video Game Voters Network sent an email plea to gamers on Monday, asking them to help come up with a slogan that will communicate to politicians and the public that gamers won’t stand idly by while they besmirch and attempt to ban the games that we love.

Established by the Entertainment Software Association in 2006, the Video Game Voters Network is a political advocacy group dedicated to protecting videogames from restrictive laws.

The organization is keen on making gamers aware that the Supreme Court will soon consider the constitutionality of a California law that would restrict the sale of videogames the government deems “violent.”

To submit your gamers’ rights slogan, visit the Video Game Voters Network.

Image courtesy Video Game Voters Network

Write the Video Game Voters’ Rallying Cry | GameLife | Wired.com

A tiny space camera has snapped amazing photos of the world's first solar sail spacecraft to voyage into deep space on an interplanetary mission for Japan.

The solar sail vehicle, named Ikaros, took the opportunity for a self-portrait by deploying a free-floating cylindrical camera just 2.4 inches (6 cm) in both width and height. In the photos, the Ikaros sail shines like a gleaming silver ship in a sea of black space.

The spring-launched camera snapped the new photos of the solar sail as the mission departs for Venus and beyond.

Ikaros, short for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun, launched in late May and deployed its solar sail in early June to become the first space mission ever propelled only by sunlight. The mission was designed and built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

JAXA engineers will monitor the power generated by thin film solar cells embedded within the kite-like sail, in hopes that future missions could combine solar sailing with electricity to power ion propulsion engines.

Like the tale of Icarus, which tells the story of a boy who flew too close to the sun, the Ikaros solar sail is also expected to explore our nearest star. It is headed to the other side of the sun after a detour to Venus, JAXA officials said.

"Through these activities, we will