Qwikster - true to its name

So, right, forget about that "separating Netflix DVD rentals into a separate company" thing, says Netflix. They'll still do the separation/increase of billing, but at least you won't have to track what you've watched on two separate websites.

I can't imagine how loud the howls of indignation must have been to get them to reverse course... I mean, it's one thing for a company to screw up and hold course until the noise dies down (e.g. Sony and the PS3 silliness), but it's quite another to admit that you screwed up badly enough to say "You know what? Maybe we don't need another company after all". Still, now that I've used Sony as an example of the alternative, good on Netflix for recognizing and acting on their error... I just hope they're not too hobbled by shooting themselves in the foot like that.

Netflix and... Qwikster?

Boy, am I glad that I made the decision to drop DVDs when Netflix changed their pricing. If you somehow missed the news, Netflix is spinning off their DVD operation into a separate company and website. Netflix's CEO is saying that this was planned all along, but he never got around to telling the customers about it until now... personally, I think it's more like they planned to fully split things out eventually, but the rapid divide/drop of their customer base since their pricing announcement pushed them to take this step sooner than anticipated. I mean, really... Qwikster was the best name they could come up with? Sounds like something that Nestle might have come up with to promote their powdered milk-flavoring stuff... and, better still, they can't exactly do much "social network" marketing with that name either, since that Twitter account is already owned by a guy with a weed-smoking Elmo avatar.

So, Netflix is basically putting DVDs out to pasture, and maybe they think they can sell that side of the business (and its user data) to somebody else to make a quick buck in support of their streaming business. It will be interesting to see how this pans out... but I'm glad I chose one side, and the side that Netflix thinks is worthy to keep the company name, for now.

The new crack: Disgaea 4

Well, it's been almost a year and a half since I made a rule for myself about buying nothing Sony, but every rule has its exceptions... Disgaea 4 just came out, and I snagged a brand new copy on launch day. What can I say... an upgraded game in the same vein as one I managed to spend well over 300 hours playing is just irresistible, when I still own the hardware to run it.

This version has the same quirky humor and detailed, turn-based strategy engine... but now, it has improved graphics and animations (so it no longer looks like a transplanted PlayStation 2 game), plus additional combat options (like fusing some of your monsters into mega-monsters, temporarily of course) and Internet features, like the ability to have some of your crew cause grief in other players' games (not while you're controlling them, sad to say). All in all, I expect I'll get more than my money's worth of entertainment out of this game.

X-Men: First Class and the Garland Theater

Now that it's hit the bargain circuit, and looking hard for a reason to go someplace air-conditioned for a couple of hours, I went to see X-Men: First Class. It's a good little superhero flick, and doesn't try to do too much with too many characters... but it's not my favorite superhero movie of the summer (that would probably be Captain America). Still, I'd say it's generally worth bargain theater price, or DVD/streaming rental, when the time comes.

Of course, that depends on the bargain theater you have in mind. I've been a long-time fan of the Garland Theater in Spokane... sure, it's always been a little run-down, but, generally, it's been an enjoyable experience. This time, not so much... never mind the bits that they don't have much control over, like the genius parents who brought a fussy baby to an action film. The price has gone up since last I went, to $3.50, while the general quality of the theater has gone down even more than in years past. The seat I got, at least, was so swaybacked that I couldn't sit in one position through the whole movie, or else I would have damaged my back. The projector sync was off, so "still" scenes were all but unwatchable. Heck, even the popcorn (at full movie theater popcorn pricing, of course) was considerably south of fresh. All in all, in its current state, I couldn't recommend the Garland to anyone these days.

So, another nail set in the "going to the movie theater" coffin... I'm still in the market there for some good first-run movies (for all those are fewer and farther between than in recent memory), but, especially at the price, it just makes more sense to wait for something to hit a streaming service than bother with the bargain theater, in my book.

