It looks like Netflix has bowed to overwhelming pressure and will not be removing their Profiles feature after all. Check out this email I just received from them:
Dear Steve,
You spoke, and we listened. We are keeping Profiles. Thank you for all the calls and emails telling us how important Profiles are.
We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused. We hope the next time you hear from us we will delight, and not disappoint, you.
-Your friends at Netflix
It’s good to know that, sometimes, companies do listen. Good work, people!
A new report by The Climate Group on behalf of the Global eSustainability Initiative (GeSI) suggests that global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be reduced up to 15% over “business-as-usual” by applying Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to the power generation and transportation sectors.
“Smart motor systems: A review of manufacturing in China has identified that without optimisation, 10% of China’s emissions (2% of global emissions) in 2020 will come from China’s motor systems alone and to improve industrial efficiency even by 10% would deliver up to 200 million tonnes (Mt) CO2e savings. Applied globally, optimised motors and industrial automation would reduce 0.97 GtCO2e in 2020, worth $107.2 billion.
Smart logistics: Through a host of efficiencies in transport and storage, smart logistics in Europe could deliver fuel, electricity and heating savings of 225 MtCO2e. The global emissions savings from smart logistics in 2020 would reach 1.52 GtCO2e, with energy savings worth $441.7 billion.
Smart buildings: A closer look at buildings in North America indicates that better building design, management and automation could save 15% of North America’s buildings emissions. Globally, smart buildings technologies would enable 1.68 GtCO2e of emissions savings, worth $340.8 billion.
Smart grids: Reducing T&D losses in India’s power sector by 30% is possible through better monitoring and management of electricity grids, first with smart meters and then by integrating more advanced ICTs into the so-called energy internet. Smart grid technologies were the largest opportunity found in the study and could globally reduce 2.03 GtCO2e , worth $124.6 billion.”
While the report acknowledges that increased virtualization of work, communication and shopping is important, it states that efficiency provides the most significant role for these technologies.
One of my biggest fantasies is to have a job that allows me to work from anywhere, and to have the technology to do it. Having an internet connection wherever I go is a major component in this fantasy.
Finding a free wireless internet connection is difficult and inconsistent…mostly I end up sitting in a lot of Starbucks because I have T-Mobile for my phone, which allows me to access their hotspots. At the very least, I am confined to a coffee shop if there is no Starbucks.
I could get myself a Verizon wireless broadband card, but I am not sold on adding another $60 to my monthly charges, and I wouldn’t be able to use their service on my phone, so I would end up paying over $90 a month for internet access.
But…if I had wireless in my car, I could use it to access the internet through both my phone and my laptop (or any other device, for that matter). Problem solved?
I first encountered the concept of a wireless router for the car when I rented a Prius from Avis. Their Avis Connect system combines a 3G cellular modem with a wifi router. Connections can be made up to 100 feet away, with speeds of 600 to 800 kilobits per second. In a very smart move, the company includes both a cigarette lighter adapter and a standard home outlet adapter, so you aren’t confined to the car. I love this router, and used it very successfully to get on the internet from my laptop, and had service during most of my trip from San Francisco to Palm Springs.
So, it is with much interest that I learned about Chrysler’s announcement that they will offer wireless hotspot service in all of their 2009 models. The service will be called UConnect Web, and is being provided by the same company that Avis uses, AutoNet Mobile. The router is expected to cost $449, with service running at $29 a month.
I can think of many uses for a mobile wireless router, such as being able to go somewhere beautiful and do some work, or as a great way to get wireless for business meetings, when not everyone has a Starbucks connection.
It may seem like having wireless in your car would encourage more driving miles, and thus be less sustainable. My take on it is that any technology that allows people more freedom to work where they want also frees them from having to make a commute to a far-off city center. Instead of being chained to their home or local coffee shop, they can go to their local park, or wherever they choose.
Not to mention the fact that this type of technology does not have to be tied to a car. You could just as easily put it on a bike or motorcycle.
From Brazil comes a new concept in retail: collective selling. This store rents individual “cubicles’ to small designers. This gives a cohesive look-and-feel to the store, and gives the designers affordable access to a prime retail location.
I like this idea, because it represent one more way for the little guy to compete with the big retailers. I also like it because it doesn’t have the haphazard look of a consignment shop.
As design, manufacturing and production becomes more and more affordable for individuals, we can expect to see concepts like this for all kinds of products, not just clothing.
Being a business student, I am always amazed when businesses make decisions that make their best customers angry, or cause them to leave. I have been taught that you start with the customers’ needs first, and that everything else is secondary.
So, I was appalled to see the following email in my inbox from Netflix:
“Dear Steve,
We wanted to let you know we will be eliminating Profiles, the feature that allowed you to set up separate DVD Queues under one account, effective September 1, 2008.
Each additional Profile Queue will be unavailable after September 1, 2008. Before then, we recommend you consolidate any of your Profile Queues to your main account Queue or print them out.
While it may be disappointing to see Profiles go away, this change will help us continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers.
Needless to say, I am furious! Netflix’s Profiles feature was the one thing that makes managing movie queues between my wife and I feasible. She is addicted to romantic comedies, and watches at least 2 a week. She doesn’t see the point in renting TV shows on DVD. I love all manner of weird and unusual movies, documentaries and TV shows, and sometimes it takes me forever to get around to watching them.
