Why Netflix Is One of the Most Important Cloud Computing Companies 111
Brandon Butler writes "Netflix, yes the video rental company Netflix, is changing the cloud game. During the past two years the company has pulled back the curtains through its Netflix OSS program to provide a behind-the-scenes look into how it runs one of the largest deployments of Amazon Web Services cloud-based resources. In doing so, the company is creating tools that can be used by both entire business-size scale cloud deployments and even smaller test environments. The Simian Army, for example randomly kills off VMs or entire availability zones in Amazon's cloud to test fault tolerance, Asgard is a cloud resource dashboard and Lipstick on (Apache) Pig, is a data visualization tool for the Hadoop program; there are dozens of others that help deploy, manage and monitor the tens of thousands of VM instances the company company can be running at any single time. Netflix is also creating a cadre of developers who are experts in managing cloud deployments, and already its former employees are popping up at other companies to bring their expertise on how to run a large-scale cloud resources. Meanwhile, Netflix does this all in AWS's cloud, which raises some questions of how good of a job it's actually doing when it can be massively impacted by cloud outages, such as the one on Christmas Eve last year that brought down Netflix's services but, interestingly, not Amazon's own video streaming system, which is a competitor to the company."
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> How easily people forget that AWS is Amazon's excess server capacity.
Is this common knowledge? I've never heard this before. Do you have a source?
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How easily people forget that AWS is Amazon's excess server capacity.
Is this common knowledge? I've never heard this before. Do you have a source?
Vogels also noted that Amazon eats its own dog food. [datacenterknowledge.com] As of Nov. 10, 2010, all of the web traffic for Amazon.com is being served by Amazon Web Services, he said.[1]
[1] Miller, Rich. Amazon Cloud Now Stores 339 Billion Objects. Data Center Knowledge, June 22nd, 2011.
You might also like: to try using google before asking questions thus easily answered on slashdot [google.com].
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It's prevalent urban legend (maybe it was true at the very beginning?) that AWS was created to make money off of spare capacity since they have so many servers they only need for the Christmas season. However, Amazon's load is actually fairly level year-round, and they make darn good money off of AWS.
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Re:Really? (Score:4, Informative)
Netfilx works (Score:5, Insightful)
While I watch Netflix, I sometimes think about all of the magic that must be going on behind the scenes to deal with varying delivery speed
In almost all cases, my video entertainment proceeds, uninterrupted
As a guy who has worked with video streaming at the lowest level, I have nothing but respect for their tech
Re:Netfilx works (Score:5, Insightful)
It's no small feat the transcoding automation they must have built to take the mezzanine files that they get delivered to them and create the packages of multi-bitrate, DRM-wrapped files that the consumer eventually sees. There are only a handful (maybe only 3) of companies that can do this on any type of scale.
Open Source (Score:5, Insightful)
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Netflix uses FreeBSD as its OS of choice and doesn't FreeBSD-using OS X users.
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Doesn't snub*
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https://signup.netflix.com/openconnect/software
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Desktop OSS doesn't support the required DRM they use, so they don't have much of a choice. If Linux supported Playready, and had more than a tiny desktop market share, they'd probably do it.
And no, they are not about to give up DRM. That isn't an option, so you don't even have to bother with the kneejerk "just give up DRM" reply. If you want to watch Netflix on your PC, use an OS that supports the required functionality. Your complaint is like saying, "I bought this subcompact car, and it can't haul th
Re:Open Source (Score:5, Informative)
I can run Netflix on Windows XP in a VM on Linux. But I can't run Netflix on Windows XP in a VM on Windows XP. This tells me two things. One, the DRM actually kicked in there somehow. Two, it doesn't kick in reliably enough to be worth one tenth of one shit. If you can capture the video output from vmware, and you can, then you can capture netflix streams without anything exotic.
