Twitter Updates: 2010-01-31
- Hey Netflix, here’s some new features you can give me http://ff.im/-f7xdf #
- Twitter Updates: 2010-01-30 http://ff.im/-f7xdd #
Hey Netflix, here’s some new features you can give me
Let me start by saying I love Netflix. Now that I’ve established that, let the bashing (or at least grumbling) begin. A couple weeks ago the web was ablaze over Netflix cutting a deal with Warner Brothers (WB) that basically guarantees that Netflix will hold WB new release movies until the DVD has been on sale for 28 days. In return, Netflix gets a better price on the DVD, and more importantly, gets more access to the WB catalog for streaming shows. Needless to say, people were pissed.
I can understand why. I was a little upset myself (I’m more upset about the concept of copyright and intellectual property in general being used to kill innovation). But I can see why Netflix did it. And it’s probably a good deal in the long run and here’s why.
Streaming is where it’s at. I hardly watch the actual DVD anymore. We have a Roku and we watch that more than anything else right now. Maybe even more than cable in general. The Roku is cheap (around $79 now) and easy to set up. The picture quality is pretty good and it’s easy to work. If you don’t want to buy the Roku, you can stream through the XBOX 360 and it’s coming soon to the Wii and PS3. The new gossip is the service is also going to start getting built into TV’s. Can’t wait for that.
Still, I agree that it’s never a good policy to take features away. So, here are some things that Netflix can do to show me some love.
Get the New Releases out quickly after the 28 day wait period
Nothing is more frustrating on Netflix than the dreaded “very long wait” text appearing next to a movie you’d like to see. That’s why I wasn’t that upset to learn about this deal. It took three or four weeks on some movies anyway. We had gotten into the habit of hitting Red Box if we really weren’t willing to wait. I’d rather have more options for something anyway so maybe Red Box can stay alive and keep other services honest and a little fearful. It’s never good when a company gets too large and dominates one market (think my recent spat with Apple over my Ipod Touch).
Expand that streaming catalog quickly
As I said, we’re loving the streaming shows. So lets get more of them and figure out a way to get them more quickly. Work out some Hulu-like deal where where I can watch my show right away and I don’t even need to worry about my DVR. Get that movie that just came off the 28-day wait to the streaming catalog as quickly as possible. The thing that drew me to the streaming was the TV shows. The thing that got the rest of the family interested was the Starz channel new releases. Once Peggy found out she could watch Step Brothers on it, she wasn’t saying the Roku wasn’t a wasted purchase.
Netflix’s real need…advanced search
One of the best things about Netflix is the recommendation engine. Netflix awarded like a gazillion dollars (ok, a million) to some programmers that got online to “substantially improve the accuracy of predictions about how much someone is going to enjoy a movie based on their movie preferences.” That’s great. The problem I have is the search engine itself. It’s not bad but it needs to be expanded. First off, I want to only see movies I can stream.
My streaming queue list
Finally, how about some new sort options in my watch instantly queue. Really just one option. Alphabetize. I’ve got like 400 movies in my stream queue now because the Roku can’t hook up to Netflix and let me search while I’m on my TV. I have to go to my computer to find new things to stream. So, either hook up Roku so it can go online to my account and search for things that aren’t already in my queue or, probably easier, add an alphabetize option to my streaming queue so it’s easier to find the movie as I go through the queue on my TV. Really, haven’t you guys already thought of this?
So there ya go Netflix community manager person that has hopefully found this online. I mean I only used Netflix like four gazillion times so unless I’m getting blackballed for overuse by Google, you have to have stumbled across this post in whatever monitoring system you’re using. Since you just screwed me on the new releases how bout some new love.
