Microsoft, Netflix and some very good news for couch potatoes |
Follow the ups and downs of a new Seattle startup in a series of behind-the-scenes posts by its founders.
Today On Techflash
- LiquidPlanner hire, Paul Allen and more
- Tell us your sales horror stories
- Calbucci to sell Twitter list service
- A color screen for the next Kindle?
- Intelius co-founder released
- Isilon boosts CEO Patel's salary
- Windows chief: Battery alerts aren't a bug
- Fortune's list of 100 Best Places to Work
- Google vs. Facebook and Twitter?
- Infinia, Avalara and others grab cash
Tech Events
Mass High Tech
- Gates, Ozzie, Microsoft execs patent 'personal data mining'
- Bill Gates, startup lessons and other top stories of the month
- Bill Gates' shirt, iPad vs. Kindle and other comments of the week
- Bill Gates on The Daily Show: 'I am a very loyal Microsoft user'
- Bill Gates on Daily Show tonight, maybe this time he'll stick around
Microsoft, Netflix and some very good news for couch potatoes
Yeah, sure, Microsoft impressed people with its "Project Natal" motion-sensing technology for video games this week. And the company's new Bing search engine got lots of attention, lighting up the Space Needle and everything. But the company's best news of the week, without question, was a change in the way it will deliver Netflix on-demand movies over its Xbox 360 game console.
The ability to stream Netflix movies is one of the most popular features of Microsoft's Xbox Live online service. However, as it's currently set up, the system prevents users from updating their on-demand Netflix queues from the Xbox 360 itself.
It's not exactly the promise of the digital age fulfilled. But starting in a couple months, it will change.
At the E3 video-game convention earlier this week, Microsoft said it would update the technology in August to allow people to add titles to their Netflix instant queues from the console. It may have gotten overlooked it in the crush of news this week, but it's worthy of note.
It's not the biggest advance in history of technology, but in terms of practical impact, it's a big improvement. In my case, for example, the current situation means I need to get up and go to to a completely different part of the house, wake up my computer, browse to the Netflix site, find what I want to watch, add it to my queue, then go back to the living room and select it on my console.
Suffice it to say I'm eagerly awaiting that August update.
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
READ FULL BIOGRAPHYRecent Sponsor Posts
Join the Microsoft WebsiteSpark program and get software, support and visibility – at no upfront cost. You’ll benefit from fast and easy access to current Microsoft development tools, platform technology and server products including Visual Studio, Expression Studio, Silverlight, Windows Web Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Web.
Seattle-based Adhost is a WebsiteSpark hosting partner providing dedicated servers with free Windows Web Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 licensing for three years to Web developers enrolled in WebsiteSpark. Servers are located in our secure data center with SAS 70 Type II certification, 24x7 technical support and 24x7 client access.
WTIA 15th Annual Industry Achievement Awards
Held on March 4th at the Showbox SODO, this casual event celebrates and recognizes some of the best emerging and established companies in the Washington Tech Industry. The evening will feature a finalist company technology showcase and a variety of coffee, chocolate, and wine samples from local companies. More than 800 attendees are expected to be present at the celebration. Public online voting for Technology Leader of Tomorrow Scholarships will open February 3rd on the WTIA site.
We congratulate the 2010 finalists and look forward to unveiling the winners on March 4th. REGISTER NOW!
Mobile applications are a cutting-edge way to extend your brand’s reach into the hands of consumers 24/7. Increase loyalty and customer engagement by developing a targeted and effective mobile application. Learn the basics about mobile applications by reading our white paper Beyond the iPhone: Engaging Customers with Mobile Applications.
If you’re considering a mobile initiative for Q1-2010, now is the time to get started. The white paper covers: Venturing into Mobile Application Development, Typical Problems to Avoid, and Developing the Solution. Reaxion is a Seattle-based mobile application development company focused on start-to-finish project management and cost-effective development. Download Beyond the iPhone: Engaging Customers with Mobile Applications.
From the trenches
Job Listings
- Registered Health Information Technician (Forms & Records Analyst 2)
- State of Washington Department of Corrections
- Principal SDE - Project Natal - Gameplay Engineering - 711621
- Microsoft Corporation
- Senior Web Analyst - 705536
- Microsoft Corporation
- Telecommunications Consultant (I)
- Sparling Electrical & Technology Consulting
- Senior SDET - 706910
- Microsoft Corporation
