
Netflix Open Source - Garbage
http://netflix.github.com/
======
smoyer
I love Netflix ... with the brief exception of splitting shipping and
streaming accounts, they've shown a corporate culture of innovation and still
kept things "fun". It's rare that a big company embraces openness this way.

Thank you Netflix

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jhdevos
Ugh. I hate these websites where you have to hover over things to get at any
useful information.

~~~
jedberg
You'd probably like this interface better: <https://github.com/netflix>

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myko
Cute, but this interface is terrible.

~~~
jedberg
For the ubernerd, we have this too: <https://github.com/netflix>

~~~
catshirt
for what it's worth, 3 of the 9 top level comments are distaste for the
layout. i realize you'll be hard pressed to create a landing page that
satisfies everybody, but this is a pretty textbook poor experience. very
concretely: the only content that's actually surfaced (repository name and
movie poster) is useless.

i won't give any advice here. i'm sure netflix has a more informed design and
experience team than HN. my only intent in responding was hoping to bring to
light the severity of the issue: why make a custom landing page at all if
you're going to redirect half the audience to something more functional?

edit: upon refresh, the page refuses to load and it can't get the data from
the Github API. none of the repositories are listed under "our repositories",
and the console error is _Uncaught TypeError: Object # <Object> has no method
'forEach' commits.js:50_. this looks to be because the Github API is not
returning any repositories, and instead returns this error: _"message": "API
Rate Limit Exceeded for [my client IP]"_

edit 2: also, depending on window browser size, there are other javascript
errors. i can't tell if these actually manifest problematically since the
first issue is already preventing any content from loading: _Error: Invalid
negative value for <rect> attribute height="-33" netflix.github.com:274_

~~~
Randgalt
We were getting throttled by Github. We're now caching the content and this
shouldn't happen anymore.

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chromano
I was really hoping for something that would give you access to their
streaming service so you could write your very own player, stupid me.

~~~
aquayellow
Exactly. Associating "Netflix" with "opensource" is kind of ironic considering
they still haven't been able to deliver any workable streaming solution for
the free OS.

~~~
mapleoin
What does _the free OS_ mean?

~~~
evinugur
Netflix only functions on desktop operating systems with Silverlight, a
Microsoft plugin for some browsers that only is supported on modern OS X
versions and Windows. Additionally, there is a native Android and iOS version.
People who want to watch it on Linux, are forced to something extremely
impractical like emulate Android - it is a closed system.

~~~
jedberg
This proposal is really important to cross platform vendor agnostic support:

[http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/html-media/raw-file/tip/encrypted-
medi...](http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/html-media/raw-file/tip/encrypted-
media/encrypted-media.html)

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jontro
You can see a better list of the available repositories here:
<https://github.com/Netflix/>

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dmritard96
Support chrome/firefox/whatever on Linux and I will be impressed. Open source
is great, in this case though, being cross platform is better.

~~~
jedberg
This proposal is really important to cross platform vendor agnostic support:

[http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/html-media/raw-file/tip/encrypted-
medi...](http://dvcs.w3.org/hg/html-media/raw-file/tip/encrypted-
media/encrypted-media.html)

~~~
myko
Why not release a standalone Linux app, a la Android/iOS/Boxee/Roku/etc? Seems
that would be possible.

Honestly I'd prefer it to using my browser anyway.

~~~
Crisco
Yes! I would really like to subscribe to Netflix, but the lack of Linux
support is stopping me. It would be nice to have a web client, but a native
client would be a blessing for those of us that find web clients to decrease
performance system wide.

~~~
dmritard96
It is strange to me that we should need a native client for performance
reasons. There are numerous html5 games that have "native" feels. I understand
the security concerns with exposing lower level access like OpenGl to the web
and I understand why on browsers (both mobile and desktop) some hardware is
not allowed to be accessed directly (and with good reason) but it is
frustrating that performance is still the major driving force between native
and web considering the obvious cross-platform-ness of web based approaches...

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noahmbarr
Most corporations would NEVER do this. Hats off to Netflix for taking a bold
step forward.

BTW, Linux is an edge case (< 1%, let alone << of 1% of paying traffic for
Netflix!), and companies have to prioritize their resources.

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thenicepostr
I actually think the interface is a cool and creative use of their app's
interface.

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edwinnathaniel
Wow, almost all of them are written in Java (2 in Scala, 1 in Groovy, 1 in
shell).

~~~
jedberg
We're mostly a Java company, but certainly not only a Java company.

We have a core of folks who use Python (like me), we just haven't open sourced
any of it yet.

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Randgalt
FYI - we've added a list view for those that prefer that.

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jakerocheleau
New Arrested Development coming soon too.

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loceng
I will forever have a bitter taste towards Netflix in regards to their
deceptive/dishonest marketing tactics.

~~~
vampirechicken
Explain please.

~~~
loceng
I didn't want Netflix service, though since I was gifted a month I thought I'd
try it. Had to put my credit card details in for a free month I was gifted.
First had to signup for the free trial month, putting in my credit card at
that point. The gift month wasn't added. After 2 or 3 phone calls to Netflix
support, and over an hour later the second month was added.

I had asked and was promised that I would be getting an email letting me know
1 week before that the renewal period was approaching. No email ever came of
course.

Might seem small, but doing these kinds of tactics on a large scale, with tens
of millions of users - they know the recurring rate will be higher, and many
people will keep getting billed without remembering or realizing, even if it's
for 3+ months. It's dishonest.

There are other minute details I've not written out because I don't care to
put the energy into it.

~~~
vampirechicken
That's not marketing. That's poor customer service.

