Feedflix

From a comment on my blog, I learned about FeedFlix, a handy place to share your Netflix Queue and reviews with anybody (even if they aren't Netflix members). As far as I can tell, they have less than a hundred users signed up, but if they ever get a substantial number, the data could be really useful. The FeedFlix feature that's most interesting to me is that you can see who else is watching or waiting for the same movies you are. It's totally anonymous. All you have to share is your Netflix Queue RSS feed link, and FeedFlix keeps your page updated. My page is http://feedflix.com/netflixfan.

Netflix recommends I watch ZERO 258 movies

I don't know if it's the new design of the Netflix Web site, but all suggestions have disappeared. I used to have about 200, because I've rated over 2000 titles. Maybe they've been reset. When I rated the last movie I returned, the number jumped to ten.

***UPDATED 3/30/08 I just noticed, all my Netflix suggestions are back!

VHS all gone

I found a home for the remainder of my used VHS tapes, via the Greensboro Freecycle Network (TM). Freecycling is like a Craigslist for household discards that are otherwise headed for the landfill, the dump, etc. It is stuff that might not be worth the trouble to buy or sell, but someone out there would take it off your hands for free. Like small amounts of scrap, broken appliances, obsolete technology, clothing, etc. You can request what you need, or offer what you have. Then folks reply if they have it or want it. You never know what a stranger might value that you find worthless. I think it's great that my tapes didn't end up in the trash.

Freecycling reminds me of a good documentary I got from Netflix: The Gleaners and I. Gleaning, which is picking up other peoples' castoffs and leftovers, or recycling, is one way for the poor to get what they need at the same time we protect the environment from waste. We should make more gleaning opportunities available in America.

In Leviticus 19:9 and 10, God commands us "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God."

Peerflix is shutting down

CNET News.com reports that "The DVD swapping service Peerflix is closing, according to an e-mail sent to users this evening. The service enabled its members to request DVDs from other members. It let users print prepaid fold-it-yourself mailing containers on 8x11-inch paper, and charged a fee for each swap."

This doesn't surprise me a bit. If you don't want to keep the movie, but just watch it, then swapping movies doesn't make sense when you can rent them so much faster and easier from Netflix, and no one can compete with the selection Netflix has.

However, I am sad whenever an entrepreneur fails.

Every Movie Available From Netflix On Demand

Jon Dyer’s Blog has a list of Every Movie Available From Netflix On Demand which is very, very handy. It represents alot of work on the part of Jon Dyer. I hope he can keep it updated, but Netflix should make such a list available or at least make it possible to search for movies according to whether they are available on demand.

via Hacking Netflix

Netflix apparel turns heads

I get interesting reactions when I wear this Netflix fleece top I bought on eBay. I'm the only one I've ever seen wearing Netflix-branded clothing in public in Greensboro. Without exception, people assume I work for Netflix. The sales associate at Best Buy offered me a deal on a TV if I could get him free Netflix. I say no, I don't work for Netflix, but I tell them about my blog.

I wish Netflix would sell this stuff directly to consumers. Why don't they?

Video tapes saga

I found a recipient for many of my used videotapes. A friend of mine took all my Babylon 5 episodes and a few of the movies.

DVD killed the Video star

Since I joined Netflix, I have bought about 50 videotapes of movies which still aren't on DVD. Some of my pre-recorded videotapes are worth selling or donating, but hundreds more contain TV series and movies recorded from TV (ie: every episode of Babylon 5 and Xena: Warrior Princess).

Now that DVD has killed the VHS, what are you going to do with all those old videotapes? I don't want to dump them in the landfill, so I looked into my recycling options.

I was researching this issue on the Web, when I came across this list of videotape recycling companies. Unfortunately, they are all on the Left Coast. There is Tropical Media, a company in Burbank, CA, which recycles VHS, Beta, etc. GreenDisk, in Washington State, has a mail-in service for recycling all sorts of "technotrash", any computer-related waste, but they charge by the pound, and you pay shipping.

Elsewhere, there is Lacerta, in Massachusetts, but you have to call or email for a quote. Sounds like it's not for consumers.

Shred-It looks like just what I need. They have branches all over, and one is in Greensboro (Burlington, actually). They have a call-in shredding service, which shreds while you wait, and they shred all sorts of media, not just paper. But I still have to call or email for a quote.

I wish I could find a more convenient way to recycle.

What have you done with your old tapes?

My Netflix anniversary

It was over four years ago that I joined Netflix. Since we've been together so long, we take each other for granted. So much so, that I forgot to celebrate our anniversary on January 13. But I'm still a fan! So here is a hug and a kiss on Valentine's Day to all you fine folks at Netflix.

Glossary of Netflix Fanatic terms

My favorites are "notflixing", which means renting a movie, but not watching it, and "queue-mongering", which means filling your queue with movies you have no intention of watching.

My own contribution, is "lackaflixaphobia"--the delibilitating fear of not having a Netflix in the mailbox, especially right before a holiday or long weekend.

Inspired by Terminology for the Netflix Fanatic - The Big Noob

Via Hacking Netflix

NEW NETFLIX Kids T-Shirt auction

Another auction from an anonymous former Netflix employee. This time, it's a NEW NETFLIX Kids T-Shirt Size Youth XS.

