netflix

Zuckerberg wants everything to connect through Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg has offered some hints about what could be in store for Facebook's future, saying he sees an opportunity to be the "infrastructure" for various other services now that the site has hit the 1 billion active user mark.

Zuckerberg, speaking in a Q&A with Bloomberg Business published today, said Facebook's user base is now large enough that the majority of customers at other sites -- like Skype or Netflix -- are likely also using Facebook. That means those large-scale services can now rely on Facebook as a "piece of critical infrastructure … Read more

'Netflixed' author talks Hastings' glory, hubris, white lies (Q&A)

By now, most techies know the celebrated story of how Netflix vanquished Blockbuster to kill off the late fee, usher in streaming distribution, and lay waste to traditional video rentals.

But "Netflixed," a book coming out next week, aims to set the record straight about how the company seized supreme power in online video rentals and who was responsible for that success, as well as offer clues to where the company may be headed.

Gina Keating, the book's author and a former reporter for Reuters, spent two years researching the project, which offers an insider's view … Read more

Redbox goes box office with event ticketing

You soon may be able to buy tickets at the same place you rent your DVDs.

Redbox, the provider of DVD-rental kiosks, said today that it's now selling tickets to Philadelphia events. The service is available today at certain Philly-area kiosks and online and will roll out to the more than 650 kiosks in that market by mid-October.

Redbox's biggest selling point is that all tickets -- including those to concerts, sports events, and cultural attractions -- will be sold at or below face value, and it's only charging a $1 fee per ticket. That's much … Read more

Shining light on new Kindle Paperwhite

Monday's CNET Update has a glow about it:

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader is now shipping, and CNET has given it the Editors Choice award. You can read the full review here. The Nook GlowLight dropped its price to $119 to match the Paperwhite.

Apple has released a Wi-Fi bug fix for the iPhone 5 on Verizon. The bug caused the iPhone 5 to use data even when the device was connected to a Wi-Fi network. Verizon won't charge iPhone 5 customers for any excess data as a result of the bug, but customers should download the fix … Read more

Netflix makes 'Just for Kids' iPad friendly

The name of the game this morning seems to be kids.

First, Netflix started the day off by announcing that the "Just for Kids" feature available at the video streaming service is now offered as a mobile app on the iPad.

The way it works is a child can click on the "Just for Kids" tab in the new iPad app and "find their favorite shows and movies by swiping through a row of their favorite characters, many of which they will instantly recognize." Netflix said the app is available on the iPad 2 … Read more

Netflix CEO on Amazon Prime video: 'A confusing mess'

Apart from some good-natured ribbing, Reed Hastings has typically shied away from criticizing competitors.

But the Netflix CEO shed his polite demeanor in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in which he called Amazon's Prime video service "a confusing mess" and said that Netflix's ability to suggest videos for customers to watch was "much better than Amazon's."

In a Q&A with the Journal, which was posted to the newspaper's Web site last night, Hastings was asked what can Netflix do to compete with Amazon and Hulu. He said this: … Read more

Netflix bids adieu to some A&E reality shows

Shows from the A&E cable channel, such as "Ice Road Truckers," "Hoarders" and "Storage Wars" will no longer appear on Netflix's streaming video service.

A licensing agreement for about 40 A&E shows expired last week and the shows were removed from the site, Variety reported. At the same time that Netflix is doubling down on scripted television serials, the Web's top video-subscription service seems to be pulling back on unscripted reality shows.

Earlier this month Netflix announced it had penned a licensing deal with ABC for three TV … Read more

Netflix fine-tunes its Android app

Netflix users should now have an easier time finding their favorite movies and TV shows via their Android devices.

Unveiled over the weekend, the latest changes to Netflix's Android app conjure up the same interface that was already part of the iPhone and iPad versions.

Opening the Netflix app on your Android phone or tablet displays thumbnails for items that you started watching but never finished, so you can easily pick up where you left off. The app then blankets the screen with the familiar rows, showing you the top 10 picks based on your preferences, your Instant Queue, … Read more

NPD: Cable dominates Web in VOD rentals

Cable companies accounted for 48 percent of all on-demand movie rentals for the first half of the year, research firm NPD said in a press release Monday.

NPD said that the fastest growing segment in VOD are telcos, which grew 24 year-over-year. Telcos outpaced Internet video-on-demand rentals, which saw a 15 percent increase.

Paying an upfront fee for an individual movie rental is different from services like Netflix and Amazon's Prime service, which offers unlimited renting for a flat monthly price.

Grain of salt time: NPD notes that its numbers are strictly for VOD and did not include subscription … Read more