Netflix & XBox

Normally I don't enjoy writing about technical stuff. I get enough of that at work. However, I am going to make an exception because I am really impressed.

My normal take on the latest and greatest in technology is, what exactly does it do to make it worth that much? Or I seem to have gotten along fine without it so far. Or how complicated is this to learn/set up and do I want to be bothered with it? Most of the time I say forget it. I wouldn't call label myself as resistant to change, more like lazy to change. :P

Rob received an XBox 360 for his birthday last year which he was no doubt totally excited and pleased to get. Thanks to all of you that pitched in for it. I mostly smile and nod when he tells me about the cool things he has to ability to do with this machine. I think I tried to use the headset a few weeks ago, I didn't know what I was doing and accidentally invited Bruce to a party of nothing, all he heard was me swearing, and then I exited as if I hadn't done anything. That about sums up the way I approach new fangled things.

We have been subscribed to Netflix for over a year now. I am a fan of using this service. I get to watch a lot of cool stuff and they are super quick. We have the projector and sound system so I really prefer to watch most movies at home. I can get a beer, it's quiet, and if I fall asleep, I can rewind. Of course when Rob forgets to change what movie is coming if it's one of "his" movies and he then isn't able to watch it for a week, it doesn't thrill me but I just do other things instead. :P So when Netflix and Xbox combined I was a little leary of this mix, but kind of interested all at the same time.

Because we have the unlimited one out at a time, we have access to movies and TV shows through XBox. The selection is not huge, but I am pleased with it. For instance, CSI is available to watch 1-2 days after it's been aired which is nice when my school group wants to have a meeting when it's on TV. *enter grumbles here* I know I can watch it over the weekend and it's almost better because there are no commercials. Not all shows are available, but CSI is and that counts for a lot in my book.

The other neat feature with the instant downloads is you can add workout videos to your queue. So you can change up your workouts and not have to pay for the DVDs (or gym memberships) which is really nice. Of course, I have yet to actually do a workout from there, but they are in the queue. That's the first step.

So if I can figure out how to turn on the XBox and sign into Xbox live, I 'll be good to go!