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Netflix To Lift Streaming Limits
The AP has a story on Netflix's move to head off expected competition from Apple: the company will lift limits on streaming its movies for most subscribers. The story reports on rumors of an Apple movie-download service that may be announced by Steve Jobs on Tuesday. In the past Netflix has imposed limits on how long its subscribers could watch streamed movies; for example, those who paid $16.99/mo. could stream up to 17 hours per month. The limits will end on Monday for most subscribers (except for those paying $4.99 for two DVD rentals a month, said to be a small minority). The company has 6,000 movies available for streaming, compared to 90,000 that you can get delivered in the mail.
I'll indulge as soon as they buy me a windows machine with IE and tasty WMP DRM etc.
My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
I've seen some typos in story bodies recently, but not in a story title... who is Netfilx? Are they the new, hot, up-and-coming competitor to Netflix?
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
Of course, you can't watch streaming movies on Netflix with a Mac...
System Requirements:
Well gee, that makes the service pretty much useless to me unless I want to watch movies in a VM on my laptop, instead of on my TV. No thanks. I told them a year ago that if they didn't come up with viable solution Blockbuster or Apple would and that would probably be enough to make me switch. They replied back with a comment that it was impossible but that as soon as MS's silverlight technology was good enough they'd use that. Who in their right minds would bet the future of their company on a technology that is both completely controlled by Microsoft and in a market MS will probably want to compete in? I foresee the end of Netflix.
It's a shame that Netflix only supports Windows XP/Vista for streaming. I'd love to have a Mac OS X or Linux client.
Of course, I consider the mailed DVDs worth the subscription price, so Netflix doesn't have much incentive to make clients for people like me. I wonder if they would get many more subscribers if they offered a Mac client.
"The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent." --Carl Sagan
Seriously, the "Watch Instantly" selection sucks. I have 24hr/mo and I think I've used maybe 24 hours since I signed up for the service 6 months ago.
On an unrelated grammatical note, should that be Netflix' or Netflix's?
On yet another unrelated note: I wish people would stop editorializing in tags. I'm looking at you Mr. "!netfilx"
Yes, I am a smart ass; it's better than the alternative.
Wow...a virus?! I have Noscript and Adblock plus in Firefox and it STILL got all the way to my Avast before aborting the connection.
None of the movies I'd be interested in are provided by Netflix
Yes, their snuff film collection is rather weak at the moment but I understand the studios in East Los Angeles are picking up the pace.
-- Posted from my parent's basement
DRM: Check
Low-def only: Check
Low bitrate: Check
Watch only on computer: Check
Poor selection: Check
No non-streaming option: Check
No Linux support: Check
No MacOS support: Check
I am ***so*** excited about the limits being lifted on my Netflix account!! Guess I will continue to use their old-fashioned DVD's. I *do* like Netflix, have used them for years, but this whole "Watch It Now" thing is about as interesting to me as watching grass grow.
Netflix streaming won't work on macs (or linux). It also requires you to watch from a computer. Most cheap PC computers--that is to say most computers--are not fit company for the living room. The idea of the media PC has always made me laugh. Too noisey. (in contrast all but the powermacs which sound like windtunnels, are very quiet and welcome in the living room). SO it's ironic that the computers that netflix is suited for are the ones it does not support.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.