Netflix Splits into Two Companies

Article taken from New Edge. A publication of NTCA. 

Via a blog post issued Sunday evening, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced that the company has decided to split into two separate entities: Netflix for its subscription-based online streaming service and Qwikster for DVD rentals by mail.

This decision comes on the heels of a recent price hike that had Netflix subscribers taking to industry blogs to voice their frustrations with the changes. Some subscribers also canceled their subscriptions, which led to a decline in stock price.

In the same blog post, Hastings issued an apology for the company’s strategic communications errors. “I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation,” he wrote. “In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success. We have done very well for a long time by steadily improving our service, without doing much CEO communication….But now I see that given the huge changes we have been recently making, I should have personally given a full justification to our members of why we are separating DVD and streaming, and charging for both. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.”

Moving forward, each business will have its own distinct website and subscribers will need to manage their library queues  and billing information via the separate portals.

In practical terms, Qwikster will be the same familiar Web interface and DVD service that existing customers are used to. However, DVD members will now be directed to visit www.qwikster.com. The company says the new website will be up and running in a few weeks. At launch, the company also plans to improve upon the site with a video games upgrade option, similar to its upgrade option for Blu-ray but directed at those customers who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Other improvements are said to be forthcoming.

Andy Rendich, who has been working with the DVD service for 12 years, will take the helm as the new CEO of Qwikster.

In explaining the strategic decision, Hastings said that the online company needs to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolve, without having to maintain compatibility with its DVD by mail service.

“For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn’t make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us) because they are afraid to hurt their initial business. Eventually these companies realize their error of not focusing enough on the new thing, and then the company fights desperately and hopelessly to recover. Companies rarely die from moving too fast, and they frequently die from moving too slowly.”

Hastings hinted that the company will reveal substantial new streaming content in the next few months.

Warning From Google – “Your Computer Appears To Be Infected”

Since late July 2011, Google has been issuing warnings to search users whose Windows PCs might be infected with a particular strain of malicious software, also known as malware. The move came after Google noticed some unusual activity on its network while conducting routine data center maintenance. While Google is NOT able to scan users' hard drives, it does see irregular information that is sent to it when a user with an infected computer performs a search.

As a result, certain users might see a warning atop their search results like the one displayed here.



Google says it has already been able to warn hundreds of thousands of computer users that their devices may be infected with the malware, which can result in deleted data, stolen personal information, and a slower connection to websites. The warning includes a "Learn how to fix this" link to a Google page to help users resolve the problem by taking appropriate steps. This link is safe to click on and includes information on:

• Installing or updating antivirus software
• Performing a system scan

As a reminder, it's important to carefully research antivirus software before downloading to make sure it's legitimate and not actually a malicious program. For example, Google warns NOT to install "My Security Shield," "Security Master AV," and "CleanUp Antivirus." You can also check with your Internet Service Provider for recommendations on antivirus software.

A First Look at Windows 8

For Windows to work on tablets and touchscreens, it needed to be designed with fingers, short battery life, and on-the-go tasks in mind.

Microsoft accomplished that with Windows 8 by redesigning everything, right through to the first screen you see before you log on. That "lock screen," which displays at boot-up and when the screen times out, shows quick-glance information about users' next calendar appointment, how many e-mails and messages they have, battery life and Wi-Fi signal strength. 

Users navigate out of this lock screen to begin using applications with an upwards swipe of the finger, or a swing of the mouse.

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Amazon Could Sell Three To Five Million Tablets In Q4 2011

Watch out, Apple: The Amazon tablet, widely expected to be released this September or October and to be cheaper than the iPad, will be the “only credible iPad competitor in the market” and will “completely disrupt the status quo,” Forrester says today in a new report. Forrester analysts predict that Amazon will sell three to five million tablets in Q4 2011, if they are priced below $300. (Keep in mind, of course, that Amazon has not officially confirmed that it will release a tablet.)

Why is Forrester so bullish on Amazon? It’s the etailer’s “willingness to sell hardware at a loss combined with the strength of its brand, content, cloud infrastructure, and commerce assets,” Forrester analyst Sarah Rottman Epps writes.

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