Better Than Sliced Bread

At the risk of sounding like a commercial, here goes...

We started streaming Netflix movies early this year and it's one of the best uses of technology I've seen in a long time.

With a Wii, PS3, XBox, or through a number of other devices a selection of over 17,000 movies, documentaries, and TV shows can be instantly streamed to your TV. The huge weakness of Netflix Instant Watch is that most of the streaming content is relatively old.

To a large extent, that weakness went away yesterday.

From HuffPo...

Netflix will pay nearly $1 billion during the next five years for the online streaming rights to [newly released] movies from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM in a deal that could help convert even more people to the idea of getting their entertainment piped over high-speed Internet connections.

The agreement announced Tuesday marks another breakthrough in Netflix's bid to stock its online streaming library with more compelling material.

Netflix now has streaming rights that cover about 46 percent of the movies that have be shown in U.S. theaters this year.

For a little more than 25 cents a day, it's an excellent deal.