Account hold better than canceling

The Account Hold feature of Netflix is new to me. If you're too busy to watch your movies, or you're feeling Netflixia, you don't have to cancel. If you put your account on hold instead, they will stop sending you movies and stop billing you, but they won't stop you from using the Netflix Web site. You can start up again any time.

Account Hold is good for only 90 days. After that, you have to cancel or resume.

I've never used this feature. Have you?

Via BrentEvans by way of LifeHacker

How many movies did you get from Netflix in 2007?

I saw only 263 movies in 2007. It was a slow year. The year before, I saw 473. This is how 2007 breaks down:

Netflix sent me 106 movies,

SilverScreenArchive sent me 65,

Classicflix sent me 2,

I saw 67 in a theatre, on the big screen,

and 23 from other sources, like eBay, Amazon, a dollar store, or Redbox, Video Review.

I managed to avoid Blockbuster and Hollywood Video entirely.

Thank you, Netflix!

Netflix Watch Now on my Mac

I can watch Netflix movies online with my new Mac Mini, because it has an Intel processor. Using a program called Boot Camp Beta, I installed Windows XP on a small part of the hard drive. By default, my computer starts in Mac OS 10.4, but on those days I want to Watch Instantly, I hold down the Option key while starting up, and choose Windows XP.

I have installed Firefox on the Windows XP partition, as well as Windows Defender and AVG freeware for anti-virus. When I am in Windows, I have to remember to take precautions while on the Web.

It's an expensive workaround for those of us who prefer the Mac platform, while we wait for Netflix to make Watch Now available for Macs. I paid $500 (refurbished) for the Mac Mini, and $179 for a legal copy of Windows XP. I didn't want to try Windows Vista, because of all the bad things I've heard about it.

I saw an ad on Apple.com which claims Vista runs better on a Mac than a PC. Too late. I don't want to spend any more money on Microsoft.

I have the best of both worlds: I get to keep using a Mac computer, and I get to watch Netflix movies instantly online!

SilverScreenArchive

So, today I get a nice email from David at SilverScreenArchive, telling me that they are not going to make me pay for the DVD that got stolen on Veterans' Day! Sweet.

And he reminded me that my old posts about ClassicFlix should be updated to show the name has changed to SilverScreenArchive, the other best place to rent classic films. For you young folks out there, when I say "classic", I mean a film that was made between 1906 and 1969. Netflix is great, but they can't rent what isn't on DVD. So what SilverScreenArchive offers, which no one else does, is the service of renting films that have never been released on DVD, making them especially rare and hard-to-find. Their films are usually transferred from some other format to DVD.

SilverScreenArchive is located in California, so it takes an extra day for mail to get here to North Carolina, but the service is excellent.

If you're trying to complete the list of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, SilverScreenArchive is a great resource.

Holiday presents opportunity for thief

I forgot that yesterday was a Federal holiday, and that the USPS wouldn't be picking up my mail. In the morning, I left an envelope in the box destined for Silverscreenarchive, my choice for movies which Netflix doesn't have. When I returned home in the afternoon, the flag was still up, but the DVD was gone. I suspect that the combination of idle children out of school, and my forgetfulness, created an opportunity for a thief. Too bad the film won't be of any interest to a typical child of today. It's a Frank Sinatra/Debbie Reynolds romantic comedy from 1955.

NETFLIX.in domain name for Sale !!

An eBay seller located in India is selling the Netflix.in domain name. Starting bid is $19.00. Buy It Now is $1,200.00.

NETFLIX.in domain name for Sale !! - (eBay item 330187124975 end time Nov-17-07 23:37:24 PST)

Moby gives music away

Musician Moby has made some of his music freely available on mobygratis.com only for independent and non-profit filmmakers, students, etc. Login required.

Netflix humans in Oregon

I wanted an excuse to call the new Netflix help center in Oregon, so when I discovered a problem with my rental on Saturday night, I dialed them right up. I got a human being on the phone in under a minute and he was nice. He didn't have to, but he gave me a "courtesy rental" to make up for the problem.

O Lucky Man! is a new release, and a three-hour-long movie. Imagine my disappointment when I got to the end and it said "continued on disc 2" and I had received only one disc. Nothing on the Netflix site indicated that the film would be on two discs. The second disk was described as "bonus materials", which I didn't rent. I submitted a movie correction through the Netflix site, and I queued the bonus materials, so I didn't really need to call the Help Desk. Still, it was nice to have a to human hear my frustration and feel sorry for me. :)

Netflix sponsors top docs list

The International Documentary Association presents its list of the top 25 documentaries chosen by their members, and sponsored by Netflix. According to IndieWire,

"Online movie rental service Netflix is on board as the presenting sponsor of the program, facilitating sceeners of the films for voters and also making them available to subscribers of their service. The company indicated that the majority of the 700 films on the original ballot are available on their service, with the exception of #19, Frederick Wiseman's "Titicut Follies," which has never been released commercially and is only available for educational purposes."

I've seen all but nine of them. Too much Michael Moore, if you ask me. He's not a documentarian; he's a propagandist. However, I shouldn't be surprised. The documentary genre has always been dominated by the Left. By definition, conservatives seek to preserve the status quo, or even reverse so-called "progress." The Left seeks to disrupt the status quo. Provoking change is the motivation behind most documentaries. Hence, the correlation.