OTOH I haven't tried this experiment using a guest OS which supports vsync on Silverlight video, i.e. Vista or later
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So far I've got an error about not being able to find a mono package, then a checksum failure downloading it. That's the first thing it did. Not looking good.
should have kept comment open (Score:2)
Well, double-reply fail. But here is my report. On Phenom II X6 1045T and 240GT with 8GB, Netflix desktop plays like shit. The audio is OK but the video is stuttery. It's butter-smooth in an XP VM. Netflix Desktop is shit.
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Bridged network, vmware player 5.0.2, amd64 host, nVidia graphics.
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My Google Chromebook shows me that the Netflix app is no longer exclusively using Silverlight since at least Spring 2013 and possibly earlier.
Last year, the Chromebook was using a Silverlight-like plugin, possibly a Mono derivative. Today, it's not using either, and is apparently using HTML 5 embedded video.
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They play different formats to different platforms, and have for quite a while. Windows and Mac get Silverlight. ChromeOS, iOS and Android gets HTML 5, which I would assume the media companies approved because they're relatively controlled platforms. They also deliver straight to set-top boxes and "smart" TVs, though I'm not sure what format - probably not Silverlight given that the devices are quite limited and Silverlight is huge. But desktop browsers support "Premium Video Extensions" (DRM) then they'll
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Before ChromeOS got HTML 5, they got Silverlight.
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My solution was to buy an Android device. I initially considered one of the old Google TV devices which will play AIS video but I decided it wasn't that important, I don't really need prime anyway since so much of the stuff I order is cheaper on eBay with or without free shipping, which is often available. I had two Rikomagic MK802 devices (a MkIII and a MkIIIS) which were both garbage; the first one seemed to have a short across the power connector and the second one was just flaky in every way and nothing
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Of all the responses I get on my Slashdot postings, I value drinkypoo's responses among those of the highest quality.
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I only wish I could get paid to advertise this USB stick. I do not declare that it is good, only that it is less crap than the other ones I have tried.
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You seem to be under the mistaken impression that Netflix cares at all whether you can capture the video output. They don't. They use products that the copyright owners have signed off on, and the only relevant challenge is getting that sign-off.
WIn2008 on Win2008 VM works fine, BTW, though I've never felt the need to try to capture the video stream. What would I want with a varying-bitrate video stream when I can just watch it again in Netflix?
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I prefer to do it that way. I don't want to be bothered to have to pay bills every month. All I have to do is check in to make sure the appropriate amount is being charged. Is that so hard?
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If you use a debit card for this ( as my friend has to do for reasons not necessary to go into), you risk an overcharge on your account. If Netflix (or another company) charges you and does not deliver services, they already have your money and there is little you can do. And some companies (not NetFlix - yet, as far as I know), make it very difficult to turn this off once you turn it on - I personally know (via another friend) of one company that required you to send a registered letter to shut off auto ch
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If you use a debit card for this ( as my friend has to do for reasons not necessary to go into), you risk an overcharge on your account.
This cannot be stressed enough. Never use a debit card online. In fact, just because you have a checking account that does not mean that you need a debit or ATM card, so don't even have one issued to you. When you open up that checking account, tell them "no."
If there comes a time that some fraudulent charges were made against your checking account, the set of plausible ways that it could have been accomplished have been greatly reduced in this manner. With checking accounts, you have to fight to get you
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Netflix is $8 a month. She really risks an overage over $8? Sounds like someone so poor, they shouldn't be buying Netflix. It's $8. That's the cost of one lunch. Put $8 into a savings account for backup. haha. Or, just use Paypal for your Netflix. They have that option. You can prefund the paypal account with a few months at a time if you want. Netflix can't screw me over $8. Come on. Who cares if I lose $8? Don't you throw out that much in food every month? If I want to make up the $8, just skip lunch. Wor
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If "the reasons" are poor credit, they can get a secured credit card, and can only spend the amount they put into the account. AFAIK, that is still legally counted as a credit card, NOT as a debit card. I think that also helps them build credit to have future 'regular' credit cards.
(I pay in full every month, so thus end up paying LESS by using my credit card than paying by cash or check, plus it's more conveni
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I don't see the big deal with this, honestly. This is primarily a problem for individuals who have a problem managing their budgets. When they see $10 in their account and think it's OK to spend $10 despite prior commitments like Netflix, they need to keep better track of their money and where it's going. I say this as someone who frequently had this problem when I was just starting out.
