
Netflix - Why We Choose HTML5 for User Experiences on Devices - tomeast
http://techblog.netflix.com/2010/12/why-we-choose-html5-for-user.html
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marknutter
Except that Netflix's iPad app is so slow and clunky it's almost unusable.

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a1k0n
That's the only iPad app my 2-year-old needs help navigating. He likes to
watch Thomas and Friends on it, but by the time he's asking for help he's
added about 50 things to my DVD queue. This happens almost every day, so
whenever I drop a DVD to return in the mail I can't be sure what comes next.

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brianpan
Netflix's app is the opposite of how Gruber describes a great app: "...it
should seem, when you’re using it, that the entire device was meant for it.
E.g., a good chess game for the iPhone should make the iPhone itself feel like
a chess playing device." [1]

The Netflix app feels painfully like using a computer, not a movie-finding-
and-watching device. IMO, that's why HTML is the _wrong_ choice, at least for
iOS.

[1] <http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/12/03/tablets>

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cryptoz
Wait, so why can't I run Netflix on Ubuntu, then? If they're using HTML5, then
shouldn't they have solved the problems with DRM preventing support for Linux?

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kenjackson
But streaming video to a console allows them to not really have to worry abuot
the DRM issues. They probably stick with a Silverlight solution on PCs until
they can do DRM on HTML5.

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pornel
BTW: there are many people waiting for W3C to add DRM to HTML5 video, but:

• <video> _supports DRM already_ in shipping browsers — Safari on Mac plays
FairPlay-restricted files.

• DRM by definition is in opposition of being open and interoperable, so it's
impossible for HTML spec to do anything about it.

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tomeast
It makes it easier to embrace HTML5 when you have complete control over the
browser used.

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weixiyen
I agree, although I'm contemplating providing 2 UIs, an HTML5 version and an
IE-friendly version for my own projects.

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adolph
The balance between native and web-browser controls is interesting. The author
indicates a preference for native, but chose web so they can change things
more quickly:

 _This capacity for testing is so critical to how we innovate, we’re willing
to forego having a native UI experience to accommodate it._

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jfb
They ported WebKit to the PS3? Goodness gracious. That's a hack and a half
right there.

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JonnieCache
Not really, considering they had millions of dollars behind them, while quake
3 was ported to android in people's spare time.

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jfb
I'm thinking more the inherent programmer hostility of the underlying
platform.

