Netflix drops its used DVD store

A few days ago a friend called letting me know Netflix was doing away with its used DVD store. As a Netflix member and collector of DVDs, I have used the used section of the Web site a number of times to pick up movies mostly for $5.99.

Netflix started selling used DVDs a few years ago, a side venture to its more traditional rental movies by mail model that made Netflix one of the most successful online businesses around.

The move for Netflix to drop out of the used DVD business isn’t really that surprising to me and I don’t think the reasons for the decision are really being talked about.

Netflix claims the decision was made to allow the company the room to focus on its core business — movie rentals by mail and streaming video. I’m guessing that is true, but there is something in the statement that is missing.

Netflix is working hard on building its streaming service, announcing an upgrade to HD for a number of titles, prepping for a launch on Xbox 360 and TiVo along with Blu-Ray players that support the format.

The company has also made agreements with the movie channel Starz in order to get its hands on new movie releases. I think this agreement is actually the most telling reason for Netflix to pull out of the used store business.

Lets face it, the movie industry hates used stores. A used DVD sold doesn’t count in sales figures for the movie and ultimately means a “loss in sales” for the studio or distributor that doesn’t get a cut of that sale.

The movie industry has been slow to adopt the Netflix streaming service, mostly pushing out “catalog movies” that haven’t spent time on the big screen in a few years.

Closing down its used DVD store is a good will measure for Netflix, letting the movie companies know they are ready to play ball and really push the streaming service even further. Netflix is positioning themselves for the future and they’re doing it now.

I only hope Netflix doesn’t give too much. The entertainment industry is notorious for taking a pound when an ounce was offered.

At any rate, the streaming service is building up and becoming one of the most compelling offerings out there. If that means missing out on a few deals on DVD, that’s fine. After all, I’ll be able to watch it on my Xbox soon enough.

Things I’ve been doing instead of blogging

Instead of just pointing out that I’ve been bad at blogging (please don’t search and find out how many times I’ve done that), I figured I would post what I’ve been up to instead of writing personal musings and such.

• Reading the Watchmen graphic novel
• Working like a mad dog
• Watching more then a few mini-series on DVD
• Playing video games like Dead Space
• Listening to a lot of music

I’m not saying that I’m going to be blogging a whole lot any time soon, but whenever the mood strikes, this will be the place I blab about things.

Remember, vote on November 4th if you live in the U.S., make up your own mind on who — but please vote!

Dig Out Your Soul

Oasis. December 10. Target Center. I’ve got tickets.

Oasis fan. Seen them a bunch. I’ve said it all before. I didn’t think I was going to get a chance to see Oasis this year, maybe early next year. After the attack on Noel in Canada earlier this month, I figured any chance of seeing the band this year was out the window.

I’ve had a couple vacation days in my pocket on the off chance I’d get to see them this year and wouldn’t you know it — they came through for me and announced a date in Minnesota. The last time I got out to see them I had to drive to Chicago in 2005. They haven’t stepped foot in Vikings country since the Tour of Brotherly Love back in 2002.

I ordered my tickets this morning and while they aren’t front row by any means, I’m happy with the seats I got. They’re comperable to the seats I had in Chicago a few years ago.

Keeping an eye on my birth place

I was digging around this whole Internet thing, looking up random stuff. I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of information I could find on the city of my birth, Frankfurt am Main in Germany. I found a site filled with live web cams. Kind of fun. Check it out.

The Office returns

It’s the fall television season again. Favorites like Chuck, Heroes, How Met Your Mother, My Name Is Earl and The Office are making their returns over the next few weeks. The Office will be recorded on my TiVo in just a few minutes. Oh and Grey’s starts up too. Thank TiVo for the duel tuner DVR.

Blog topics for the professional world

Keeping a blog going for more then two weeks is a rather daunting task for anyone really. As someone who writes for a living, coming home and posting to my blog can often be a little bit of a laborious task. I do it because I enjoy having the outlet whenever I want someplace to share my thoughts.

A few months back I started writing a blog for the Independent, part of my job. I have struggled ever since to come up with something that is actually worth blogging about. I don’t want to spend too much time blogging about what is going on in my cover area because this could reduce the amount of content I have for the print edition. I’ve written about technology but at the same time I have a semi-regular column that covers that topic.

I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago that really grabbed some attention by the readers. You can read it yourself and give me your two cents on it if you’d like. This post proved that people are at least semi-interested in what I have to say — even it’s just a chance to disagree with me.

There haven’t been as many obvious things to blog about since the RNC in St. Paul. I really haven’t had much to say on the site. Earlier today I realized that maybe I should try posting a “featured link” style blog. Give people ideas for Web sites that might interest them. What do you think, is this something that would grab readers attention? Let me know.

Already fallen behind on the NFL picks

Oi, so I had this big plan to actually try to keep up a weekly pick for this NFL season — something I’ve been meaning to do for years. But yeah after missing the first week, I jumped in on the second. I did pretty well, finishing with something like 9/15 — pretty stoked right?

So on Friday I had planned on going through and making my picks. That didn’t happen. I realized 10 minutes into the Vikings game that I neglected to actually make my picks. Of course the Vikes won, so I felt a little better about it.

At this point I’m wondering through if it’s work going through the motions week after week. It was a nice thought, but without some sort of competition attached to it — why bother?

Christmas in September

I was walking through one of the big box stores earlier today, perusing the electronics department looking at video games I can’t afford to buy at the moment when I noticed they were putting up Christmas tress.

Putting up Christmas trees in mid-september. More then three months before the holiday actually happens. This of course means that one-fourth of the year is dedicated to the Christmas season.

Remember when Christmas was one day, sort of stretched into two? Trying to get people in the Christmas spirit, one month before Halloween mind you, is a good way to delude the season and really make me want to say bah-hum-bug. I love Christmas, but for me the season doesn’t begin until after Thanksgiving.

Think of it this way. If you were to buy a live Christmas tree and put it up when these stores try to get us in the Christmas mood - it would dry and wither months before Christmas actually comes. Happy Holidays indeed.

Adele - Hometown Glory

I have had this song perpetually stuck in my head since I first heard it months ago. I finally picked up Adele’s album “19.” It is phenomenal. Enjoy a little “Hometown Glory.”