I, too, prefer to simply pay bills rather than having it automatically deducted, but I won't raise a stink if it isn't an
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I'm one of those individuals who have a problem managing my budget. I once spent $3 on an app for my Droid, which cascaded into $180 in bank fees because the account was overdrawn by a few cents by the time they tabulated everything since the bank (conveniently for them) does charges in such an order that it maximizes the fees instead of minimizing my pain.
I've also been badly burned by ill-timed Netflix charges.
The answer I found was not free, but it is very convenient and much cheaper than bouncing a ban
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That's a clever solution.
BTW, with interest rates so low, banks are only really making money off of fees right now, which is why they're so focused on charging so many of them. The main reason most people have a checking account these days is to have a target for direct deposit - check cashing places are expensive and dangerous.
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Check cashing places are expensive and dangerous?
I can cash a check at any Wal-Mart for $3 ($6 if over $2,000). I can cash a check at any Kroger for the same sort of fee, except it's only $1 if less than $50.
The locally-owned grocery chain cashes checks for $5, but only up to $500, but then they do have the best meat counter in town, their sales on sliced cow are awesome, it's often on the way home, gas isn't free, and I do love a good porterhouse.............
Account? No. Present check, present ID, and i
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I'm one of those individuals who have a problem managing my budget. I once spent $3 on an app for my Droid, which cascaded into $180 in bank fees because the account was overdrawn by a few cents by the time they tabulated everything since the bank (conveniently for them) does charges in such an order that it maximizes the fees instead of minimizing my pain.
First of all, if your bank can charge $180 in overdraft fees for being a few cents over then you really need to get a different bank.
Secondly, if you're in a position where $3 can push you into the red, but you can still manage to afford a smartphone, then you're doing something seriously wrong with your finances.
You should also consider getting a card like a Visa Electron or a Mastercard Maestro - these are debit cards that do not allow you to go overdrawn (they are intended for minors) and will just r
Re: Here's another reason to hate NetFlix (Score:2)
Firstly, you should consider actually reading what I wrote before making assumptions about me.
Secondly, the fee structure is similar for many banks: By batching transactions and processing in largest-first order, they ensure the greatest likelihood of a larger number of fees. (This does seem a whole lot like new math, until a banker patiently shows you that 20 - 20.01 = -180.)
Thirdly, again, you should try actually reading. What do you think I just wrote about, if not a debit card? FFS.
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Secondly, the fee structure is similar for many banks: By batching transactions and processing in largest-first order, they ensure the greatest likelihood of a larger number of fees. (This does seem a whole lot like new math, until a banker patiently shows you that 20 - 20.01 = -180.)
I've never encountered a bank doing this, and if they did then I'd strongly object and report them to the regulator.
Thirdly, again, you should try actually reading. What do you think I just wrote about, if not a debit card? FFS.
You wrote about something like a prepaid charge card. A Maestro or Electron card can be issued by any major bank on an existing account, so you don't need to jump through hoops and pay even more fees.
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First result from "banks reordering transactions":
http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2013/06/11/yes-banks-are-reordering-your-transactions-and-charging-overdraft-fees/ [forbes.com]
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For example, I'm a member of my local Community Credit Union. I know the people there, and they know me. My family has banked with them (through various branches) for ten or fifteen years. The two times in the last five years or so that I've had an overdraft, I went in the next day to take care of
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I fired that bank a long, long time ago.
My new bank is friendly, they remember my name, and I don't know how they make money or what their fee structure is like because all they'll ever get is the $10 that I leave in an account. I use them for the services I detailed previously, and that is all.
I am not interested in conducting financial transactions with another party through any manner of traditional bank, or a credit union. It is not at all advantageous to me in any capacity whatsoever.
(And why is that
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So, you're against capitalism?
