LikeMinds alpha

I have rated over 3000 titles on Netflix.com. I use Netflix as my main repository of movie ratings. I like to know how I rated a movie, in case someone asks me. Sometimes I can't remember if I've seen a movie, or if I liked it enough to see it again, so I refer to my Netflix rating. Having to refer to Netflix is inconvenient sometimes. I don't want to have to start over from scratch with ratings on every movie Web site. What if I quit Netflix? What's going to happen to all those ratings? Now I can keep them. The LikeMinds Web app allows you to take your Netflix ratings with you, or move them from one Web site to another. Right now, you can export ratings from Amazon, Blockbuster, Flixster, Imdb, Movielens, Netflix, RottenTomatoes, and Yahoo, and import to Amazon, Blockbuster, Movielens, Netflix, and RottenTomatoes. They will be adding others.

It took about 10 minutes for my 3030 ratings to be imported from Netflix into LikeMinds.com. It took about a minute to download them to a file on my laptop.

It's in alpha at the moment, so they are looking for feedback on problems or features and are quick to respond. Let me know if you use it, and what your experience is.

Netflix as Christmas gift

Netflix has been around for 12 years. I can hardly believe it was already seven years old when I joined in 2004. However, there are still folks out there who have never joined. I was at the doctor's office a few weeks ago, and was shocked that my nurse didn't know how Netflix worked. I reckon alot of you never considered trying Netflix until someone gave you a gift subscription. So, if you got Netflix for Christmas, and you are a total newbie, please leave a comment. I'd love to meet you. Tell us what you think.

Leonard Maltin's app on sale

The Leonard Maltin iPhone/iPod Touch app I posted about is on sale at the iTunes store for $2.99, down from $4.99. It's based on his paperback movie guide. I reckon the price drop is because of how slow the search feature is. Also, you can't find things by keyword. You have to know the exact title or name, or at least the beginning letters. If you search for movie titles containing the word "Henry", you'll get Henry V, but not The Private Life of Henry VIII.

Even with these problems, I still love and recommend the app. Get it while it's on sale, and you'll get free updates when they fix these problems.

Netflix recommends I watch Wings of Desire (1987), and predicts that I will give it 3.9 stars, based on my feelings for Nosferatu the Vampyre (with Bruno Ganz), Downfall (a great movie also starring Bruno Ganz) and Big(!). The problem is I've already seen it. I rented it from Netflix in 2006 and rated it 3 stars. I guess it went out of print and then a new edition was made, but the rating I gave it in 2006 didn't transfer from that edition to this. I don't remember exactly why I gave it a lower rating. Should I re-rate it 3 stars, in total disagreement with what Netflix knows about me? Or trust Netflix? I feel bad for disagreeing with the Netflix prediction of my rating, because they spent a million dollars to improve their recommendations.

Two things of note: I love Bruno Ganz, as an actor, and I rate every movie I've seen on Netflix.com.

Best Movie guide on the iPhone and iPod Touch

I am thrilled to learn from a comment left here by Ken, that Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide is now available on the iPhone and iPod Touch. I bought mine from the App Store for $4.99, which is a third of what the book costs.

The advantages of it over other applications is that you don't have to be connected to the Internet to look up movie details. You get plot summaries, star ratings, cast and director. You can search the database by title, cast, or director to get filmographies. I do this all the time when I'm out with friends. We'll be talking about movies and they ask me what other movies has an actor been in? What other movies has someone directed? They think I'm the movie expert, and I keep them impressed by using Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.

Another advantage is that you can create your own custom lists or add to Favorites or Movies to See which you can backup online. There's also a button to add movies to your Netflix queue (requires an Internet connection).

I've been waiting for this ever since I gave up my Palm T|X. A good movie guide was the only thing I missed about that Palm. I left a note on Leonard Maltin's Web site, asking that they make an app for the iPhone. I reckon I wasn't the only one who wanted it. Now my iPod Touch is complete.

If you don't have iTunes or an iPhone, check out the developer's Web site for screenshots and more info.

P.S. No one paid me or gave me anything to write this review.

