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The One-Use, Self-Destructing DVD Returns

BonrHanzon writes "Looks like DivX (the stupid one, not the codec) has been resurrected in the form of Flexplay. Staples will be selling these movie disks for 5 bucks a pop at the checkout counter. The disks can be played in any DVD player, but a special adhesive will render the disk unplayable 48 hours after the package has been opened. As if our landfills weren't already overflowing with enough crap." The blog post notes that Flexplay has actually been around for 5 years; the Staples distribution deal is what's new.

13 of 561 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Heh, pirates ahoy! by Digestromath · · Score: 4, Funny
    1. Buy cheaper disposable movie

    2. Discover a cheap 'hack' work around (boil in water, spray with hairspray etc)

    3. Keep the disposable movie

    4. ????????

    5. Profit?

  2. Re:Heh, pirates ahoy! by archeopterix · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you are going to pirate a movie, don't tip-toe around it. Just download the thing from the Internet.
    And miss the joy of sticking it to the man?

    And the joy of making him 5$ richer? Umm, wait. Gotta think about it a bit more. Brb, torrenting.
  3. Re:Heh, pirates ahoy! by theheadlessrabbit · · Score: 5, Funny

    so, now can I make the claim that I can not on good conscience rent or purchase a movie due to pollution?

    My deep rooted concerns for our environment, the glaciers, the ozone layer, my grandchildren, his grandchildren, and even your grandchildren prevent me from paying for movies, since it will add more worthless junk to our overflowing landfills.

    Downloading movies produces significantly less waste; therefor, pirating all my media is the only way any responsible, eco-friendly person can be entertained, and still be able to sleep at night.

    does that sound good to everyone else?

    --
    -I only code in BASIC.-
  4. Re:Advantages over rental by Gerzel · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thank you employee of Flexdisk or what ever company you are speaking for.

  5. Re:How's that different from... by jamesh · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is the disc single layer or even less due to the disposable nature of the disc?


    A zero layer disk. I'd like to see that :)
  6. Re:How's that different from... by evilviper · · Score: 5, Funny

    A zero layer disk. I'd like to see that :)

    Old news... They put TWO in every spindle of CD-R/DVD-Rs... One on the top, one on the bottom.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  7. Windows uses same model by GottliebPins · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft also uses a similar model. Their popular Windows product starts to deteriorate immediately after installation with all of the bloatware and is unusable within 48 hours.

  8. Re:Heh, pirates ahoy! by molarmass192 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I agree completely, most of my friends' parents at Yale have similar setups. I asked my sister who goes to Harvard (ugh) and all of her friends have the same at their parents' homes. In my mind it has gone beyond just that, it's not just in homes anymore. We have a movie room on our yacht and my dad is seriously thinking of adding one to the company jet. Heck, I remember having a theater room at our chalet in Vail FOREVER. I'd even bet that our Mexican grounds crew have one in their shanty, but I don't really talk to the hired help, I'm just assuming there.

    --

    Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws-Plato
  9. Re:Heh, pirates ahoy! by indifferent+children · · Score: 5, Funny
    Just how many coasters do you need?

    Back in the day, no one asked this question. It was pretty well accepted that AOL would decide how many coasters you needed.

    --
    Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it. --Mark Twain
  10. It's a calculated plot..... by Stanislav_J · · Score: 4, Funny

    Obviously, they must be running out of people to sue for downloading movies. This new technology is clearly designed to frustrate even more consumers, and drive them to download so they can keep their profit margin high with lawsuits.

    Fortunately (for me), there hasn't been a movie coming out of Hollywood in 20 years that I have the slightest interest in either wasting money on, or risking an infringement lawsuit for downloading.

    --
    "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." -- Eric Hoffer
  11. Re:Heh, pirates ahoy! by Minwee · · Score: 4, Funny

    I mean they have a place in the house with rows of couches and chairs, excellent lighting and sound, a huge TV -- either plasma, LCD or a projector, and even a little popcorn machine and lighting strips lining the hallway to the room.

    But do they have two robots who sit next to them and talk back to the movie? That's what really matters.

  12. Re:Heh, pirates ahoy! by j_166 · · Score: 5, Funny

    We solved that problem by getting a colorful live-in hobo, Pantload Tim. We usually lock him in the basement on the other nights, but on movie night we let him camp out on the floor and thrill us with his insane ramblings.

  13. Re:Heh, pirates ahoy! by kat_skan · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think you have overlooked the fatal flaw in your plan: that it hinges on students paying attention in English class.