Twitter Updates: 2010-01-30
- Better User Experience With Storytelling – Part One – Smashing Magazine: http://bit.ly/9HRiJL #
- Twitter Updates: 2010-01-29 http://ff.im/-f3UbW #
- Better User Experience With Storytelling – Part One – Smashing Magazine http://ff.im/-f3Ubp #
Twitter Updates: 2010-01-29
- Movie quotes: http://bit.ly/a7mGmU #
- Movie quotes http://ff.im/-f1FZD #
- 10 Basic SEO Tips Every Web Developer Should Follow | DevMoose http://ff.im/-f0JWk #
- FreshBump – 10 Design Quotes Designed http://ff.im/-f0JWg #
- A Roundup of 22 Cutting Edge PSD to HTML Tutorials – slodive http://ff.im/-f0JVY #
- 250,000 White House Staffers, Visitors Affected by National Archives Data Breach | Threat Level | Wired.com http://ff.im/-f0JW4 #
- 250,000 White House Staffers, Visitors Affected by National Archives Data Breach | Threat Level | Wired.com: http://bit.ly/9CYzuL #
- 10 Basic SEO Tips Every Web Developer Should Follow | DevMoose: http://bit.ly/aGqHob #
- FreshBump – 10 Design Quotes Designed: http://bit.ly/bGAc0V #
- A Roundup of 22 Cutting Edge PSD to HTML Tutorials – slodive: http://bit.ly/bXiy0c #
- Carrer Blog: CSS Shorthand Clockwise Rule http://ff.im/-f0yEw #
- Baby Boomers Get Connected with Social Media – eMarketer http://ff.im/-f0yEG #
- Free and Commercial Script Fonts – Noupe http://ff.im/-f0yEA #
- For The Love Of Culture | The New Republic http://ff.im/-f0yEr #
- 50 Design Tutorials for Mastering Gimp | Creative Nerds http://ff.im/-f0yEz #
- K–12 Education Tools & Resources for Teachers K–12 — Intel http://ff.im/-f0yED #
- Twitter Updates for 2010-01-28 http://ff.im/-f0yEv #
- Baby Boomers Get Connected with Social Media – eMarketer: http://bit.ly/93kDK8 #
- 50 Design Tutorials for Mastering Gimp | Creative Nerds: http://bit.ly/5gTHBl #
- Free and Commercial Script Fonts – Noupe: http://bit.ly/aW2Tbd #
- K–12 Education Tools & Resources for Teachers K–12 — Intel: http://bit.ly/arrl2m #
- For The Love Of Culture | The New Republic: http://bit.ly/c2Ru0Y #
- HOW TO: Build a More Beautiful Blog http://ff.im/-f0kU0 #
- HOW TO: Build a More Beautiful Blog: http://bit.ly/9zJ3Vo #
- 5 Free Online Services to Send an Email to a Fax Machine http://ff.im/-f03ZZ #
- The Web Way to Learn a Language – NYTimes.com http://ff.im/-f03Zf #
- The Secret to Helping Your Child Excel in School and in Life – Stepcase Lifehack http://ff.im/-f03Zu #
- How to identify journalists who are active on Twitter | Article | Homepage articles http://ff.im/-f03ZB #
- 15 Big Cheats and Fakers Who Won | Manolith http://ff.im/-f03ZA #
- Running Barefoot: Home http://ff.im/-f03Z7 #
- The Nexus One’s Killer Feature: The Camera http://ff.im/-f03Zx #
- 15 Blogs for WordPress Designers and Developers to Follow – DesignM.ag http://ff.im/-f03Zr #
- What We Learned About Apple Yesterday http://ff.im/-f03Zj #
- 20 best iPhone games of 2009 | GamesRadar http://ff.im/-f03Zb #
- 12 Secrets To Being A Super-Prolific Short-Story Writer – Writing – io9 http://ff.im/-f03Z9 #
- Hack Attack Hits House! – Internet – Gawker http://ff.im/-f03Zg #
- John Nack on Adobe: Sympathy for the Devil http://ff.im/-f03Zq #
- Running Barefoot: Home: http://bit.ly/bTpLg9 #
- How to identify journalists who are active on Twitter | Article | Homepage articles: http://bit.ly/bCIRWl #
- 15 Blogs for WordPress Designers and Developers to Follow – DesignM.ag: http://bit.ly/9MPo5R #
- Hack Attack Hits House! – Internet – Gawker: http://bit.ly/d1WOOv #
- 15 Big Cheats and Fakers Who Won | Manolith: http://bit.ly/bcwGEV #
Twitter Updates for 2010-01-28
- 5 Free Online Services to Send an Email to a Fax Machine: http://bit.ly/bvosCC #
- What We Learned About Apple Yesterday: http://bit.ly/aEqhhW #
- The Nexus One’s Killer Feature: The Camera: http://bit.ly/aXvILc #
- The Secret to Helping Your Child Excel in School and in Life – Stepcase Lifehack: http://bit.ly/bLfZVw #
- Letter from Mark Twain to a snake oil peddler: “You, sir, are the scion of an ancestral procession of idiots… http://ff.im/-eZNOq #
- Letters of Note http://ff.im/-eZNOt #
- Letters of Note: http://bit.ly/cPTS0j #
- Letter from Mark Twain to a snake oil peddler: “You, sir, are the scion of an ancestral procession of idiots stret… http://bit.ly/d0PVP8 #
- Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color – Smashing Magazine: http://bit.ly/dtD2dO #
- Should Americans get more vacation? « Scott Berkun: http://bit.ly/cy8dzK #
- Jackson Fish Market » Working hard or hardly working? VC-backed startups vs. Bootstraps.: http://bit.ly/aFkvbM #
- Jackson Fish Market » Working hard or hardly working? VC-backed startups vs. Bootstraps. http://ff.im/-eZyQt #
- Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color – Smashing Magazine http://ff.im/-eZyQq #
- Should Americans get more vacation? « Scott Berkun http://ff.im/-eZyQj #
- how many people started drinking tea when they heard Jean-Luc mutter Earl Grey…Hot #
- The 9 Most Interesting Variations of a Hot Dog Around the World | Off Track Planet – The Backpackers Ultimate Trav… http://bit.ly/aWMcrH #
- WordPress › HyperDB « WordPress Plugins: http://bit.ly/doRxLM #
- Tebow’s Folly: Better a Superfreak Than a Jesus Freak – Tim Tebow – Gawker: http://bit.ly/aLH0vC #
- Copyright-maximalist judges plagiarize lawblogger in opinion Boing Boing: http://bit.ly/c3VTHG #