Blockbuster Now Makes You Wait Just As Long As Netflix
Blockbuster put a lot of energy into their “Why Wait?” campaign, going in on competitors like Netflix and Redbox for having a 28-day delay on new release DVDs. Now, Blockbuster has agreed to a similar deal with the big movie studios. NCR, which operates Blockbuster’s Redbox-like kiosks, will be offering new releases with the exact same 28-day delay. So much for not having to wait. While it seems that Netflix actually opted for the 28-day delay to reduce operating costs, Blockbuster is in a different situation.
“Blockbuster didn’t stay with new releases by choice,” explained the source at the time, who is very familiar with the studio agreements with Netflix and Blockbuster. “Movie studios have Blockbuster where they want them–they know Blockbuster is not in any position to negotiate because of their financial position. The studios are getting huge payments for new releases from Blockbuster because they know the company needs them.”
via FastCompany
Opera 11 Out Of Beta
It was only a month ago that we talked about some of the awesome new features of Opera 11 beta. Now, the bugs have been exterminated, the training wheels are off, and Opera 11 is here. The browser looks amazing and has a bunch of features we’ll probably see copied in browsers like Firefox and Chrome. Opera 11 also boasts some enhancements to the Carakan JavaScript engine, which they say “makes Opera 11 the fastest browser on Earth in many performance tests.” Opera Turbo boosts your browsing speed on crowded networks or when tethering with your mobile phone. Are you ready for a browser that goes to 11?
via Opera
Dropbox 1.0 Brings the New Hotness
The Dropbox folks have been in the lab putting in work and now have a shiny new version of their file sync software. Dropbox 1.0 fixes “hundreds (yep, hundreds)” of bugs and adds a few features that make it worthy of a 1.0 release.
- Performance enhancements – The client-side sync engine has been completely re-built. Dropbox is smaller and faster.
- Better User Experience – Installer on all platforms has been redesigned to be more user-friendly.
- Selective Sync – Highly requested feature that will let you pick which files sync to what computer. You probably don’t want that video your downloaded of Miley Cyrus syncing up with your work computer.
- Extended Attributes Sync – Dropbox now handles syncing resource forks, which are hidden parts of files that most sync programs ignore, resulting in file corruption.
Dropbox 1.0 is the perfect excuse for you to revisit your use of Dropbox or start figuring out how it can help you get stuff done. Check out our previous coverage of Dropbox.
via The Dropbox Blog
Let Someone Else Check Your Email
Gmail now lets you grant access to others to manage your email. After getting things set up, the other party will be able to manage your email inbox and send mail on your behalf. You can easily switch between accounts or keep them open in separate tabs. Great if you have an assistant who handles your mail. I wonder if Diddy has a Gmail account.
We’ve offered email delegation for Google Apps accounts for a while — it’s super useful for people who want their assistants to have access to read or respond to mail on their behalf. Now this functionality is available for anyone using Gmail. To grant access to another account, click the Settings link in the top right corner of Gmail. On the “Accounts” tab, you’ll see a new section where you can “Grant access to your account.”
via Gmail Blog
Twitter Raises $200 Million. Now Valued at $3.6 billion.
Twitter has completed its latest round of funding, receiving $200 million. The popular microblogging and communications platform is now valued at $3.7 billion. This latest round comes with Kleiner Perkins as the lead investor, say sources close to the situation. As Kara Swisher reports, this infusion of cash will help with Twitter’s efforts to “upgrade its management and business model” and “essentially declares it is not for sale to bigger companies such as Google (quite yet, that is).”