January 26, 2008

Netflix discriminates against Mac users. Apparently they are offering premium services that Mac users must pay for as part of their regular monthly service fees. However the  services are only available to those running Windows on a PC.
Marc Zeedar macopinion@designwrite.com of Macopinion comments on the new iTunes/AppleTV

Recently Netflix even announced they are expanding their own digital download service. Now subscribers get all the downloads they want for no additional fee!

I have no idea how Netflix can support this. Surely the bandwidth has a
cost and the studios would want a fee for each download (Apple
supposedly makes very little on downloads), so I can only assume that
Netflix is doing this at a loss to promote their download service and
keep customers from defecting to iTunes. The interesting twist is that
if the movie studios are cooperating with Netflix to offer flat-rate
viewing, then that is something Apple could negotiate as well.

Unfortunately Netflix’s “instant viewing” feature is only for
Windows users as Netflix foolishly built their system upon Microsoft’s
proprietary DRM. This is a kick-in-the-teeth for Mac users who pay the
same subscription fees but don’t benefit from the service.

Blogged with Flock

It’s great to be home. The trip back was pretty exciting. The winds and rain were as strong as I’ve ever driven in. I made it home in one piece and in record time. Not many people chose to join me on the highway (probably smart).

Today is gorgeous blue skies and powerful winds. Nice day to be indoors. I’m going to spend it unpacking and invoicing. I may fill out my absentee ballet and get it mailed as well.

Just spoke with my mother-in-law, she’s doing really well after her foot surgery. It’s pretty amazing how quickly she’s recovering.  We’re all very impressed, she’ll be back to playing golf in no time.

Did my weights for the first time since Tuesday. It felt good to workout and get the blood flowing again. I never seem to be able to find the time to workout when I go out of town.