The Los Angeles Times is reporting that search juggernaut Google has entered into preliminary talks to purchase video streaming service Hulu. Though there are no confirmed details at the moment, Hulu has also apparently approached other tech companies, such as Yahoo! and Microsoft.

For Google, this could be a major boon. Hulu not only has access to content hotly in demand by consumers, but also has managed to bring in ad dollars along with that content. Google has long said that ad money is what drives the company, and would surely be interested in expanding their ad sales operation. Furthermore, Google has sought to add more TV and movie content to YouTube, and could see a purchase of Hulu as an opportunity to do so. For Hulu’s part, the situation may be more complex. From the LA Times:

A sale would allow Hulu’s media owners to make a graceful exit from a service whose success nonetheless created friction with traditional business partners. Cable and satellite distributors complained about paying for the right to carry programs that Hulu offered free online. A transaction would also enable owner Providence Equity Partners, which put $100 million in the venture, to see returns from its its investment.

How the streaming service would survive in the hands of a new owner is anyone’s guess. We’ll certainly be keeping our eye on this one.

(LA Times via TNW)

UPDATE: Lulzsec is now saying that they were unaware of any UK Census attack, and equally unaware of any arrests. More updates follow orginal story below.

Last night a post appeared on Pastebin attributed to the hacker group Lulzsec claiming that they had stolen the entirety of the 2011 UK Census data. Shortly thereafter, news outlets began reporting that UK police had taken 19-year old into custody, whom  is reportedly related to the hacker group.

From Pastebin:

Greetings Internets,

We have blissfully obtained records of every single citizen who gave their records to the security-illiterate UK government for the 2011 census

We’re keeping them under lock and key though… so don’t worry about your privacy (…until we finish re-formatting them for release)

Myself and the rest of my Lulz shipmates will then embark upon a trip to ThePirateBay with our beautiful records for your viewing pleasure!

Unlike previous attacks, the UK Census claim was not accompanied by any announcement over Lulzsec’s Twitter feed, which has been the primary mouthpiece of the organization. 

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that bids to purchase the once-mighty MySpace from News Corp could begin next week. The rumored sell-off could come at an asking price of $100 million, a far cry from the $580 million that News Corp shelled out in 2005 when they bought the social networking site. Of course, a lot has changed since 2005, namely the rapid rise, expansion, and ubiquity of Facebook.

Once the poster-child for the then-embryonic web 2.0, MySpace has seen declining membership and, more recently, massive staff reductions. Though MySpace has enjoyed some success by re-inventing itself as a music and entertainment hub, it hasn’t been able to recapture the site’s early momentum.

By comparison, the Daily Register reports that in January Facebook was valued at around $50 billion.

(WSJ via Yahoo News via Slashdot, U.K. Register)

A leaked version of Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows 8 operating system seems to show that users will be able to create working copies of Windows on flash devices through the “portable workspaces” feature. The feature first appeared in build 7850.0.winmain_win8m1.100922-1508 of the operating system, and may appear in the final version.

With a portable version, users could carry important data on their person assured that it would be fully accessible regardless of which computer they used. Moreover, IT professionals could also use bootable versions of the operating system to help repair and revive non-functioning computers. Since this feature appears in a leaked version of the operating system, there is no details about the limits that could be placed on the portable workspaces, such as longevity or number of copies.

Users of open source operating systems like Linux are likely already familiar with the concept. Ubuntu for instance has been distributing their operating system through bootable USB sticks for many years, and portable versions of popular applications like Firefox have also been available. Were Microsoft to adopt such a capability, it could be  taken as a signal of the sway open source creators are having over mainstream companies.

It would also give Windows users a greater degree of freedom, being able to create what are essentially usable copies of the operating system. Though Microsoft has seemed rather draconian as of late, the inclusion of new and challenging features like this could be a big win for consumers and perhaps restore a forward-thinking atmosphere at the software giant.

(WinRumors via Engadget)

iPhone related rumors have been swirling (as they do) for the past few days, about the oft-predicted-and-never-delivered “iPhone nano.” In fact, we wrote about it just last week. Today, The New York Times weighed in on the subject making two interesting claims. Firstly, that a forthcoming iPhone will be cheaper, though not smaller. Additionally, and perhaps more tantalizing, is their claim that MobileMe will be refreshed, perhaps becoming a more robust free service.

Cult of Mac reports with some degree of certainty that Apple is planning to construct a new Apple Store inside New York’s Grand Central Station. This would be the fifth Apple store in Manhattan, and, if opened this year as reported, would coincide with the 10th anniversary of Apple’s highly successful foray into the brick-and-mortar retail business.

The new store is rumored to become the largest store in Apple’s retail empire, surpassing in size its current flagship store in London, which has some 16,000 feet of retail space. But finding that kind of space inside Grand Central will be very difficult, suggesting that Apple may not simply be occupying existing retail space. Their source has suggested that walls may be coming down.

In addition to providing the most retail space, part of the function of the store seems to be removing pressure on the iconic glass cube store on 5th Avenue. Space in station will also provide easy access to the crowds around the Times Square area.

Apple is, true to form, staying tight-lipped on the subject, though Cult of Mac claims that an announcement is coming within a month.  If they go forward with these plans, Apple will face an uphill battle creating a space that is more stunning than the station itself.

(Cult of Mac, original image Cresny)

Earlier this week some handicammed blurry footage of what we were supposed to take to be a PlayStation phone surfaced and a reasonable amount of ado was made. This is not that handicammed footage.

This comes to the internet courtesy of Engadget, and there’s even a little bit more after the break, giving us a look at the (currently empty) games menu.

It wouldn’t be Comic Con with out some major news about the big bad comic book movies coming out in the next couple of years, and this year Marvel is ruling the roost. When it’s not displaying the throne of Odin for anyone to get their picture taken on, it’s letting Joss Whedon do what he does best:

Get people excited.

Ever since it was confirmed that Kevin Bacon will be playing the role of the villain in the upcoming X-Men: First Class, comic fans have been enjoying the speculation on which villain he is actually going to play. Names like Mister Sinister, Apocalypse, and even Proteus have been brought up and bandied about. But the only rumor that has actually attached itself to some semblance of possible credibility is that he will play Sebastian Shaw, Black King of The Order of the Phoenix The Hellfire Club.

Sorry, I got into X-Men through Ultimate, and the whole Hellfire Club/Dark Phoenix bit was my favorite part.

Read on...

UPDATE 2:34PM EST: WikiLeaks representative Daniel Schmitt told Geekosystem that he “couldnt [sic] even imagine a reason” why founder Julian Assange would be exiting from the website. In his e-mail response, he warned against having “fed the troll calling himself an insider,” writing:

The .is domain registration was supposed to happen much earlier, and I am more or less astonished it has only now happened. We control around 500+ domain names, and try to get wikileaks in as many TLDs as possible. This is a normal action to occur, has nothing to do with us moving to Iceland or anywhere else. WikiLeaks is as it is, and will stay the same, apart from a few changes and new features we have already publicly announced.

Re the legal team I am not aware of this issue. As much as I can tell, though based in Europe and not a lawyer, our legal team is working on this and has so far not been able to get in touch with Manning.

According to Schmitt, a press release will be pending, a point reiterated on the WikiLeaks Twitter account: “WikiLeaks will NOT be abandoned. Don’t listen to disinfo being spread! We’ll issue clarifications soon. Should’ve done earlier.” Read the original story after the break, in which an “insider” alleged that Wikileaks.org would be abandoned.