[lnichols]

- In the case of the browser, it probably would have been a big improvement

- In the case of the apps, I'm not sure. Developers would still have had to adapt their apps UI to fit the form factor and would still have had to adapt their apps to fit within the memory constraints and processor difference. They *might* have done this and they might not have. Look at the apps that are on Z10 but not Q10 as an example.

In the case of the unified OS, how would that have helped your friends? Were they already on Z10 or Q10?

A unified OS gives a much larger user base and apps working across multiple devices, at least it seems to do that with iOS and Android. With BlackBerry It apparently doesn't work that way since the Z10 and Q10 are showing fragmentation. I really don't care what the limitations were with the hardware, they said the PlayBook would get it, and stopped updating the PlayBook at all to focus on BB10 which would finally fix many of the issues with the PlayBook.

Finally being in the tech industry I get asked for opinions on purchasing all the time. I simply don't want to look foolish spreading BlackBerry's bunk for them. Simply isn't worth the risk.

Posted via CB10

[redrum0515]

You're more inclined to believe a customer service representative at Netflix, who should have no access to such knowledge, than a high-ranking executive at BlackBerry? My, what a deluded world we live in...

still waitiing for your playbook update never any reason to neot believe bb higher ups...they never lie

[xandermac]

I'm fairly sure that Netflix negotiated with Apple over in-app subscriptions and the 30% Apple cut, not sure of the outcome other than you can now actually subscribe from within the app. Perhaps that's a sticking point with BlackBerry also.

I'll be honest: it's mostly conjecture. I do recall that when Android did finally get the app, there was talk of an agreement being made.

But, in any case, Google and Apple have numbers that can force action. They can't be ignored; indeed, making an app for those platforms might indeed create new revenue or protect current revenue.

BBRY's userbase doesn't have that power yet. I think negotiations are occurring, but the price can't be agreed on.

[Zarpan]

I'm sorry but you're wrong. Alec Saunders called Reed Hastings a moron. YOU need to learn how twitter works...nay, how conversation works!

This is how the conversation went

BB Fanboy: "Hey Alec, tell that moron over at Netflix to make an app for BB10!"

Now, Netflix is a reasonably big company and they employ lots of workers. There could be a moron at Netflix, perhaps, but nobody knows for sure. So...

Alec: "Hey Reed Hastings, this guy over here says you should develop an app for Netflix"

The fanboy never called Reed Hastings by name, never directly said it was him. Alec took that tweet and told Reed Hastings that HE was the moron being referred to.

I'm sorry but if to you this isn't the same as Alec calling him a moron, you're seriously in denial.

As noted in the screenshot that you posted below this message, the fanboy referred to the "moron CEO at Netflix". The fanboy essentially directly said it was Reed Hastings in that case since there's only one CEO at Netflix and there's no question about who else he could have possibly meant given that wording. So that invalidates your argument above about Alec calling Reed a moron by retweeting something directed at a nameless moron at Netflix to Reed Hastings...

[Playbookjoe]

Sorry the girls supervisor? Was this a customer service supervisor? Or did you talk the CEO of Netflix?

Unless you talk to the CEO directly of Netflix everything that filters down turns into hearsay.

Yes the csr supervisor.
Never implied this was the ceo or anything like that.
Of course it's hearsay. That was the point I want trying to make (in the followup post).
This thread just took off and a bunch of people posted ahead of that followup.
Never actually realized how touchy this was and how many people would post.




Posted via CB10

[Raestloz]

Ah, here it it

Attachment 183441

It was not a separate tweet. He used a reply to the 'moron' tweet, which is why the 'moron CEO' term can be seen as part of the conversation.

Since Alec is telling Hastings that his delivery of a new Z10 is based on a request by the original fanboy, most definitely Hastings would click through to see the conversation...and see the 'moron' tag which Alec happily translated into 'Reed Hastings'. That's not a smart thing to do.

BlackBerry really needs Netflix. Netflix has no real need for BlackBerry. Netflix does not operate in most areas that BB shows real growth anyway (Africa, Middle East, Thailand etc).

How many CEOs do Netflix have?

