I switched to Netflix from Blockbuster for the same policy change reason. I liked the fact I could take a movie back and rent another from the store and they would immediately ship my next online rental.
However my reason for changing wasn't so much the policy change, most of the time I didn't go through the movies that quickly. It was the fact that they changed the policy and didn't let anyone know. They claim the e-mailed people and had a banner on the site, I never saw either.
Netflix instant queue was more than worth the switch. I've started watching Dr Who which is something I was interested in but never got into. So if I need something to watch I can just turn to that and be even more lazy since now I don't have to go to the store. I also watch things I probably never would have rented through blockbuster. If I don't like it I can just turn it off and I haven't wasted a queue spot on something I was unsure of.
They have very few free streaming titles. They do have new releases but they are all PPV and I believe around $4. I don't think anyone is really going to use this service. Netflix doesn't have a huge library but at least it's got something that is included in the monthly fee.
He makes a point that I think is often dismissed by a lot of pro open source people. Many of the programs do have a harder learning curve or require computer knowledge or reading of the manual to setup and use. The people that use these programs typically know what they are doing so these aren't major hurdles or something they can't handle. A lot of regular users however just want to push a button and have it go. I think a lot of OSS applications are designed by technical people for technical people. In order to gain more users they are going to have to look at their interfaces and setups from another point of view.
A good example would be windows xp. The first thing I do with a new install is disable all the "new helpful features" because I can operate better/faster without windows holding my hand through everything. For a lot of users all those wizards are extremely helpful. It keeps them from even seeing files that they shouldn't mess with and just works 99% of the time out of the box.
A lot of problems users have with OSS wouldn't be there if they just RTFM, but they wont. It seems to be the view of a lot of technical people that the non technical people should at least give some effort and try to help themselves. Microsoft has taken the other stand and recognizes a lot of people are idiots but they can answer simple questions and will gravitate towards the handholding programs.
Not all OSS has problems because of this but a lot of programs do. I use whatever works the best for my needs and don't have a problem doing some reasearch or figuring it out. I'm in the minority of a lot of computer users out there.
I think the real problem is lack of quality onshore. It makes the situation a nothing to loose move for a lot of companies. A lot of this has to do with the flood of IT related workers not too long ago. It was the career field of the future and a lot of people went that way. A lot of those same people have no clue what they are doing but still managed to get jobs because of the dot com boom.
Some of the code I've had to work with/modify might as well have been written in india. I often wind up looking at minimal to no comments, poorly written chunks of code, and meaningless variable names.
There are some good and great programmers out there. However, for every one of those I'd say there are 2-3 that don't know what they are doing. They waste development time, don't properly check their work, and extend the cost of a project.
A lot of other inustries can justify staying onshore because the quality is going to suffer if they ship the work elsewhere. With some of the code I've been forced to deal with, I'd say quality is not going to be lost.
Many of the sites will also give you a play by play text breakdown of the hand if you click on a button. That would be even easier for a bot to use.
When I play poker if I play a very tight conservative game I will almost always make money. I won't make a ton but I will normally come out ahead. That is most likely what these bots are programmed to do, you probably won't see them winning any big pots without a monster hand (4 of a kind or better). However the fact that they can sit there and play 24/7 means they can just milk the tables.
Slashdot Mirror
I switched to Netflix from Blockbuster for the same policy change reason. I liked the fact I could take a movie back and rent another from the store and they would immediately ship my next online rental. However my reason for changing wasn't so much the policy change, most of the time I didn't go through the movies that quickly. It was the fact that they changed the policy and didn't let anyone know. They claim the e-mailed people and had a banner on the site, I never saw either. Netflix instant queue was more than worth the switch. I've started watching Dr Who which is something I was interested in but never got into. So if I need something to watch I can just turn to that and be even more lazy since now I don't have to go to the store. I also watch things I probably never would have rented through blockbuster. If I don't like it I can just turn it off and I haven't wasted a queue spot on something I was unsure of.
They have very few free streaming titles. They do have new releases but they are all PPV and I believe around $4. I don't think anyone is really going to use this service. Netflix doesn't have a huge library but at least it's got something that is included in the monthly fee.
Slashdot story about how somebody put linux on a rice krispies box in 3..2..
you had respect for florida?
You can type about:config into the address bar and change the setting there and let firefox edit the file.
He makes a point that I think is often dismissed by a lot of pro open source people. Many of the programs do have a harder learning curve or require computer knowledge or reading of the manual to setup and use. The people that use these programs typically know what they are doing so these aren't major hurdles or something they can't handle. A lot of regular users however just want to push a button and have it go. I think a lot of OSS applications are designed by technical people for technical people. In order to gain more users they are going to have to look at their interfaces and setups from another point of view.
A good example would be windows xp. The first thing I do with a new install is disable all the "new helpful features" because I can operate better/faster without windows holding my hand through everything. For a lot of users all those wizards are extremely helpful. It keeps them from even seeing files that they shouldn't mess with and just works 99% of the time out of the box.
A lot of problems users have with OSS wouldn't be there if they just RTFM, but they wont. It seems to be the view of a lot of technical people that the non technical people should at least give some effort and try to help themselves. Microsoft has taken the other stand and recognizes a lot of people are idiots but they can answer simple questions and will gravitate towards the handholding programs.
Not all OSS has problems because of this but a lot of programs do. I use whatever works the best for my needs and don't have a problem doing some reasearch or figuring it out. I'm in the minority of a lot of computer users out there.
I think the real problem is lack of quality onshore. It makes the situation a nothing to loose move for a lot of companies. A lot of this has to do with the flood of IT related workers not too long ago. It was the career field of the future and a lot of people went that way. A lot of those same people have no clue what they are doing but still managed to get jobs because of the dot com boom.
Some of the code I've had to work with/modify might as well have been written in india. I often wind up looking at minimal to no comments, poorly written chunks of code, and meaningless variable names.
There are some good and great programmers out there. However, for every one of those I'd say there are 2-3 that don't know what they are doing. They waste development time, don't properly check their work, and extend the cost of a project.
A lot of other inustries can justify staying onshore because the quality is going to suffer if they ship the work elsewhere. With some of the code I've been forced to deal with, I'd say quality is not going to be lost.
You know that everyone who uses Linux is a hacker...
Problem is a lot of stores have a policy not to sell adult rated games.
Many of the sites will also give you a play by play text breakdown of the hand if you click on a button. That would be even easier for a bot to use. When I play poker if I play a very tight conservative game I will almost always make money. I won't make a ton but I will normally come out ahead. That is most likely what these bots are programmed to do, you probably won't see them winning any big pots without a monster hand (4 of a kind or better). However the fact that they can sit there and play 24/7 means they can just milk the tables.