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28 Oct 2011 12:57

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Biz: Et tu, Redbox? Netflix isn’t alone in raising its rental prices

  • $1.20 to rent a Redbox DVD — a 20¢ increase source
  • » And its stock is struggling, too: Coinstar, the parent company of the suddenly-hot DVD-rental kiosk brand, is struggling to keep prices at a level to compensate for operating expenses. Not exactly a good time for Redbox to do this, though — because, you know, Netflix is feeling the heat. And while 20 cents doesn’t sound like much, if you rent DVDs on the regular from the kiosks, that adds up quickly. On the other hand, it probably looks worse than it actually is due to the timing. So let’s look at the silver lining: Blu-ray will stay roughly the same price — $1.50 to $2.00.

22 Nov 2010 10:35

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Tech: Netflix prices streaming-only subscription in very desirable way

  • good Netflix added a streaming-only option to their popular subscription service (about time!). It suggests that they’re at a point where streaming is the focus.
  • bad For people who still want the DVDs (and their boyfriends to mail them when they go to work), your subscription price is likely going up about a dollar. source

24 Oct 2010 11:30

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Biz: Netflix quickly growing up, away from DVD distribution

  • 31% Netflix’s increase in revenue in the third quarter from a year ago
  • 16.9M the number of subscribers the service has right now
  • 19M+ the estimate of of subscriber growth by the end of the year source
  • » The future for Netflix: The key fact to take from Netflix’s recent subscriber results? That comes from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings: “We are now a streaming company, which also offers DVD-by-mail,” he says. The company recently announced a streaming-only plan, which makes a lot of sense because that’s where much of their growth is.

26 Jul 2010 21:11

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Tech: The Library of Congress made iPhone jailbreakers’ collective days

  • yes They’re now allowing people to legally jailbreak their spiffy phones without fear of retribution. iPhone users win.
  • no That doesn’t mean Apple has to make it easy for you to jailbreak it. They can still void your warranty.
  • yes They’ve also made cracking and ripping DVDs totally legal, and expanded unlocking rights. source

03 Feb 2010 22:35

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Biz, Tech: Why does Wal-Mart have a limit on buying new release DVDs?

  • five the number of copies of a newly released DVD you can buy from Wal-Mart; Target also does this
  • 40% the percentage of DVDs that kiosk company Redbox buys from Wal-Mart or Target; hmm source