Earlier this year, Netflix customers were in a rage when they found out Netflix raised their streaming+DVD service fees up by 60%.  Many have fled the service altogether.  Many commented they were disgusted by the move. In short, everyone was not happy.  Most didn’t understand why, neither.

Today, Netflix customers (including myself) have received another news from the CEO saying they’ve screwed up and offered an explain why. While reading, I said to myself, “Oh good, maybe they’ll bring back the free lunch.” Instead, Netflix decided to spin off their DVD subscription business to a new one called Qwikster.

I immediately raised an eyebrow and said, “HUH?!”  I’m sure the others did the same. Maybe it was the shock of the name “Qwikster”, or the fact t Netflix hasn’t really fixed anything to make their customers happier.

But then I remembered a few things. I remembered Netflix put their priority on streaming.  I remembered the content providers have a new revenue source in the streaming media.¹ The future is in streaming:  It’s convenient and quick.

So obviously: Netflix is trying to kill off the DVD business!

My thoughts were confirmed from this article on The Atlantic.  Mailing DVDs is not a sustainable business model. It’s great for customers, but costly for Netflix.  DVD itself is old tech, some of us have already graduated to Blu-ray for HD 1080p content.  Mailing out Blu-ray discs will prove to be a more expensive iteration.

In so many words, reading between the lines, I believe Netflix is saying DVD is dead!  Time to move on. I just wish Netflix make it a qwik death.

UPDATE: GigaOm offered a good explanation why this split was necessary: reduced subscribers means lower content licensing cost. It makes sense. Unfortunately, people are really leaving both services, which I’m sure not what Netflix intended.

Photo Credit: Kill Taupe

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

DVD is Dead! Netflix Says So!

1. Additionally, they tried to make everyone pay for playing movies on my iPhone or Tablet.

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The latest announcement by Netflix to raise prices doesn’t surprise me.  It sucks that we, the consumers, have to foot the bill because it costs a great deal of money to acquire content from the movie/television studios. The motion picture business is a cutthroat and greedy market.

At the end of the day, Netflix needs to make more profit to keep the investors¹ happy. Let’s hope Netflix doesn’t lose too many customers that may force them to cut costs – mainly in content.

Despite of this, I’ll continue to use Netflix. I’m just a fan and loyal customer. Now, I have to determine if I need to rent DVDs from them. Maybe the $1 Redbox rental once or twice a month will be sufficient. If not, then I’ll just bite the bullet and contribute more to Netflix’ coffers.

Photo Credit: Kill Taupe

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

It Sucks Netflix Is Raising Prices

1. By the way, I’m not a Netflix shareholder.

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Last year, I experimented with the “Google Me” template.  This one works for me because, my home page was up since 2001, at least.  Searching my full name in Google will reveal my website(s) as the top results.  So I had this card for a while:

Now, I just found out about QR Code. I used the QR Code Generator site to generate this name card.  It’s simply a card with a QR Code image that has a URL link to my home page.  In this format, I can just use my iPhone’s camera to capture the image. The QR Reader app will show me the details and can even take me directly to my home page!

This stuff is nothing fancy, but it was fun to try out something different.  For a bit more money, I can get other neat-looking business cards.  Ok, perhaps they may cost a lot more than I’m willing to spend on name cards.  But it’s always fun to see the creativity that goes into marketing oneself these days.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Fun with Name Cards

1. Vista Print is still giving free cards.

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People

My wife, child, neighbors, co-workers, and friends. They are my local support team.  They matter to me.  I need them.  It’s always nice to have them nearby, ready to listen, help, or be around to hang out with.

Economy

Economic doom and gloom are being reported everywhere in the world.  Overall economy might just improve if people start thinking local, and prosper their own community first.

I’m certainly doing it by going to a local restaurant, grocery store, and services.

One idea that is spreading is the 3/50 Project, promoting local businesses.  It’s a great idea.  I can only imagine the prosperity for a local economy if at least half of us do this.  Check out the poster below.  Participate!

Politics

Other than going to vote every 4 years, what more can I do choose the right leader, or influence the direction of this country?   It’s a dismal none at all.  My friend told me that he wished the Federal government would push all issues to the local government.  That way, if he doesn’t like the way the local government is being managed, he can run for office, get elected, and run it the way he wants it.  It makes sense because as a local resident, I have a better chance to become the Mayor, or City Councilor.  Then, I’ll have a better chance to solve issues affecting my local community.

Media

Traditionally, the newspaper was the way to get world news.  Now, the newspaper business is in trouble and in danger of being obselete.  I haven’t picked up a newspaper since college.  Everything is now on the internet, which is my preference anyway.  However, all is not lost.  Seth Godin said what’s left of the news needs to go local.  I couldn’t agree with him more.  There are enough people with opinions of the world, but not enough people caring for the local communities.  Putting the spotlight on local businesses, people, and issues is a more productive use of the newspaper.

Conclusion

Localizing is a good thing.  The burdens of this world is too much for me to carry.  Being able to influence and contribute to my own local community are good first steps towards improving my overall quality of life.  If everyone starts caring about their neighbors, we will all be in a better world.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Localizing

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With the mainstream media constantly touting economic recession, unemployment, and spending cutbacks, it’s easy to believe the doom and gloom.  However, I just got back from the malls this afternoon and it’s so far from the reality that was reported on the news.  I’ve twittered what I saw in the malls in the past couple months.  I still see people packing the malls, buying up a lot of stuff, eat at expensive restaurants¹, and still spending on luxury goods².  I think the reality is so different here in Orange County, California.  Or maybe, the residents here are still in denial about the slumping national economy.  Perhaps the reality is that we have it well here in California, and we’re still able to continue living the good life.

After reading a few articles, apparently life is good outside California as well.  Other towns are experiencing bustling local economy.  Even Amazon is claiming best ever 2008 Christmas season for online shopping.  I suppose consumers are still optimistic about the economy, and still willing to spend money in this otherwise “tough times”.  Consumer spending is probably the ultimate bailout for this ailing economy.  So I’ll go buy more stuff, and do my part to get out of this “recession”.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Bustling Local Economy

1. Such as Cheesecake Factory
2. Such as Apple products

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The glaring problem of cloud computing is trusting customer’s data outside the Enterprise.  I work for a conservative company.  Management has uneasy feelings about placing the company’s most valuable asset to someone else to manage.  Coincidentally, I’ve just wrapped up a project that moved our customer data behind our firewall, into our own self-managed database and Enterprise applications.  For us, we’re just not ready for cloud computing.  It’s not that we won’t ever buy into it – we’re just waiting when (or if) the technology matures and gets a wider adoption first.

There’s plenty of chatter out there on the blogosphere about cloud computing hype.   I read these articles to start, and gained quite a bit of insight from them:

• Cloud Computing on Wikipedia
• Web 2.0 and Cloud Computing by Tim O’Reilly
• IT’s Global Cloud: Let it Rise! by The Economist
• Economic Downturn Could Force Adoption Of SaaS Solutions by WebGuild

Photo Credit: ptdrumm

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Cloud Computing Hype

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But when videos like this float around, showing the carelessness of one UPS delivery boy, they’re putting their good reputation on the line.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcIOy6XcM3s

I hope the guy gets reprimanded for this.  But, overall, I’m not too worried.  One bad apple doesn’t spoil the entire orchard.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

What Can Brown Do For You?

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