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I'm actually pretty pro-capitalism...I just think businesses need to be decent and straight forward about it. A great example of this is the way ISPs (or at least the big name ISPs) make their money from hidden fees and charges, some of which only kick in after three or six months, and you only know about them beforehand if you specifically ask about it. I'm fine pa
Amazon Prime streaming may be white-label Netflix (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been a user of both services since they became available. Along with Amazon Unbox now becoming Amazon Instant Video and the even newer Amazon Instant Video with Prime, I humbly suggest that we consider that a large part of the Amazon Prime streaming library may actually be served to us by a white-label Netflix service.
Consider this: both Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video offer many of the same programming options with a few selections unavailable on one service or the other. Plus, there are many obscure series collections that appear on both services and at the same perceived video quality (at least, to my eyes).
The bulk of the live streaming library has to be shared, in my opinion, with Netflix. Business-wise, it makes sense. Logically, it makes even more sense.
Netflix? I'll pass. (Score:2)
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Most of the DVD-rental places near me have closed and they removed a lot of those RedBox kiosks. So now I use Netflix and iTunes.
Sure, back in the day when I could just drive or walk 3/4 of a mile somewhere and get my DVDs (or VHS way back) it wasn't that bad. Although I had to deal with the fact that the movie I wanted to see wasn't in selection: either popular and it was rented out, or not popular enough and they either zero copies or only 1 copy that someone hadn't returned yet. Or maybe they put the
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Read the message again. I said it USED to be 3/4 of a mile away and in walking distance. I used to walk down to that shopping center for the exercise.
But THEN they closed those down.
NOW the nearest rental place is a 20-30 minute drive. That's like 9 miles each way, 18 round-trip. That's not worth the walk unless I want to make a big afternoon exercise excursion out of it.
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BTW, you can get your DVDs or BluRays from Netflix too. Heck, even if you want a DVD or BluRay *NOW*, you can get it from a RedBox, and you don't have to worry about finding a disc to rent, because you can do *that* part the task from home (or anywhere, with the smartphone app).
I say this as someone who doesn't currently subscribe to Netflix, but was a DVD only customer after they split off the two services. (I *will* eventually resubscribe to watch Arrested Development... and I currently have a discounte
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I used to use Netflix DVD renting, but I watched few enough movies that I wound up paying for months and months of idle usage. So I eventually cut the cord.
RedBox is similarly far away, about as far as the nearest DVD rental store. They used to have one at the same shopping-mall where the DVD rental store was. But then the RedBox went away and got replaced by an A&P equivalent rental-machine. And then the A&P rental-machine went away.
So between Netflix OnDemand and iTunes rental I'm covered for
Progressive but not important (Score:3)
Impressive technology, though I don't agree with some of the testing they do live in production. But important? Hardly. If Netflix went away right *now*, nothing inthe World would really change.
Compared to, say, Google's search going offline which would have a direct impact on both personal and business productivity globally.
Netflix Are Spammers! (Score:2)
Re:DRM Hell (Score:5, Insightful)
So you would have rather had no Netflix support in Android or ChromeOS? Because there would be no support at all without DRM. Such is the nature of the beast.
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You're not obligated to use it. If you don't want to use DRM, then don't. But if other people want to, that's their choice. That's what freedom is about. Don't try to shove your opinions down other peoples' throats. Just make your own choice, and let other people make their own choice.
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There's a big difference between "you can choose to use DRM or not" and "DRM should be incorporated directly into an open-ended standard". The former is a perfectly reasonable position. The latter is just stupid. HTTP supports plugins and add-ons, so why should DRM be part of the HTML standard? It (Netflix DRM) was working just fine without being part of the standard.
Re:DRM Hell (Score:5, Insightful)
Why shouldn't it be? Because you think it's yucky? Standards document what multiple vendors do, to help them do it the same way. That's all - they do not endorse, or make moral judgments.
Basically, successful standards usually take what vendors have working just fine without a standard and standardize it. Just making things up because they sound good and trying to impose them leads to fiascos like the previous HTML "standards", where half the endpoints didn't remotely comply.
