The latest laptops don't even come with DVD slots hard sell ?

Q: Bill Gates about the future of Linux. :) A: Bill Gates Likes Linux they are working with Linux think it Turbo Linux

is it ok to make backup in the us may be not ok to take out DRM ok in Australia & New Zealand ):-

Thanks mikiem2 for the Post very good one

The gist of the article, where it applies to on-line piracy is I think both sound & supported by evidence [stats] & research, but quoting the Netflix CEO on the topic is kinda like asking Bill Gates about the future of Linux. :) And when talking about the downsides of on-line streaming, the single warning: "... beware the limited-data plan", might be a bit of an understatement.

In the US at least, if you've got cable or satellite TV, then you can already have the service at home that Netflix & Amazon & Hulu etc. hope to provide some day via on-line streaming. On-line video streaming services like Netflix originated as a way to compete with cable TV when the cable companies own the infrastructure, the actual cable coming into homes. It was a way to compete with Satellite TV without paying for satellites. Of course the Netflix CEO isn't going to tell you that -- it makes for bad PR. Nor does Netflix talk about how they lost money competing with Blockbuster in the DVD rental by mail biz -- rates got low enough in that price war that even Walmart gave up on competing [they tried & at those prices, even with their vast resources, they couldn't see a future profit in it]. Recently Netflix lost loads of customers as their CEO split their streaming & DVD by mail rental businesses -- DVDs are something Netflix would apparently like to leave behind. Considering the way that their stock took a hit as a result, while the press had a field day questioning the Netflix CEO's intelligence, the CEO claiming DVDs & Blockbuster are both dead or dying should really be expected. :)

Suggesting Blockbuster, or any of the DVD/Blu-Ray rental outlets are very rapidly fading into history is a stretch, & DVD discs themselves Are Not going to disappear tomorrow or next week. Fact is DVDs are still selling. DVD sales may not be at any all-time peak, but TV viewing hours are down in general [there are more alternative ways you can spend your leisure, e.g. going on-line], the quality of the movies Hollywood releases has been declining, and both cable & satellite have been offering more of the same movies sooner [often within weeks of the DVD release]. That said, Blu-Ray has been declining, most likely from a combination of very heavy, intrusive DRM, and being more susceptible to physical damage.

We have a subscription with Blockbuster, generally getting 1-2 Blu-Ray discs a week, & the number of unplayable discs, while still low, is several times worse than anything we experienced with DVDs. All discs get scratches, but Blu-Ray seems to get more, & it takes Much less of a scratch to render a Blu-Ray disc useless -- we've played DVDs that looked like they'd been attacked with sandpaper, while the Blu-Ray we exchanged yesterday had a scratch so small it was really barely visible in very good light, yet that was all it took to make the movie stall, refuse to play any further... it's not a pleasant experience to get part way through a movie & have it stop. As far as the DRM goes, cross your fingers every time your player needs to update itself to handle some newer DRM. Blu-Ray has higher resolution than streaming, plus subtitles -- otherwise I wouldn't bother with it.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-hollywood-encouraging-onine-piracy

How Hollywood Is Encouraging Online Piracy

The death of the DVD is pushing users to piracy
Face it, movie fans: the DVD is destined to be dead as a doornail.

Only a few Blockbuster stores are still open. Netflix's CEO says, “We expect DVD subscribers to decline steadily every quarter, forever.” The latest laptops don't even come with DVD slots. So where are film enthusiasts suppose to rent their flicks? Online, of course.

Hollywood movie studios should benefit, too. The easier it is to rent a movie, the more people will do it. And the more folks rent, the more money the studios make.

Well, apparently, none of that has occurred to the movie industry. It seems intent on leaving money on the table.

The people want movies. None of Hollywood's baffling legal constructs will stop the demand. The studios are trying to prevent a dam from bursting by putting up a picket fence.

And if you don't make your product available legally, guess what? The people will get it illegally.

http://www.cultofmac.com/188297/why-i-stopped-pirating-music/

Why I Stopped Pirating Music

http://www.idigitaltimes.com/articles/10283/20120715/sopa-resurrected-why-fear-ipaa.htm

SOPA Resurrected: Why You Should Fear The IPAA

The Stop Online Piracy Act is one of the most controversial Internet regulations laws ever drafted, and it could be back in a new form. Although the bill is being promoted under a new name.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120709/12574819634/lamar-smith-looking-to-sneak-through-sopa-bits-pieces-starting-with-expanding-hollywoods-global-police-force.shtml

A few years ago, we detailed how, at a meeting of these attaches, they bitched and complained about how copyright "activists" were making their lives difficult and were a "threat" who needed to be dealt with.
In other words, these people are not neutral. They do not have the best interests of the public or the country in mind. Their job is solely to push the copyright maximalist views of the legacy entertainment industry around the globe, and position it as the will of the US government.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/07/11/sopa-returns-on-the-back-of-a-czar/187070

The new bill, however, has an added provision requiring the president to "appoint an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, who shall report directly to the Director." In other words: an intellectual property czar.

http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/wlcf8/sopa_returns_on_the_back_of_a_czar_the_new/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17894764

Porn, piracy and the internet culture wars

ok, I have been using the VGA output on the pc to hook up to the tv :-P

After doing a few google searches i found out 2 ways.

You can only view the Watch Instantly videos with the Netflix Movie Viewer (IE6 or later running on Windows XP SP2 or Vista.)

You could also purchase a Netflix standalone player ($99) to view Watch Instantly videos on your TV.
http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyDevices

Can I watch movies instantly on more than one PC or device?
http://www.netflix.com/FAQ?p_faqid=2902

Hope this helps
bowlby4

I just got Netflix and was wondering if anyone knows any good program to download the Watch Now web videos?

It would be awesome to download the movie to my Hard Drive and watch it when I dont have a internet connection or when my sister wants to watch another movie (You cant stream 2 movies at once)