One Month free trial cards from Netflix--October 2009 edition

It's time again for the ONE MONTH FREE TRIAL CARDS from Netflix. Act fast, because these single-use codes are available on a first-come basis. They expire October 31, 2009. Go to Netflix.com/tellafriend and enter one of these codes:

M216083727415
M256053727795
M226043727745
M246053727735

You are welcome to post your unused codes in the comments.

Fine print says: Cannot be combined with any other offer. Current and previous members and their households are ineligible. Netflix will bill you at the completion of the free trial unless you cancel prior to the end of the free trial. Netflix is a month-to-month subscription that you can cancel at any time. No refunds or credits for partial monthly subscription periods. Please visit Netflix.com/TermsOfUse for complete fine print. Netflix reserves the right to change terms and conditions any time they feel like it, and since I don't work for Netflix, nor do I represent them, I have no right to speak for them, and you're at your own risk. You should check out their site and not take my word for it.

1001 movies available at Netflix

You thought I was over my obsession with the 1001 movies you must see before you die. Not so fast. I found that Netflix Community user Knaldskalle has posted the list with links to Netflix where the titles are available on DVD, so you can quickly add them to your queue. That represents much work, for which I am grateful. I'm still stuck at having seen only 992 of the 1001 (2002) edition, but I've found sources for two of the remaining 9, so there's hope.

Goal-oriented

This is sad. I've justed downgraded to 1-out, and the same week added a 500th movie to my queue. Since I'm goal-oriented regarding movies, I have to see them all, and at this rate, it will take 9.62 years. In that time, man will have walked on Mars, we'll all have flying cars, and Netflix will send movies to a chip in our brains.

Haitus

It's taking me too long to watch movies, so I've changed to the one-out plan.

Fired by Amazon

I have been fired by Amazon, because I am an affiliate living in the state of North Carolina, which just placed a sales tax on anything you buy online if you click through from a site based here even if the vendor does not have a physical presence here. All I was selling was the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Taxes hurt everyone.

The guy with the gun in the above photo is North Carolina.

Russian DVD rental service

RussianDVD.com uses the Netflix model to rent Russian-language movies to continental U.S. residents. They say they have 5,000 in their library, and many with English subtitles.

I discovered them when I was trying to finish the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. They had one of them (now out of stock), The Asthenic Syndrome, but it was in Russian, without English subtitles, and I don't want to watch it that way.

One Month free trial cards from Netflix--May 2009 edition

It's time again for the ONE MONTH FREE TRIAL CARDS from Netflix. Act fast, because these single-use codes are available on a first-come basis. They expire JUNE 15, 2009. Go to Netflix.com/tellafriend and enter one of these codes:

M11577892195
M21577892035
M71547892055
M81597892325

You are welcome to post your unused codes in the comments.

Fine print says: Cannot be combined with any other offer. Current and previous members and their households are ineligible. Netflix will bill you at the completion of the free trial unless you cancel prior to the end of the free trial. Netflix is a month-to-month subscription that you can cancel at any time. No refunds or credits for partial monthly subscription periods. Please visit Netflix.com/TermsOfUse for complete fine print. Netflix reserves the right to change terms and conditions any time they feel like it, and since I don't work for Netflix, nor do I represent them, I have no right to speak for them, and you're at your own risk. You should check out their site and not take my word for it.

Reed says I'm weird...and I agree

Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, was asked in an interview by Motley Fool, "With so many shows on DVD, why doesn't Netflix directly market the 'dump your cable and save money' message?"

Hastings replied, "Well, no one dumps their cable."

!!!!!

Well, I have news for Mr. Hastings. I DID. I dumped cable for Netflix in 2004. Five years ago.

I don't even watch broadcast television.

I get my news from various Web sources, but I'm very happy "living under a rock". I no longer feel the pressure of materialism which comes from the bombardment of continuous advertising. I no longer feel panic or anxiety from a repetitive news cycle of tragedies, disasters, and human evil over which I have no control. I get my television series on DVD, long after you have deleted them from your DVR.

