Netflix picks up Molly at university, scores harsh character assessment Video streamer Netflix has deployed a prototype University of California, Berkley, fault generating platform to find and fix five problems that otherwise could have affected users. The platform, dubbed MOLLY, is described in a 2015 Berkeley paper Lineage-driven Fault Injection [pdf] as a "novel approach for discovering bugs in …
Will this improve the quality of their U.S. streaming content? FFS, Netflix subscribers in the Netherlands can watch The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. Those movies were MADE IN THE USA before I was born, but we can't stream them here? I can tell you where the faults lie, and they're not in the software.
Sadly I think this is mostly down to the massive amount of legal red tape each country and region place upon them.
Rights holders basically want to dicate what can and cant be wated where, then you get the local governments who think it's them that should have the say over what can and can't be watched in their lands. You end up with what is most like a very conveluted set of rules of what is or isnt available.
I'm sure netflix more than anyone would love to see this done away with and to be given free hand to make all of their content availble univerally, it would mean a lot less effort and man hours on their part.
Personally, I went out and bought a DVD of Casablanca for about a fiver.
I just set up a VPN and watched them as part of my subscription. The Maltese Falcon was more lame than I remembered but Casablanca was pretty good. Last night I watched Contact, another winner unavailable to stream in the U.S.
I understand the problem lies with content hoarders owners. You'd think they'd figure it out, wouldn't you?
Netflix might try flexing their big muscles, as does Walmart when dealing with vendors. "You want us to stream this movie in Country X? Then give us the rights to these as well. Otherwise, flog them on Hulu, which is a major turnoff due to running ads even for paying customers. We are the 800-pound gorilla of streaming video."
What century is this again?
Netflix rotate what is available based upon what people are watching and request (by searching). The rights holders don't give them universal licenses in perpetuity, so they must rotate. This is different to music subscription services, where the content is made available solely for a per-stream cost.
If Netflix can produce something as enthralling as 'Making a Murderer' every now and again they are welcome to my subscription. Watched it over the weekend, got completely hooked and am still trying to assimilate how such a travesty can come about in a country ruled by law...
'Making a Murderer'
The police and prosecutors are alleging the filmmakers took too much liberty with the facts, and have produced a work unfairly biased in favor of the accused. Of course, we should expect them to protest, but I'd wait for more data before concluding the case is a "travesty."
Anyone familiar with the basics of documentary photography and film making knows how easily those media can be used to say just about anything the producers want. We have the recent example of a group of anti-abortionists who selectively edited footage in an attempt to indict Planned Parenthood. The Grand Jury investigating their claims determined that the anti-abortionists were the real criminals and Planned Parenthood was innocent of the charges.
Ordinarily, I wouldn’t rise to the bait however given from what I know of your entertainment choice and your whining that you can’t get it, when you want it from your streaming service, I have enough data to reach a conclusion.
Without any data to the contrary I would classify you as someone with a head full of fluffy bunnies not seeking anything particularly emotionally or intellectually challenging but ready to opine as if you do.
I on the other hand, prefer emotionally or intellectually challenging subjects and try to absorb as much of the subject matter as I can, both for and against.
I have absorbed enough data on this subject to conclude the situation a ‘travesty’ without any further input as you suggest.
Amazingly, I am familiar with ‘ the basics of documentary photography and film making’ and how it can be used to form opinion as I am familiar with how people in any authority structure for personal and political gain will continually step outside of reason if they are arrogant enough to believe they won’t get caught.
As I have concluded the situation is a travesty I am also mindful of the fact that there is the rule of law which still applies and as such the opportunity to ‘put it right’.
I dearly hope they do.
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