It wasn't all that long ago that there seemed to be a Blockbuster Video store on every corner. Remember when they came under fire for putting all the "mom & pop" video stores out of business? That was a short-term lifestyle eh, running an indie video store? What did all those moms & pops do before they opened those stores, and what are they doing now?
But back to Blockbuster. The company has been struggling for a while now, and seems to be a perpetual follower, rather than a leader. They introduced a 'rent-by-mail' service only after Netflix was well established. And today, the New York Times tells us, they're going to announce digital distribution to Tivo, a la Amazon's Video on Demand. In exchange for providing this service, they'll start selling Tivos in Blockbuster stores.
As with the Amazon service, users will be renting movies; this isn't an 'all you can eat' service like Netflix's "Watch Now," and the odd thing is that Tivo already supports Amazon's Video On Demand. (Also, according to the Times only 800,000 Tivos are connected to broadband, so it isn't a huge market to begin with.) So what will be the differentiating factor? What will make me decide to rent the Blockbuster version rather than the Amazon version? That question hasn't been answered yet, as far as I can tell. Price maybe? Performance? It will be nice for the consumers to have options and competition on their Tivo, but it seems like once again, Blockbuster is coming in late to the party.
Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world
Esther Schindler
If the comments are ugly, the code is ugly
claird
SVG a graphics format for 21st century
pasmith
Take Chrome OS for a test spin
Sandra Henry-Stocker
Solaris Tip: Have Your Files Changed Since Installation?
jfruh
Android fragments vs. the iPhone monolith
mikelgan
What Gizmodo missed about the Pro WX Wireless USB disk drive
Where Google Chrome security fails: the password
I heard mention that the Chrome OS will have some sort of encryption available a la bitlocker. If it's possible to encrypt personal data using another password or key, then it may have potential for very secure data.... And Ubuntu has an 'encrypt home directory' option, perhaps google should follow suit.
- Dann
Join the conversation here
Quick, practical advice for IT pros. Made fresh daily.
Want to cash in on your IT savvy? Send your tip to tips@itworld.com. If we post it, we'll send you a $25 Amazon e-gift card.