I live in peaceful oblivion punctuated by the arrival of red or blue envelopes.

via Hacking Netflix

Clark Howard on Netflix

I listen to Clark Howard on the radio in the afternoons. He's the financial guru whose slogan is "helping you to save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off." He's famous for his thriftiness, and he says Netflix is a great way to save money. It's always a thrill to me to hear smart folks endorse Netflix, because it brings back the feeling I had when I first discovered the best way to get movies.

I listen to Clark on an FM talk 101.1 WZTK in North Carolina,

Facets Multimedia

If you're looking for titles which are unavailable through Netflix, out-of-print or imported*, you should try Facets Multimedia in Chicago, Illinois. I rent movies from them by mail, on DVD and VHS**. They have a subscription service identical to the Netflix model (except instead of a queue, you have "selections"), and the prices are the same**. Allow an extra day or two for your selections to arrive, since they come from Chicago.

For imports, you need a multi-region DVD player.

**The VHS rentals incur an extra shipping charge.

Get Satisfaction from Netflix

You can Get Satisfaction from Netflix by asking a question and getting help from hundreds of Netflix users registered at GetSatisfaction.com, a message board or forum for various products and services. It's also a great place to find frequently answered questions for new users, perhaps stuff you think Netflix would never tell you. Not an official Netflix service, and no Netflix employees are involved.

The site requires registration, or you can use your OpenID or Windows Live ID.

Find Netflix Instant Watching titles faster with these tools

I found these on Lifehacker:

FlixWare searches title, actor, genre, year.

Netflix Instant Watch Tracker searches by title, actor, and genre

InstantWatcher.com is very versatile, with searches by title, actor, genre, new, expiring, best, worst, and random. Includes links to play or add to queue, if you're logged in. Includes pop-up title synopses. Free and no registration required.

Airport no longer snowed in

Actually, it is I who am no longer snowed in, and my Apple Airport Express is back to work! It's still under warranty, so I took it to IT Worx, a certified Apple Reseller and Service Center, and they fixed it. It was a configuration issue. Boy, do I feel silly.

Even though I had three Netflix DVDs at home, I immediately watched a movie on my Roku. It was such a relief to have it back online. My Roku gave me the welcome message telling me that it had been upgraded. I changed my display settings to HD, but I haven't tried watching an HD movie yet. There aren't any in my queue. I still can't see the Amazon menu, which is supposed to be along soon.

I should confess that, in my desperation, I went to Video Review, the best video store in Greensboro, and rented a couple of DVDs to carry me until I could get my Airport working again.

Snow Day, and no Netflix

I'm bummed. We are having a rare snow day in North Carolina, and the office is closed, but I have run out of Netflix DVDs to watch. Worse yet, my Apple Airport Express died, so I can't watch instantly on my TV. OK, so I should be grateful I can watch instantly on my Mac, but it's awkward, since my desktop is not a comfortable place to watch a movie.

Should I risk my neck to venture out into the cold, to find a video store or movie theatre where poor, minimum-wage-slaves have risked their necks to get to work?

Or should I read a book?

Family movies in 2009

Cinematical has an interesting list of family movies to anticipate in 2009. I'm looking forward to Disney-Pixar's Up, which is coming in May.

Best family movies of 2008

Commonsense Media, which partners with Netflix to provide information for parents, has compiled a list of the Best Movies of 2008, and the ages of the children for which the movies are appropriate.


AGE 4+
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!

AGE 5+
WALL-E

AGE 6+
Kung Fu Panda

AGE 13+
Iron Man
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

AGE 15+
American Teen
Slumdog Millionaire

How many movies did you see in 2008?

Without even trying hard, I saw more movies in 2008 than in 2007. I saw 263 movies in 2007.

194 from Netflix (36 of those were Watched Instantly)
56 in a theatre
14 from Classicflix
12 from various other sources: TV, a friend, or eBay
6 from Video Review, a bricks and mortar video store
4 from SilverScreenArchive
1 from the Greensboro Public Library

For a total of 287.


You can see all the titles, categorized by source, on my Listology list of Movies Seen in 2008