Ideas from Mark Stout

Netflix has become a force of nature. It is credited with the downfall of the video store – even mega-giants like Blockbuster, when its primary business was mailing DVDs. Netflix has more than 70 million users worldwide. This is bound to grow dramatically, as it recently announced 130 new countries will soon have the streaming service. It’s grown so large that it now makes its own high-quality TV programs, like “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.”  Its original series are frequently nominated for Emmys. Actress Uzo Aduba won two for best supporting actress for her delightful portrayal of Crazy Eyes in “Orange is the New Black.” Netflix’ streaming service has changed the way many people watch TV. Who binge watched entire series before Netflix? Now people think nothing of sitting down on Saturday morning and cranking through entire seasons of a TV show in one sitting. One huge frustration with Netflix is finding something to watch. Netflix does not have a categor...

I have to realize that instead of just having only a computer anymore, as I did from 1979 to 2008 when I bought my first smart phone, I now have a computing ecosystem.  I use my phone, tablet and PC together.  Some are better then others for particular tasks, while each can step up and do most of the tasks of the others if need be. My Family Tech column for January 1, 2012 ( Facebook comments about column) is thoughts for the many people who received their first tablets on Christmas Day.  I promised a blog post talking about how you can use your tablet, and phone for that matter, to go beyond the basic tablet functionality of reading, watching videos and surfing the net. The same holds true for phones.  A smart phone is really just a small tablet, connected to the 3g network (while some tablets are too, mine is wifi only). Since April of 2010 I have used an iPad, since November of 2011, a Xoom Android tablet running Honeycomb. By add...

It seems everyone and their brother are writing posts listing the apps they have on their iPad.  I read everyone one I come across and have found several new programs I didn't know about. In honor of my sister receiving an iPad for her birthday today, I thought I'd do my own list. Unless otherwise noted, all apps mentioned are free. E-Mail and Calendar Oddly, the built-in Calendar and E-mail apps don't do much for me.  Since I share the iPad with my wife, I tend to use the web versions of Gmail and Google Calendar.  I do have my e-mail credentials in the e-mail app so I can e-mail out pages from applications. Books The #1 need here is to add Amazon's Kindle app.  Amazon currently has more books available for Kindle then Apple does in the iBook store.  More importantly, the Kindle is cross platform .  You can only read iBooks on the iPad and iPhone.  You can read Kindle on those and Android phones and many other platforms, including of ...

1. Turn on Wii, put in Disc 2.  Select Netflix from Wii's menu 3.  Netflix app loads and tells you to go to http://Netflix.com/Wii and enter in the four character code Netflix is displaying on your Wii. The web page says your Wii will be registered within three minutes of entering the code.  It was already registered by the time I walked from my home office back into the living room. We watched a movie for 30 minutes with absolute perfection; no stuttering or any issues at all.  We have a standard def TV. I think I'll order the disc now for my son's PS3. It will be interesting to see what this does to our internet consumption.  Comcast just enabled their meter so we can monitor our 250 gig limit to the "unlimited" broadband they sold us.

I received an e-mail yesterday from Netflix.  The Wii application to allow Netflix to stream via my Wii should be here today.  Watch for the review either later today or tomorrow.