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Article source: What are Hulu and Hulu Plus? by TechBoomers.com
Let’s face it: life’s busy, and you don’t always have time to sit down in front of your TV and watch the latest episode of your favorite show. But what do you do if that happens? Do you record the episode? Wait for a rerun to come on? Watch the next episode and hope that there’s a pre-show recap that can help you fill in the blanks? Hulu puts the power of TV entertainment in your hands.
If you’ve ever wished that you could watch the hottest shows on TV on your own time, then Hulu.com might be for you. Teaching Seniors Hulu and Hulu Plus

What is Hulu?

Hulu is a service that allows you to stream (i.e. watch as they load) TV shows and movies on your computer, mobile device, or other media player connected to your TV. It often gets the latest must-see TV shows faster than its competitors, and you can watch the latest episodes whenever it’s convenient for you.
Hulu is similar to Netflix in that you can watch as many movies and TV show episodes as you want with your subscription, as opposed to a service like Amazon Instant Video, where you have to pay per movie or episode that you rent or purchase.

What is Hulu Plus?

Hulu Plus is the paid subscription version of Hulu. For about $8 per month, it affords you access to Hulu’s full library of TV shows and movies. In addition, you can watch full seasons of TV shows, instead of just a 5-episode sample. Finally, you can watch Hulu on devices besides your desktop computer.
You can get a free weeklong trial of Hulu Plus when you sign up for Hulu, and we’ll show you how to do it! See our How to Sign Up for a Hulu Free Trial tutorial.

How does Hulu work? 5 cool things about Hulu

1. Free samples available

You can use Hulu for free, and you don’t even have to sign up for an account to watch movies and TV shows. This gives you a small sample of what Hulu has to offer before you start using its paid subscription service. And, as we mentioned, you can also start using Hulu Plus free for a week after you sign up.
Teaching Seniors Hulu and Hulu Plus

2. The latest shows, all in one place

Hulu has many of the most popular shows on TV today, and usually gets new episodes much faster than its competitors (such as Vudu, M-Go, and Amazon Instant Video). So while other video streaming sites may take a month or two to get new episodes of some shows, Hulu can get new episodes within a week, or maybe even the next day!
Teaching Seniors Hulu and Hulu Plus

3. Not just for your desktop

You can watch Hulu on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet computers, too. It even works with some specialized TVs, digital media players, and video game consoles!
For a list of devices that Hulu can be accessed on, click here.

4. Keep a “to-watch” list

You can add certain movies or TV episodes to a “Queue”, so you can remember what you wanted to watch next and get back to it again quickly. You can also add shows that you like to your “Favorites” list, and set Hulu up to add episodes from that show to your “Queue” as they become available. You can even set Hulu up to send you email notifications when the newest episodes of your favourite shows are ready to watch!
Teaching Seniors Hulu and Hulu Plus

5. Talk TV, your way

Feel like asking a question or getting something off your chest about a certain movie or TV show episode? Link your Hulu account with your Facebook account and have your say. You can also tell your friends about all of the great movies and shows that you’re watching on Hulu over Facebook, Twitter, and email!
Teaching Seniors Hulu and Hulu Plus

What can I watch on Hulu?

Hulu has over 150 television shows and 200 movies, from timeless classics to modern blockbusters.
Some of the more popular ones include:

TV SHOWS	GENRE	MOVIES	GENRE
Regular Show	Kids	If I Stay	Drama
Seinfeld	Comedy	Bio-Dome	Comedy
Lucifer	Drama	The Expendables 3	Action/Adventure
Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Comedy	Transformers: Age of Extinction	Action/Adventure
SpongeBob SquarePants	Kids	Mortdecai	Action/Adventure
Modern Family	Comedy	Alpha and Omega	Animation
The X-Files	Science Fiction	The Hunger Games: Catching Fire	Action/Adventure
The Daily Show w/ Trevor Noah	Comedy	Interstellar	Science Fiction
Once Upon a Time	Science Fiction	Addicted	Drama
Family Guy	Comedy	The Wolf of Wall Street	Drama
Grey’s Anatomy	Drama	Riding the Bullet	Horror/Suspense
Quantico	Drama	Held Up	Comedy
Adventure Time	Kids	GoldenEye	Action/Adventure
Law & Order: S.V.U.	Drama	Project Almanac	Action/Adventure
The Voice	Game Show	Hot Tub Time Machine 2	Comedy

For more popular movies and shows, see our What Shows are on Hulu? and What Movies are on Hulu? articles, or click here to see Hulu’s full current lineup.
That’s a brief primer on Hulu! Learn everything else you need to know in this Hulu course on TechBoomers.com

So what exactly is Groupon?

Groupon is a website that allows you to purchase vouchers for various products and services at discounted prices. As long as the business that issued a particular voucher has sold enough of them, you can trade in one of those vouchers for a specific product or service at that business.
And, in the unfortunate event that a business undersells its vouchers for a promotion and calls off the deal, you can return your voucher to Groupon and get a refund for it.
Groupon is similar to other deal-of-the-day websites such as WagJag.com, 1Sale.com, and ScoutMob.com.

How Groupon works: 5 steps to using Groupon

1. Sign up for a free account.

It’s easy to get started on Groupon! Just enter your name, your email address, and a password. That’s all you need!
Seniors Learning Benefits of Groupon

2. Find the deals in your neighbourhood that suit your tastes.

Once you’re on Groupon, you can start giving it specific details about yourself. These include whether you’re male or female, where you live, and what sort of things you like to shop for. Based on what you tell Groupon, it will make recommendations on deals near you that you might like!
Seniors Learning Benefits of Groupon

3. Pick a deal that you like, and then purchase your voucher.

Once you find a deal on Groupon that you’d like to buy into, be sure to check the fine print and make any choices you are presented with first (i.e. some deals may give you a choice of different products or services that you can buy a voucher for). After all, we’d hate for you to buy a Groupon voucher, and then have the business that issued it reject it because it isn’t eligible for what you thought you could get for it.
If everything looks good, confirm the purchase of your Groupon voucher, and then enter your credit card information to complete your order. Your Groupon voucher should be available on your account almost immediately!
Seniors Learning Benefits of Groupon

4. Redeem your voucher by entering its PIN code, or by cashing it in at the store.

Once you’ve purchased your Groupon voucher, you can print it out and take it with you to the business that issued it, and trade it in for cool stuff! Or, if the business has an online storefront, you can type in the code on your voucher instead.

5. Use coupons on Groupon to save money on stuff that you buy every day.

Groupon isn’t just for big limited-time deals. It also has a section with coupons and promotion announcements from big-box retail chains. Click through Groupon to apply the coupon to your online shopping, or head to the nearest store for a retail chain and enjoy the savings!
Seniors Learning Benefits of Groupon

What can I get deals for on Groupon?

There are lots of different things that you can buy vouchers for on Groupon! Some of the more popular ideas include:

Car and truck service/repair

Spa and beauty parlor treatments

Gym and fitness club memberships

Home renovation and maintenance

Private learning businesses (e.g. driving schools)

Sports, entertainment, and attractions

Travel accommodations

Various types of merchandise

Throughout our Groupon course, we’ll show you how to purchase and redeem Groupon vouchers, what to do to get a refund if one of your Groupon vouchers isn’t valid anymore, and how to get bonus deals with Groupon Bucks and daily discounts on stores that you already shop at.

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Teaching Seniors Hulu and Hulu Plus