Avoiding things that Xtifr finds yucky is unproven at best as a method for making a successful standard.
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I don't think there's any technical or ethical reason to prefer one to the other.
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And to be clear: It's not actually DRM. It's just an API. And it's not that much different than Encrypted XML: It's just another standard to encrypt stuff, storing the key separately, to be recombined later. It doesn't proscribe access restrictions or much of anything else that people associate with DRM. I can imagine using it to efficiently encrypt a voice or video chat session between multiple people, for instance.
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Yes. When you sign up for Netflix, you agree to their terms of service, that you will not copy their shit.
Instead of just suing people who break their terms of service (which is completely reasonable. If you don't want to abide by the terms, don't use the service), they cram unworkable DRM into open standards. Now we wind up with code running on our own devices that 1) we don't know what it's doing and 2) breaking it open to see what it's doing is a crime.
The NSA spying/backdoor bullshit should make it abun
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Instead of just suing people who break their terms of service (which is completely reasonable. If you don't want to abide by the terms, don't use the service), they cram unworkable DRM into open standards. Now we wind up with code running on our own devices that 1) we don't know what it's doing and 2) breaking it open to see what it's doing is a crime.
How can you say that with a straight face? If someone breaks their ToS, downloads thousands of videos and posts them online anonymously, how do you think Netflix will sue them?
If you don't want DRM on your phone, can't you just install a Cyanogenmod ROM that doesn't include the secret DRM bits?
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Instead of just suing people who break their terms of service (which is completely reasonable. If you don't want to abide by the terms, don't use the service), they cram unworkable DRM into open standards. Now we wind up with code running on our own devices that 1) we don't know what it's doing and 2) breaking it open to see what it's doing is a crime.
How can you say that with a straight face? If someone breaks their ToS, downloads thousands of videos and posts them online anonymously, how do you think Netflix will sue them?
If you don't want DRM on your phone, can't you just install a Cyanogenmod ROM that doesn't include the secret DRM bits?
better yet install something with fake drm bits. the drm in netflix can't work perfectly and it doesn't and they know it.
anyways.. uh.. it's pretty much fake/busted drm to begin with. all it aims for is that you can't create a convinient tool to rip their movies to your hd without fuss, or at least I haven't bumped into one yet(and haven't searched). it would be pretty nice because their ui sucks balls. their library in Finland sucks balls too(like 1/20th of the US offering.. mythbusters? yeah, they have a
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You really don't think there'd be an "app" for that? Complete with its own enabling (or is that disabling?) DRM? Seriously?
Re:DRM Hell (Score:5, Informative)
You know what? There's actually a bloody gigantic amount of excellent content on NetFlix. Admittedly their ultra-pathetic interface makes it damned near impossible to find, but it is there.
Now, there are reasons to dislike DRM, and in fact the stupid regional DRM licences are one of the reasons why people pay extra to access US NetFlix instead of their local one*, And surely there are still times each month when I'll grab something from Pirate Bay because NetFlix doesn't have it.
But, and this is the big fat critical but, at the end of the day NetFlix works, works well, and delivers a hell of a lot of good programming for very, very little money. And does so in way that the DRM is simply not noticeable.
It may be preferable for NetFlix to have no DRM, but as it stands now I can't think of any practical difference it would make to my experience as a user.
Until the anti-DRM crowd creates a fully Open Source media service, licences tens of thousands of TV shows and movies, and serves it up DRM free, NetFlix is the best that we've got.
*If you're stuck with NetFlix Canada, well accept that you've got one quarter of the choices, and half of those feature Paul Gross.
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So I can just hit the record button on my VCR and record it?
(Oh, right. It's digital, and HDCP protected. I suppose I could fire up the PS3 on its composite output, but meh: That's more downgrading than recording.)
So you mean I can do something like File -> Save As?
(Woops -- like that's going to be a thing that actually happens.)