Serious question. Unless there are more than one CEOs at Netflix, Alec would automatically assume that rfield was talking about Hastings. It'd be like tweeting "hey everyone, tell that moron BlackBerry CEO to quit" right now and then when pressed say "Nope, I never said anything about telling people to tell Thorsten Heins to quit", which won't fool even a foolish fool

So, someone asked Alec to send Netflix's CEO a Z10, Alec passed along that message, and some how Alec is the one getting the short end of the stick?

STL 100-1 10.1.0.273

[RubberChicken76]

BlackBerry It apparently doesn't work that way since the Z10 and Q10 are showing fragmentation.

All platforms have some fragmentation. Why does Facebook have "Facebook for iPhone" and "Facebook for iPad?" Because the screen is laid out differently to acomodate the form factor. Game developers, for example, would probably test their app on iPad 1, 2, 3 and 4 too in order to make sure that the game performed on the variances of GPUs, available memory etc. We recently did some work with Android devices in my company had had issues popping up on some devices, but not others. So we made a conscious decision to focus our test efforts on the most common android devices and live with the pain of the less popular ones having some issues.

I'm of the belief (like you) that it might have helped get some more apps on the PlayBook. But not of the believe that it was guaranteed, given that there was still work to be done for a proportionately small userbase.

[Sith_Apprentice]

If anything, it would be poor etiquette to call out the CEO by name like that. That is, at absolute most, what Alec can be accused of, and that is even a stretch.

[Russell Durose]

I just think we should define the whole TROLL profile...what is a troll and what do they look like? Lol

Posted via CB10

[MarsupilamiX]

If anything, it would be poor etiquette to call out the CEO by name like that. That is, at absolute most, what Alec can be accused of, and that is even a stretch.

I have no use for Netflix as it is pretty much useless in Europe...

But what Alec did there, really is extremely poor etiquette , and that is definitely not a stretch.

Remember Adam Orth? The "deal with it guy"?
http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/21/de...et-connection/
Orth undermined the business relationship with consumers, and this tweet alone, may very well be a major reason why MS didn't go through with the scheme.
As a consumer, I actually would have to thank him in the end.

What Alec did through that Twitter conversation, was indirectly calling the CEO a moron.
He therefore undermined the business relationship with Netflix.
Alec may or may not think that the CEO is a moron, but it sure as hell won't help the BB10 platform to get that app, through name calling.
So, as a consumer being interested in BB10 and Netflix, I would have to condamn that move.

I can assure you, that instead of mentioning him in a separate tweet, which would have been the way to go, the way Alec Saunders did it, is to be considered poor etiquette.


Saying all of that, this thread is a little bit on the strange side of things...

Seeing BelfastD accusing BlackBerry of fraud again, wasn't a surprise though, and the 10000th poster who said that because he doesn't need Netflix, nobody should need it was to expected as well.

But the whole premise of the thread is just weird...

Posted via CB10

[RubberChicken76]

I just think we should define the whole TROLL profile...what is a troll and what do they look like? Lol

Ha! Well, it's not someone who comes on here with a legit issue, though sometimes these poor folks are referred to as such.

[undone]

I looked around at what Netflix uses for its codec.
From wiki:
According to Netflix Tech Support, Netflix's content library is encoded into three bandwidth tiers, in a compression format based on the VC-1 video and Windows Media Audio codecs[

Ok so VC-1 and Silverlight is Microsoft's stuff. I see no reference to the mobile app, but I can only surmise that they are using the VC-1 encapsulated some how. Also the DRM used is PlayReady, which again is Microsoft. Noticing a theme. Ok...so out of the box it looks like some MS licensing is needed. BUUUTTT.....I ran into this gem:

Netflix plans to dump Silverlight for HTML5 streaming: link From April of this year, some of the text:

"Over the last year, we've been collaborating with other industry leaders on three W3C initiatives which are positioned to solve this problem of playing premium video content directly in the browser without the need for browser plug-ins such as Silverlight."
Before that can happen, Netflix will need wider adoption of what it calls "HTML5 Premium Video Extensions," which includes DRM encryption, delivering streams via JavaScript, and a cryptography extension to encrypt and decrypt communication between JavaScript and the Netflix servers.
Two of the extensions have already been incorporated into a Chromebook, the pair wrote in their blog post. When the cryptography extension is directly available in Chrome, Netflix will begin testing the HTML5 player in Windows and OS X.

So why develop an app for a new OS if your plan is to ditch your current solution. I know I wouldn't.