The (d)evolution of the mall

Since I had to wait for an inspector to check out my newly-installed sewer connection (all done but they paying, finally...), I took the morning off from work. It was a pleasant surprise when the inspector came relatively early, leaving me with a few hours of prime mid-workweek normal-business-hours time to burn. I decided to get a much-needed haircut, then hit the food court at Northtown Mall and have lunch like a normal human being (as opposed to my regular routine of snagging something at a drive-through to scarf down at my desk).

That done, I still had some time left, so I decided to meander the mall. Now, I know we've been in down times for a while, and I fully expected a number of vacant storefronts, as I've seen elsewhere. More interesting, though, were the odd "stores" that have taken root under these adverse conditions. Coffee-bars are barely worth mentioning, except how many there were. The gym was a bit odd, but suitably clean and "up-scale-looking" to not throw me too hard. The storefront that, I believe, serves as a staging area for indoor paintball games, that was more than a little odd. The strangest, though, had to be the convenience store right in the center of the mall.

Things have changed at Northtown, and are likely changing all over... what used to be a somewhat-exclusive locale for a shop, where shoppers were welcomed while loiterers (read: teenagers) were discouraged, is now desperate enough for foot traffic to set up an entire, manned soda-and-snacks convenience store in the heart of the mall to encourage loitering, on the off chance that somebody might decide to buy something. It's seems strange to me now, but I guess time will tell whether it's a strategy that pays off for the mall in the long term.

The great Netflix pricing kerfluffle

It's old news by now... but Netflix has decided to separate out their streaming service from their DVD rental service in September, and charge extra in the process (up to 60% more, for people with the current unlimited one-DVD-at-a-time service). This has, of course, set off much wailing and gnashing of teeth on the Internet, because the old setup was a Good Thing for consumers... but, of course, all good things come to an end.

In my case... well, right now I'm on the two-DVD-at-a-time service level, with an extra charge for Blu-Ray discs on top. The thing is, most of my reason for having DVD service at all is to get at some older content (especially anime) that simply isn't available on anybody's streaming service legally, to the best of my knowledge. I toss in some more "normal" fare between those discs, and sometimes I stumble across something more than "just OK" that way, but few and far between... and, more and more, the old discs are slowly fading from the Netflix library, which can be really annoying if you've watched the first few discs of a multi-disc series.

So, barring a sudden reversal by Netflix, I think I'm going to go on an anime binge, and round out any disc-based series that I'm mid-way through. After that, I'll likely hold on to the streaming account for the time being... so long as the price on that doesn't start creeping up needlessly, and the available selection continues to work for me, and streaming quality through Comcast doesn't go back downhill again, it's a reasonable price. Of course, should Amazon improve their selection and give better queue-management tools, or some other service comes out that I can use my Roku box with and that I think I'll like better, I'll jump ship in a heartbeat.

More games to waste time you dont have

And here I thought it was going to be a fairly sedate, relaxed sort of weekend... instead, I find myself sleep-deprived and desperately wanting to play on the PC, but not daring to, lest I miss my regularly-scheduled Sunday afternoon activities.

First, it's worth mentioning that CivWorld has entered open beta on Facebook. It's nicely set up to let you either obsess over it throughout the day, or come back every so often for a longer play session... in my case, it comes out to about an hour a day to take care of things there. It's still not quite ready for prime time, but it's worth your while to check out, if you're into Civilization-style games with little mini-games attached.

Then, there's a little slice of evil called Terraria... I picked it up on sale from Steam the other day for $2.50, so my expectations weren't all that high. Next thing I know, it's after midnight, and I'm considering One More Trip into the depths... so, if exploration and crafting are up your alley, this game is for you, even at the regular $10 they usually charge. Most people think of it as a 2-d version of Minecraft, and they're right insofar as working out what to do to get started is pretty well impossible without referring to online help... but to me, it's more like that Miner Dig Deep game I blogged about earlier this year, with a huge world to play in, build in, and fight various monsters in to boot.

Suffice it to say, I'll be playing CivWorld most evenings, after I get home from work... while Terraria falls into the category of "early weekend only" games, so I can continue to be a somewhat-productive member of society.