Technology

59331 readers

4903 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

976

Netflix Windows app is set to remove its downloads feature, while introducing ads (www.techradar.com)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

207 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Netflix has managed to annoy a good number of its users with an announcement about an upcoming update to its Windows 11 (and Windows 10) app: support for adverts and live events will be added, but the ability to download content is being taken away.

Netflix must realize that it's a huge frustration for people who relied on offline downloads to watch content without internet access: on planes, trains, and campsites, and anywhere else where Wi-Fi is unavailable or unreliable.

There's a small chance that Netflix will change its mind if it gets enough complaints, but the streaming service seems determined to add as many money-making features as possible, while taking away genuinely useful ones.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

People have been making this comment for so long, with every anti-consumer change, and it's never been true.

Killing VPN usages didn't do it, canceling shows didn't do it, the splintering of offerings across multiple platforms didn't do it, killing password sharing didn't do it, raising prices didn't do it, including an advertising tier didn't do.

And this will not do it.

Hell, this is barely going to tweak the dial. The overwhelming majority of people don't watch Netflix on the desktop app, why should they fear kick back from the few that do? All they'll say is the mobile versions will still let you download (because those file systems are sealed away from the user).

Consumers will accept anything if there's no where else to get what they want. It's why the "free market" has no power in the tech space: consumers are so addicted to their chosen platforms, apps, devices, and services that they will accept literally anything before they entertain the idea of using anything else.

That's partially why enshitification is getting so bad: there's no punishment for it. Users will not move.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Is there any space where the "free market" actually exists?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

It’s ads while I’m paying that would do it for sure for me. I think I pay $24 a month. About to go back to sailing the high seas regardless. Their content has been lacking for quite a while.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Not enough uses for sure. I canceled all the shitty ones once they implemented these stupid as fuck changes.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

It’s sort of like “Going All-In works everytime. Until it doesn’t”