[DariusG1996]

I thought it said on BlackBerry employees Twitter profiles, something along the lines of... "Views expressed are not of BlackBerry"

Or

"Opinions are my own"

So maybe Alec's opinion of the CEO is that he he is moronic?

[MarsupilamiX]

I thought it said on BlackBerry employees Twitter profiles, something along the lines of... "Views expressed are not of BlackBerry"

Or

"Opinions are my own"

So maybe Alec's opinion of the CEO is that he he is moronic?

Adam "deal with it" Orth, was fired for a tweet, that follows the same logic you try to apply.

It may or may not be what he thinks.
But he just can't tweet it in the way he did, no matter what his opinions are, as long as he works for BlackBerry.

Posted via CB10

[belfastdispatcher]

I have no use for Netflix as it is pretty much useless in Europe...

But what Alec did there, really is extremely poor etiquette , and that is definitely not a stretch.

Remember Adam Orth? The "deal with it guy"?
Deal with it: Xbox One requires an Internet connection | GamesBeat
Orth undermined the business relationship with consumers, and this tweet alone, may very well be a major reason why MS didn't go through with the scheme.
As a consumer, I actually would have to thank him in the end.

What Alec did through that Twitter conversation, was indirectly calling the CEO a moron.
He therefore undermined the business relationship with Netflix.
Alec may or may not think that the CEO is a moron, but it sure as hell won't help the BB10 platform to get that app, through name calling.
So, as a consumer being interested in BB10 and Netflix, I would have to condamn that move.

I can assure you, that instead of mentioning him in a separate tweet, which would have been the way to go, the way Alec Saunders did it, is to be considered poor etiquette.


Saying all of that, this thread is a little bit on the strange side of things...

Seeing BelfastD accusing BlackBerry of fraud again, wasn't a surprise though, and the 10000th poster who said that because he doesn't need Netflix, nobody should need it was to expected as well.

But the whole premise of the thread is just weird...

Posted via CB10

I didn't accuse them of fraud (in this thread at least), I accused them of false advertising and/or lying about what was/is available for the PlayBook in UK ie no Movie Store or TV Shows on demand available in this region.

[Toodeurep]

Ah, here it it

Attachment 183441

It was not a separate tweet. He used a reply to the 'moron' tweet, which is why the 'moron CEO' term can be seen as part of the conversation.

Since Alec is telling Hastings that his delivery of a new Z10 is based on a request by the original fanboy, most definitely Hastings would click through to see the conversation...and see the 'moron' tag which Alec happily translated into 'Reed Hastings'. That's not a smart thing to do.

BlackBerry really needs Netflix. Netflix has no real need for BlackBerry. Netflix does not operate in most areas that BB shows real growth anyway (Africa, Middle East, Thailand etc).

You see that and only saw "moron", you even mis-quoted it as such in an earlier post. I AT FIRST only saw the "CEO" part. Interesting how that works.

Either way Alec was wrong to not clean it up.

[gng11]

Please provide the CSR name. I mean you have Alec's info and you want him to refute a mysterious CSR at Netflix?

I second that. It's getting ridiculous about all the what ifs and maybes. Just get straight to the point, ask Mr. Saunders and ask the CEO of Netflix to go open and state their positions (if they are even willing to).

[Fnen90]

Maybe the problem is BlackBerry with all the apps we don't have. Like they don't want to invest in cross platform popular apps. Uhmmm??? Why though!!??!!!!? I don't get it and will never do until they try to really keep moving.

Posted via CB10

[jonty12]

That's funny there are users on here who have friends who work for cell companies in the USA and they said blackberry was bankrupt and dead in the water last year............Umm, so your point? who's friend is lying?

Posted via CB10

I didn't say "friend" anywhere in my post. Search SiriusXM on the forums. He works for SiriusXM and has given updates for a couple years now (since there was no SiriusXM on BB7). Very different scenario. Nice try though.

[web99]

Netflix CEO Hastings on BlackBerry

�We don�t currently support streaming on the BlackBerry, it�s a unique operating system you have to target, and unfortunately there�s just not enough volume for entertainment,� he said. �It�s a great device for getting work done but people don�t interact with it as an entertainment device the same way they do with say an iPhone or Android phone.�


BlackBerry VP of Developer Relations, Alec Saunders on Netflix

"If Netflix asked, we would have a team of developers at their site within 24 hours"

Just looking at both of the above statements, they seems to support BlackBerry's version that Netflix is simply not interested in developing an app for the BB10 platform.


