Netflix, the rent-by-mail DVD service that took the world by storm at the turn of the millennium is upping its game this week as it unveils an "instant viewing" option to let people watch the latest movie in their queue without waiting for the postman to come. Just go to the website, get the software and you're good to go.
Unless you're one of the millions of people who don't use Windows at home. Which happens, right? There are plenty of solutions that are Windows or Mac only, and a lot of the time Mac users get a bit screwed. Getting around this one requires Parallels or Boot Camp and a legit copy of XP or Vista, which is definitely a higher threshold, though not impossible.
That's not the problem. Here's the problem: You can't opt out of instant viewing service. Awesome. Read on for more.
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Granted, Netflix's rates haven't jumped or anything. My monthly bill is the same. But as of today, I'm officially receiving less than any Windows users paying the same price. And a share of my monthly bill has been devoted to the development of this inadequate solution over the last year. Why not make it a $5 add-on service? Or let me get a discount as a Mac user? How the hell can you not figure out cross-platform DRM video?
Here's something about YouTube you might not have caught, Reed: It uses cross-platform software you can run inside a web browser. It doesn't care if you have Internet Explorer, Firefox, Camino, Safari, a Mac, Windows, none of it. You just need Flash and you're good. It's almost like a plan for success in video or something!
This rant's not just for Mac users. It's for anyone who doesn't have Windows installed on a computer at home. We're getting hosed together, this time. I've been thinking about switching to Blockbuster Online anyway so I can do the drop off at the store across the street thing. This might be the last straw.
Netflix launches 1,000-title online movie feature. [Reuters]
Via BuzzSugar.
