6 ms·
Netflix Instant is coming to the entire Linux Community
- parbo 15y agoI'm pretty sure it won't be the entire community. There are Linux users outside the US, you know.
- feydr 15y agostill it'd be nice to see more companies support linux -- there are quite a few pieces of software out there that flat out don't work well under linux, even if they have ports, (especially 64bit)
- jedberg 15y agoNetflix is expanding globally. They've already announced the expansion into Latin America.
- madaxe 15y agoBut not to that insignificant blot, Europe. No consumers over there, from what I hear, just a gang of pirates.
- dave1010uk 15y agoThere are also Linux users who don't use x86 CPUs.
- madaxe 15y agoOutside... the US? What do you mean?
- juiceandjuice 15y agooh yeah... I reported on this a while ago. I guess I didn't discuss the implications: http://tnkr.net/linchrome.png http://tnkr.net/linchrome.png
- juiceandjuice 15y ago...the implications of it being ppapi: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2760660 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2760660
- taylorbuley 15y agoWhat a helpful screen grab. Will try. Thank you!
- juiceandjuice 15y agoI should note... currently Netflix is rerouting to a landing page if you try to stream via Chrome OS, even with this plugin enabled. I imagine that will change very soon, and when it does, you should be able to use almost this same exact method to enable it. Files from Chrome OS were: netflix.info netflixplugin.so libnetflixidd.so All of them were put in /opt/google/chrome
- starwed 15y agoNice! This is perhaps the one single "essential" thing I miss on Linux. I wonder if their work overlaps with the android client at all?
- bkerensa 15y agoThis is not going to be a chrome plugin.... Instead it will be a proprietary client.
- Kwpolska 15y agoNot 'entire', people outside the US can't watch it.
- cookiecaper 15y agoThis is about as reliable as Phoronix's annual "Steam is coming to Linux and we can prove it this time!" story. Inside it reads: "We talked to someone at Valve and they said Steam is coming to Linux!!1" I have heard such rumors specific to Netflix in the past, but really, "I talked to some guys from Netflix and they said so" does not meet the standard of proof expected to publish such findings in a public pronouncement not clearly marked as rumor. Also, how many Netflix employees that would know about this project were at OSCON? You may be exposing them even if you don't post their names.
- icebraining 15y ago>This is about as reliable as Phoronix's annual "Steam is coming to Linux and we can prove it this time!" story. Inside it reads: "We talked to someone at Valve and they said Steam is coming to Linux!!1" There was actually a Linux binary that you could download from their servers and it would actually connect and download an update. Not that it would even launch a window, of course.
- calpaterson 15y agoEven if this is true: big fans of FOSS and hoping to release a proprietary client? If you're going to claim whatever social cachet is going for FOSS users, then you really ought to be avoiding those binary blobs.
- jerf 15y agoI will believe it when I see it downloadable, I have downloaded it, and used it to watch something, and no sooner. You can't put effectively DRM on Linux; you can binary blob whatever you like, but I own the kernel, graphics drivers, audio drivers, X Server, and everything else on the system except your lil' binary blob, and it doesn't stand a chance.
- yid 15y agoI believe I speak for all Linux users who need to keep Windows around just for Netflix when I say "shhhhh....."
- mtogo 15y agoOr you could buy a Roku for $50 and be done with windows. Edit: $60, my bad.
- yid 15y agoInteresting -- I didn't know they were that cheap. (BTW the cheapest one is $60 + shipping).
- retroafroman 15y agoThere's also tons of Blu-Ray players with built in streaming capabilities as well that would help justify the cost of investing in a new device.
- nitrogen 15y agoI don't know about other posters, but the reason I want everything to run through my Linux HTPC is because of the level of integration I can achieve with my custom UI, or with something like XBMC. I don't want to have a semi-reliable system with multiple boxes, IR blasters, etc. when I should be able to integrate everything I want into a single box, with the features, speed, low latency, and UI that I prefer.
- niels_olson 15y agoer, I don't think they're worried about you. They might offer you a job.
- IgorPartola 15y agoSoooo... a proprietary client that nobody but a few hackers at Netflix care about. Sounds like something to get the FSF all stirred up.
- rbranson 15y agoIf this does happen, I see it mostly as important for XBMC-type setups on Linux.
- rmc 15y agoThe entire Linux community or the US Linux community?
- jmalcolm 15y agoFrom an engineering point of view, Netflix Instant already works on Linux as it is available on Android. So, the issue is not a technical one. Moonlight (Mono Silverlight) has all the technical chops as well. The lack of DRM is what prevents that from being a solution. Also, I will note that Moonlight lacks a fair bit of polish. So, the issue here is clearly the business strategy and not the technical know-how. The 12 month estimate is meaningless. If the Netflix CEO wanted a Linux client it would be available very quickly. I have no doubt they are playing around with the DRM, or creating proof-of-concept builds using the various options, but it is not like we are waiting around for some small technology team to deliver it as a product.
- dfc 15y agoIts pretty amazing that these netflix engineers had NDAs just in case they talked to some guy with a blog:)
- tassl 15y agoThe only way I have been able to watch Netflix in Linux was with a VM running Windows XP (max RAM and Graphic card power). In my first trial I tried it with 1GB of RAM and the sound was not working fine. Of course, this is not a real Linux experience but... at least it worked.
- jpr 15y agoSomeone still thinks artificial scarcity is a viable business model?