A lot of you have asked what I thought of the Netflix Player I bought a few weeks ago… so here’s my feedback on it.
The Good: Using the Netflix player is incredibly easy. When you’re logged into your Netflix account online, you can browse to see what movies are available to watch instantly. They are marked with a navy blue icon. Just add it to your Instant Queue, and you’re ready to watch it on your TV. The only thing you need is an internet connection to the player, which can be done by wire or wirelessly through your network. The clarity and sound is wonderful. I couldn’t believe I was watching a show over online streaming on the TV. The $99 price tag is perfect.
The Bad: A lot of people have complained that the selection is limited. Unfortunately, the blame actually falls on movie studios that stubbornly refuse to allow their content to be made available for online rental. Netflix is working to negotiate with studios and I feel confident that they will have much more to choose from as the year goes on. They are already adding more content daily.
The Ugly: I had a technical question and called Roku, who makes the product. They will be your point of contact if you have a question that is hardware related. The first question they asked me was what I was using for my wireless network. When I told her it was an Apple Airport, she immediately told me to call Apple and said she wouldn’t help me.
This is inexcusable. The Apple Airport is simply a wireless router, just like any other brand. It has nothing to do with Windows or Mac, or anything like that. It’s just a box. And there’s no way Apple is going to provide support for the Roku box. Roku is the maker, and they should provide support for their product. Not Apple.
Further, the Netflix Player is intended to compete with Apple TV. They have a long way to go if they refuse to help anyone using an Apple product.
The Bottom Line: Crappy support aside, the Netflix Player is wonderful! It’s affordable, reliable, and we’ve been so impressed with it. We did have some troubles on the first day, but I suspect the box was in the middle of a service update. Just like Tivo, the player automatically downloads updates from the internet periodically. After being on for a few hours, it was fine and there have been no more problems.
We laughed, we cried, we applauded! I’ve never been to a movie where I felt like the audience was so connected to the film. It’s everything a Sex and the City fan could ever hope for!
It truly is a movie for the fans. If you aren’t a fan of the show or haven’t seen it, most of the film’s dialogue will be over your head. But if you are familiar, you will love it!
12 more hours until we meet up with our favorite fag hag to see Sex and the City. I can’t wait!
The reviews have been negative, but you know what they say about sex… even when it’s bad, it’s still good. 
Tonight was the first time I watched American Idol this season. I usually like to jump in just around the end of a season and get the snippets. But of course I had to watch tonight because of Mariah Carey.
First of all… David Cook… wow. I’ve heard his name, and I always look out for the people I hear buzz about before I’ve ever seen them perform. I don’t know the first thing about him or his style, but this performance of “Always Be My Baby” was incredible. I loved it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwNkiHYYhRk
Next on my radar was David Archuleta. What a cutie. And yes, I know he’s 17. I’m not being some dirty perv. I’m just saying he’s adorable. I liked his performance of “When You Believe”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25DPLIBx9dk
Syesha Mercado’s “Vanishing” performance was really rock solid, although very “safe”. She hit all the right notes, everything was in tune. But it was a carbon copy of the original. I did notice the comment about it being a song that people wouldn’t know, so I’m not sure how other people perceived it. But if you are a Mariah fan, you’ll probably know the song really well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSH7MkJztUs
The Jason Castro version of “I Don’t Wanna Cry” also stood out. Worth a mention.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7zo5CowPJU
So all you American Idol fans out there… who do you like and dislike? Who’s your pick for the winner?
Has anyone seen the new Pontiac G8 GT commercial inspired by the 1980’s Nintento game Spy Hunter? I loved that game so much! It was very cool seeing it turned into a live video action sequence! I get sentimental just hearing that familiar music.
Here’s the commercial:
When we were in New York last month, we found this awesome Golden Girls T-Shirt! It was designed by a local gay artist, Glen Hanson, and I meant to write a blog post about it, but never did. A post on Dan’s blog reminded me about the shirt.
If you’re a Golden Girls fan, you can buy it from Glen’s website. You’re supporting a really great artist and getting a cool T-shirt too!
It’s available in black, white, and brown. Rodney bought the brown one and it’s actually the best one. The color on the site is deceptive, it’s a very nice shade of brown.
One of my favorite gay themed TV shows is coming back. I’m so happy!
Noah’s Arc, which was canceled abruptly after 2 successful seasons on Logo, is coming back in the form of a movie. It was announced on Thursday that shooting will begin in March and will pick up where the cliffhanger left off at the end of the last season.
Too bad it’s going to be a film, though. I still don’t understand why it was canceled. Everything I’ve heard suggests that the whole cast was ready and willing to do a third season, and it was a very popular show on Logo, so it wasn’t the ratings.
Hmmm… I suspect their was a princess tantrum somewhere behind the scenes. The question is: Who?
Thanks to a gigantic billboard in Times Square, I found out last week that Paige Davis is back on Trading Spaces.
Ah, the fond memories we have of that show. It was a Saturday night tradition in our household. Rodney and I would pile on the couch each week to see what new designs they came up with for homes, and how the homeowners would react. Often times we’d even have friends over to watch. It was just a good time.
The show changed the way the public looked at interior design and got millions of people interested, who otherwise wouldn’t have been.
But eventually things did fall apart for the show. They got too gimmicky and were doing all these crazy things. The final nail in the coffin was when TLC fired Paige Davis. That’s when they lost us, as well as most of their other viewers.
Now it’s back… in its original form. Paige Davis is the host, many of the old designers are back, and the show is very simple. No crazy gimmicks, just the regular show that we know and love.
Rodney and I watched it tonight. It was a very nice return to old traditions.
Good choice, TLC. I’m glad you came to your senses.
How many readers are a fan of Showtime’s series Dexter? When it debuted in 2006, there were a lot of readers who commented to say they loved it. I’m wondering if you maintained your interest until the end of season 2? The season 2 finale airs tonight on Showtime.
If you are a fan, you’re probably quite excited to see how it all unfolds after being left with the cliffhanger of last week’s episode. What will happen when Lila discovers James? Is Dexter really going to turn himself in? And what about those pesky internet rumors that Dexter kills himself and Lila takes over in season 3? (Okay, I made that one up… or did I?)
I have all the answers. The last episodes were leaked early in December, and I was surprised to notice there wasn’t more buzz about them, at least not on sites I’d expect. And there’s heavy speculation that Showtime is responsible for the leak. The network made no effort to have the leaks taken offline, and they were actually very easy to get. So maybe it really was a clever marketing ploy.
So what happens… who dies… do you really want to know?
Visit the comments section to get the scoop.
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