Posted via CB10 from my spectacular Z10

[WhiteSpir1t]

Netflix CEO Hastings on BlackBerry

�We don�t currently support streaming on the BlackBerry, it�s a unique operating system you have to target, and unfortunately there�s just not enough volume for entertainment,� he said. �It�s a great device for getting work done but people don�t interact with it as an entertainment device the same way they do with say an iPhone or Android phone.�


BlackBerry VP of Developer Relations, Alec Saunders on Netflix

"If Netflix asked, we would have a team of developers at their site within 24 hours"

Just looking at both of the above statements, they seems to support BlackBerry's version that Netflix is simply not interested in developing an app for the BB10 platform.


Posted via CB10 from my spectacular Z10

'nuff said. Great post!

[Tre Lawrence]

Netflix CEO Hastings on BlackBerry

�We don�t currently support streaming on the BlackBerry, it�s a unique operating system you have to target, and unfortunately there�s just not enough volume for entertainment,� he said. �It�s a great device for getting work done but people don�t interact with it as an entertainment device the same way they do with say an iPhone or Android phone.�


BlackBerry VP of Developer Relations, Alec Saunders on Netflix

"If Netflix asked, we would have a team of developers at their site within 24 hours"

Just looking at both of the above statements, they seems to support BlackBerry's version that Netflix is simply not interested in developing an app for the BB10 platform.


Posted via CB10 from my spectacular Z10

Netflix was correct in not responding to that silliness. I can't believe folks think that was a reasonable request.

[tcqster]

Although I have no knowledge of whats really going on but clearly its easy to twist words here. Its quite possible that Neflix was pushing for BlackBerry to port Siverlight over to QNX and BlackBerry no for their own reasons. If Silverlight was a hard line by NetFlix, then that could be construed in sales speak as "not willing to work with us".

Now that Netflix is switching to HTML 5, its quite possible that these fundamental technical roadblocks can be removed and we can all move forward. Really Neflix are the ones with the services and they need to pull up their socks. BlackBerry APIs are the best in the business and they don't need core BlackBerry support to make an awesome app. An Android port would cost them pocket change to get it ported over. Something is very fishy here IMO.

In the meantime, I have let my Netflix account lapse with no plans in the near term to sign back up. I am actively looking for a new long term video streaming service to take its place now.

[KenV54]

Netflix CEO Hastings on BlackBerry

“We don’t currently support streaming on the BlackBerry, it’s a unique operating system you have to target, and unfortunately there’s just not enough volume for entertainment,” he said. “It’s a great device for getting work done but people don’t interact with it as an entertainment device the same way they do with say an iPhone or Android phone.”


BlackBerry VP of Developer Relations, Alec Saunders on Netflix

"If Netflix asked, we would have a team of developers at their site within 24 hours"

Just looking at both of the above statements, they seems to support BlackBerry's version that Netflix is simply not interested in developing an app for the BB10 platform.


Posted via CB10 from my spectacular Z10

It sounds as though Netflix and BlackBerry are talking past each other. I don't think Reed Hastings understands the new BB user. On the other hand, Hastings may be correct that the majority of Netflix users are in the US, whereas the majority of BB OS 10 users are not, and that Netflix would have little to gain by developing a native app for BB. It's too bad the two companies aren't communicating, or are going on false or faulty business assumptions, perhaps to the mutual detriment of both.

This thread has to do with whether BB is telling less than the truth about all sorts of issues. I have no idea, since I can't know what the truth is in most of these cases. What I do know, once again, is that with at least some developers BlackBerry is not acting as though it wants to keep them as clients or customers or partners or whatever you call developers as they relate to BlackBerry. Simply put, BlackBerry is turning them off, and it's a self-fulfilling prophesy. BlackBerry is going to drive these developers away, there will continue to be an "app deficit"--see Kevin's latest blog on what BB users like best and least about the Z10 and Q10--and BlackBerry will end up driving itself into the ground.

The question isn't so much whether BlackBerry is lying--that may be considered an acceptable business practice if a business is doing well, or at least you can get away with it much of the time--but rather whether BlackBerry is acting in such a way as to insure that it thrives or even survives. The stock price reflects the Street's view that it may well not survive.