Over three years later, has the Netflix Prize been won? Today our team submitted our solution to the Netflix Prize, resulting in a score of .8558, which corresponds to an improvement over Netflix Cinematch algorithm of 10.05%. This is the first submission in the competition to break the 10% barrier and sets off a 30 day period where all competitors are invited to submit their best and final solutions. (Previously.) [more inside]
posted by youarenothere on Jun 26, 2009 - 50 comments

Shrinking the United States Postal Service: What happens to Netflix? [more inside]
posted by Secret Life of Gravy on Feb 2, 2009 - 117 comments

NetFlix Origami The fun way to recycle your NetFlix flaps
posted by ColdChef on Sep 12, 2008 - 13 comments

In a world where one company single-handedly created the online DVD rental industry, what happens when they turn against their own customers? Netflix has announced the cancellation of its Profiles feature. This means no more separate rental queues for different people in a household. Since the announcement, it took less than 24 hours for SaveNetflixProfiles.com to launch, bloggers are furious, and the real hardcore fans are absolutely livid. Who will triumph, and who will break?
posted by Faint of Butt on Jun 19, 2008 - 125 comments

This Psychologist Might Outsmart the Math Brains Competing for the Netflix Prize
posted by AceRock on Mar 1, 2008 - 32 comments

Zach Galifianakis Live at The Purple Onion His NSFW Magnum Opus
Google Video (scammed offa Netflix) 1 hour, 1 minute.
Hate his drunken belching voice? Try You Bring Me Joy, It's Not About Love, or Can't Tell Me Nothing. Hate him still? You may be a preschooler.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur on Nov 12, 2007 - 25 comments

Newsfilter: 30,000 customers in the San Francisco area lost power today at about 1:50pm PDT, in a series of power failures which knocked out a major datacenter hub: 365 Main. The hub controls servers for many social media sites, including Technorati, Netflix, Yelp, Craigslist and all Six Apart properties, including TypePad, LiveJournal and Vox. (6A's twitter stream has updates.) More here and here. Amusingly enough, 365 Main tempted fate and released a press release today patting themselves on the back for "two years of 100-percent uptime".
posted by zarq on Jul 24, 2007 - 82 comments

Netflix is dead. ...or so claims Robert Scoble (others disagree). Wal-Mart couldn't do it, Amazon couldn't do it; has Verisign produced a Netflix killer?
posted by Horace Rumpole on Jan 11, 2007 - 80 comments

"I yearn for that kind of a backpacking trip minus the bears." "I was much the happy to know this man was tremendously eaten ferociously by the grizzly bear." "Not bad but not enough black chicks."

The work of these online reviewers may not merit their own special edition, but they're special in their own way. Doc Savage reviews 200+ items on Amazon, most of which he hates, unless they involve black women and/or Carly Simon. At Netflix, HV from Duvall is not nearly as prolific, but gets 5 stars for sublimely anfractuous English. And DJAkin over at IMDB has written nearly 500 reviews, although most of them read like Jackie Harvey's Mad Libs. He (or she) may not be the next A. O. Scott, but if you can find me a critic with a more sincere and unsnarked love of cinema, I'll eat my britches.
posted by sonofslim on Jan 8, 2007 - 27 comments

Why is Miss Congeniality the most frequently rated DVD on Netflix? Database magic reveals the most contentious movies ever.
posted by muckster on Oct 26, 2006 - 52 comments

The Netflix Rolling Roadshow, "Imagine watching 'Jaws' from a raft in the ocean just off the Martha's Vineyard beach where it was filmed . . . or watching 'Escape from Alcatraz' in the cell block where Frank Morris, played by Clint Eastwood, was locked up...This August, the Netflix Rolling Roadshow celebrates classic American movies by screening them at the locations they made famous. Each screening is an interactive special event (think scavenger hunts, road rallies, a high school prom, even spending the night on Alcatraz Island). Some screenings will also include cast reunions and question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers." My favorite: Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. That is going to be a surreal experience.
posted by JPowers on Jun 8, 2006 - 38 comments

So how DO those discs go back and forth? We all love Netflix and LaLa, but doesn't it seem just a little bit amazing that those little silver discs go back and forth quickly and safely? How about a shout out to our friends at the USPS and their nifty machines that make it all happen? Scroll down toward the bottom of the page for a few short movie clips of the machinery in action.
posted by twsf on Mar 11, 2006 - 29 comments

Another class action suit, another lousy settlement. Are or were you a member of Netflix? Sign up for your benefits under the class action settlement, and receive a free upgrade (or for former members, a free month) of service. That is one whole extra DVD at a time per month. Doesn't sound so hot? It gets better. The next month, they'll keep you on the upgraded plan and raise your bill to match it! Class action settlement, or class action fleecing?
posted by jmccorm on Nov 2, 2005 - 62 comments

New startup Peerflix is starting to generate press attention as a clearinghouse for peer-to-peer DVD trades; it's being called "eBay meets Netflix". With an idea that obvious, you'd think someone would have thought of it before, and they had - it was called WebSwap, but it didn't last that long...
posted by runkelfinker on Oct 24, 2005 - 25 comments

Newsflash: actually useful social-software site. There are many, many (etc., etc.,) sites that have sprung up to represent networks of friends (and friends of friends) on the web. But so what? There's no compelling reason to create or keep these profiles; there's nothing in it for you (just lots of work). But I've stumbled across Mediachest (screenshot) which is a sharing community for books, DVDs, and CDs. You can borrow your friends books and music and movies, and they can borrow yours. It's like a permanent MefiSwap!
posted by zpousman on Feb 21, 2004 - 12 comments

What to Rent Computers now recommending movie rentals to people.
posted by AVandalay on Feb 8, 2004 - 25 comments

Blockbuster late fee. I recently returned a movie a few hours late at Blockbuster. I was surprised to learn that the late fee was equal to what I paid for the movie- $3.25. The company line now is- "We don't have late fees. We just bill you for another seven days." This can be as high as $5.44, apparently. There seems to be no mention of this in the usual places. Shouldn't there be a legal limit to how high late fees can be? [The store clerk told me that late fees represented 40% of his store's earnings- I am not sure if this is true across the board.] I am ready for Netflix. Are you?
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy on Apr 8, 2003 - 156 comments

Netflix may be driving me crazy with popup ads but I love their service. Where else can you rent L'Avventura, The Seventh Seal, Run Lola Run and Rashomon?

It encourages me to explore more movies, which has led me to several "greatest movies ever" lists. I'm thoroughly hooked and my film snob rating is slowly rising. Is this a good thing? I can't even stand to watch drivel like Signs anymore, and my family is tired of subtitles and refuses to watch No Man's Land with me. Anyone else in this predicament? By the way... has anyone seen a good book about the greatest directors?
posted by kevin123 on Sep 6, 2002 - 57 comments