The only reason that Netflix DRM is simply not noticeable is that we are already used to the concept that we needn't b
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Isn't Macrovision on on the PS3's composite output? I've wondered about that. The only reason I've thought of trying it is to watch something (e.g. documentaries, reality shows) faster than realtime on my recorder that can do it. (Whether you want to believe me or not, I won't record something like that for keeps even if I technically could. As a specific example, I'm downloading the "Under the Dome" episodes from my Tivo for keeps because that's allowed, but actually watching the ones on Amazon Prime s
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But, and this is the big fat critical but, at the end of the day NetFlix works, works well, and delivers a hell of a lot of good programming for very, very little money. And does so in way that the DRM is simply not noticeable.
Not noticeable? So I can run it on the machine connected to my projector, that runs FreeBSD and happily plays content grabbed from iPlayer or DVDs? Oh, no, sorry, not supported. Well, at least I can play it back on my WebOS tablet. Oh, sorry, not supported. Well, I can at least copy a few films to watch on a mobile device while I'm travelling? Oh, sorry, not supported either.
Meanwhile, I'm paying Lovefilm (Amazon) a monthly fee to rent DVDs because I can take these with me (or rip them for a mobile d
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Since you and Netflix sold yours and everyone else rights and freedom away for a few convenient shitty movies, we will now have to deal with the introduction of hardware locked "trusted computing" phones, and software that requires it. I will certainly never purchase another Android device ever again.
This was bound to happen eventually. It's not just Netflix, it's also Amazon, which has consistently refused to bring AIS to anything but a handful of Google TV devices. And it will be coming to Apple devices sooner or later. Enjoy your Ubuntu phone, I guess.
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Don't blame Netflix. The people that produce the movies and TV shows that people want to watch insist on DRM. So everyone that wants to deliver movies and TV shows digitally (Apple iTunes Store, Netflix, Hulu, Google Play, HBO, etc.), all have to have DRM on every platform that they deliver through, so you have pressure from the media owners and from all of the media vendors to implement DRM. Given that, Google had to decide whether to provide DRM in Android in order to be competitive with Apple. And clearl
Re:DRM Hell (Score:5, Insightful)
I like how you say the movies are shitty, as if you know what the poster (and other Netflix users) watch. Saying they're shitty is somehow supposed to enhance your position - to suggest that they're not worth it anyway to offset the DRM aspect.
Let's face it, hardware locked "trusted computing" phones and other hardware are the norm and getting worse no matter WHAT we do. We don't have the influence to tell every other person out there to not buy them - telling people to not enjoy life and modern technology over some ideological issues that really aren't that bad in the first place isn't going to work. Heck, as I get older I find myself less and less caring as well as more important things take priority in my life.
We can't stop locked hardware trends because the companies are too powerful. Fight battles that can be won.
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What, pray-tell, do you honestly think YOU can do to make a difference? Spread the word? People don't CARE! The Internet seriously inflates how many people care about this issue, and in the end it doesn't matter anyway - the people at the top don't have any motivation to do anything differently because there's nothing to threaten them with. We have no power.
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Re:DRM Hell (Score:5, Informative)
The Media Source API that Netflix is helping to push also provides a lot of really useful features for non-drm video in the web browser as well. Providing a simple way to download chunks of video and seamlessly insert them into a container through javascript will prove really useful for javascript web applications. Even some of the encrypted stuff will be great for things like sharing personal videos with only a few friends.
As a web developer interested in new ways to provide video, the Media Source stuff would immediately be really useful to me, and I'm sure many other people who won't even touch the DRM part. Don't let one company sour the whole proposal.
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There's no copy protection for VHS in the sense of DRM. The closest to protection on VHS tapes are the weird scrambling schemes that are applied to commercial VHS tapes to make them harder to copy, essentially by distorting the signal so that it just barely plays properly from the original tape, but which causes distortion, screwed up synch, blinking, etc., in copies. And that is a commercial process applied in manufacturing mass-produced tapes, certainly wasn't done to your personal tape.
If I had to guess,
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There is Macrovision.
For example, trying to record HBO, even over a composite connection, on a commercial video recorder (e.g. Toshiba XS32) stops the recording because it's copy protected. (You can also have 'copy once' recordings.)