The worst part is that my wife will lose all of the history she has built up in her movie ratings. Netflix is not providing any way to migrate to a separate account!
Although Netflix is claiming that only a small percentage of users avail themselves of this feature, the heated conversation on Slashdot would have you believe otherwise. (Apparently, the small number of people who use that feature are all programming geeks!)
Intuition tells me that the people who use the Profiles feature on Netflix are also Netflix’s most loyal customers. (Of course, if I play devil’s advocate for a minute, these same people may also be the small minority of users who cost the most to keep, so the 80/20 rule might tell you that you can cut them loose and still make good money.)
In any case, just the bad publicity alone will make this a poor business move. Think New Coke. C’mon Netflix, I know you can do better!
This table is a perfect example of how to use examples of nature to make something which is both simple and complex at the same time, and inherently beautiful. While it may seem complex at first, it uses a fractal-based design to implement its complexity. Fractals are basically simple pattern which are repeated on increasingly smaller scales. Most natural and biological structures are based on fractal designs. They are also used to build the landscapes in video games without a lot of overhead.
There is something about the design, being so much like nature, that is inherently pleasing and soothing, while still retaining the order and utility of a manufactured product. Combine this with some earth-friendly source material, and you have the basic model for very sustainable distributed manufacturing.
Next, we’ve got something on the other end of the spectrum: a truly man-made design. This small solar collector design has components which can be printed out via a 3D printer. This came via the RepRap blog, so I think the intention was to be able to print these via RepRap’s low-cost printers. I believe that only the plastic support parts are currently able to be manufactured via a 3D printer, but it is easy to see where this is heading, and the implications. (besides, we are not that far away from 3D printers being able to print their own circuitry and metals)
Imagine, for a second, that a working model of this could be printed by anyone, including poor 3rd-world peoples, for only the cost of the raw materials, plastic, metal and glass. That could mean cheap, clean energy for everyone.
This last one is just for fun, but it shows how for advanced 3D-prototyping has come. This model of Disney’s Cinderella Castle was printed with a very expensive high-end rapid prototyping machine:
This research paper from the Institute for the Future discusses information overload and the future of various technologies to overcome it. It is a really interesting read.
My favorite part is where they discuss the social web, especially social bookmarking services like del.icio.us. I love del.icio.us, and I use it quite a bit. The problem, for me, is that I haven’t yet figured out a way to discover those perfect gems of the internet which are ripe for blogging. What I need to find are relevant stories, research, ideas, products which are just coming onto the scene, and before the mainstream blogs pick up on them.
What happens with social bookmarking is that you get one of two things: a small number of web pages which are bookmarked by a lot of people, a “popularity contest”, or a large number of web pages which are just coming onto the scene, some of these are interesting, but most of them “noise”. How do I raise the signal-to-noise ratio?
I have been using a “river-of-news” system for a while, where I subscribe to a large number of blogs, and quickly scan the titles for things that look interesting. Then I “star” them in Google Reader for later review. This is a good system, but very time-consuming. It is a constant process of finding new feeds and then getting rid of feeds that don’t provide any value.
Part of the problem can be solved by finding good, cutting-edge bloggers and bookmakers, who can act as a filter. These are few and far between, but when you find them, they are gold.
Another method it to use various automated filtering programs, like FeedHub. FeedHub works by taking your feeds and filtering them based on “memes”, which are basically subject keywords that appear in the various articles You then get a new “washed” feed that you can subscribe to in your reader. You can also set volume limitations.
One drawback of this system is that you have to be careful not to limit yourself to subjects which are your “favorites”. What happens is that as you customize and narrow down your feeds to the ones you like, your view can also become very narrow, and you will miss opportunities coming from unexpected areas.
I continue to see more examples of the “cognitive surplus” combined with DIY culture. While more people are spending less and less time with passive pursuits, such as watching television, many of those same people are putting that time and energy into creative pursuits. Some of these pursuits, such as making videos to post on YouTube are purely for entertainment purposes, but, increasingly, cheap technology is allowing for “hobbies” which would traditionally fall under the rubric of science or manufacturing..
Today, we find biologist and blogger Attila Csordás writing about cheap technology allowing individuals to perform laboratory-quality biology experiments at home, referred to as “BioDIY”. Home labs can be had for as little as $2,000. Csordás gives an example of a “man who amplified his daughter’s DNA at home to help doctors figure out her genetic disorder.” He even suggests that it may be possible to isolate embryonic stem cells at home(!).
This development strikes me as both amazing and totally logical. It only makes sense that if computers can get cheaper and faster, other technologies will do the same. As I’ve written previously about similar achievements in 3-D printing, bringing technologies like these to individuals will spark a revolution in almost all areas of manufacturing and science.
This show seems really interesting, and timely. I hope we get to see it in the U.S., or at least I can order it from Netflix.
“Burn Up” is a high stakes conspiracy thriller set against the backdrop of the oil industry. It is a story that mirrors the world in which we live and where we struggle to be both economically successful and globally responsible.”
“Burn Up” is a Trojan horse of a story. It delivers an eviscerating tale where the stakes are terrifyingly real and the climate issues, the intrigue, the global politics, the back room dealings and the espionage are happening today in our world.”
From Brazil comes a new concept in retail: collective selling. This store rents individual “cubicles’ to small designers. This gives a cohesive look-and-feel to the store, and gives the designers affordable access to a prime retail location.
