Matthew's dashboard

Matthew replied on May 26, 2009 02:12 to the question "Is there a way to remove items from your instant watch activity history?" in Netflix:

Sorry, not that I know of... I looked around to make sure of it, because I thought I remembered seeing something, but you're right, there's no way to delete them from your recent history.

However, if you're tired of Netflix asking you to rate it, you can mark it "Not Interested", and this will ease some of their persistence (Though again, it won't be completely wiped... but to my knowledge, they won't bother you as much when you do this).

[This tiny button next to the rating stars: ]

Matthew replied on May 20, 2009 20:07 to the question "Why isn't there an easy way to see all new Instant-View titles?" in Netflix:

I personally find this page to be the best resourch for the absolute latest additions: Netflix Instant Watch Tracker.

Finding that site was like the Holy Grail for Netflix users. It's 100 times better than using their RSS feed. On the Tracker, you can sort by Date Released or Genre, and you can add items directly to your Q from this site.

I highly recommend it.

Matthew replied on May 16, 2009 23:24 to the problem "Can Only View One Page of Jezebel Comments" in Gawker Media Tech:

Still broken on every Gawker site I go to.

I don't even bother trying to go to page 2.

Why can't you guys fix this permanently?!?

Matthew replied on May 01, 2009 20:39 to the problem "Can Only View One Page of Jezebel Comments" in Gawker Media Tech:

I'm having this problem with Lifehacker now... check this link, and click on the PAGE 2 link, you'll see that it immediately sends you back to page 1.

It's also happening in reverse! Say I was on page 4 of the comments on a separate article, and click to Page 1, it immediately brings me back to page 4 again.

This sucks.

Matthew started following the problem "Can Only View One Page of Jezebel Comments" in Gawker Media Tech.

Matthew replied on March 25, 2009 20:48 to the question "Anyone getting cracked Blue-ray discs?" in Netflix:

No, and I receive Blu-ray movies pretty frequently... it's worrisome to hear. It sure sounds like a mailman (or sorting center) issue, but it seems odd to me that DVD's don't have this frequent issue. Why one and not the other? In my experience, Blu-ray movies are much sturdier and harder to scratch. I'd never had a broken disc arrive from Netflix.

I'm sorry I can't offer help, but one thing you said was "return the disc the next day I get it back". If you mean they see you've reported it, but send you the same broken disc, obviously they aren't understanding your problem. So if they aren't understanding, you'll have to physically show them (Put a post-it note directly on the disc, or a piece of tape on the envelope, some way to directly show them the problem).

I've never had them send me the same broken disc, so I can't believe that is happening to you over and over. Like I said though, if they aren't getting it, you're going to have to treat them like morons and post note it up :)

Matthew replied on March 22, 2009 12:32 to the question "anyone else having problemes getting on to the netflix web site" in Netflix:

It should be fixed, check now. It was likely down for maintenance.

Matthew replied on March 07, 2009 19:18 to the problem "I lost a long reply I was composing after being asked to log in" in Get Satisfaction:

"It sounds like you went to the separate login page rather than using the in-line login."

I did try and log-in with my OpenID, but I forgot my username or password, not sure which. While on that page, I just decided to go ahead and sign in with my Get Satisfaction account, and when I did, everything I wrote was gone.

Matthew reported a problem in Get Satisfaction on March 07, 2009 15:34:

I lost a long reply I was composing after being asked to log in

I wrote 4 paragraphs of response to someone's praise for Netflix on this site. When I hit Submit, it said I needed to log-in. I did so, with my Get Satisfaction account, and was sent back to the page I had written everything on. My text box was now empty. Why would I want to write all of that again?

You need to retain my text for more than 30 seconds, that is simply ridiculous.

A comment on the problem "Americentrism excludes gift subscription purchase" in Netflix:

Surprisingly, there aren't that many subscriptions on eBay (At least the US ebay) right this minute, usually there are 10 or more sellers to choose from. So keep an eye on that page and there will definitely be more posted soon. – Matthew, on February 28, 2009 03:54

A comment on the problem "Americentrism excludes gift subscription purchase" in Netflix:

Aw :( Man, I really thought that would work because you have a PayPal account already. I guess PayPal has to cover themselves for overseas purchasers, just in case anyone wants to use it for a scam.

Obviously your use it a legitimate one... I'm sorry it did not work out for you.

The only other option would be to purchase a Netflix subscription off of eBay. Of course the sellers on ebay are offering longer subscription terms (6 months to a year), but that seems to be the only option left.

Netflix should make special exceptions to the rule. – Matthew, on February 28, 2009 03:34

A comment on the question "Long wait for New Releases" in Netflix:

Thankfully, that has only happened to me 1 or 2 times in my subscription history. It is very frustrating though, especially if it skips past a very important scene :O – Matthew, on February 27, 2009 22:31

A comment on the question "Long wait for New Releases" in Netflix:

Well, they used to sell pre-viewed DVD's on their site, but you'll notice that tab is gone completely. They announced either late last year or early this year that they would no longer sell them.

I had hoped they would continue, and extend their inventory to include Blu-ray movies as well...

So at this point, I don't really know what happens to the used copies, other than they are thrown away when they become too scratched to watch. – Matthew, on February 27, 2009 22:27

A comment on the question "Long wait for New Releases" in Netflix:

Good thought. I'd certainly remove all of the new releases from my Q if I could watch them instantly. It is a no brainer... see it in 2 minutes or wait 1 month for the buzz to die down for it.

Hopefully Netflix comes across this site and sees that people are frustrated with just a few aspects of the service. Overall, they have a great company, but their customer service (Including listening to feedback like yours) has gone off the deep end these past few years. – Matthew, on February 27, 2009 21:14

Matthew replied on February 27, 2009 18:19 to the question "Where are all the classics (and then some)?" in Netflix:

I can't really say on behalf of them why they haven't been adding many classics. I'm guessing they'd rather focus their time on newer movies of the past few decades, because perhaps more people are interested in them. The following site (Not my own) has a listing of everything in the Classics category. You may find it helpful in your search for what you like... it is extremely easy to sort by release date/rating - and you can even say "MOVIES ONLY" or "TV ONLY" in your browsing. You can also go to their home page and search any other category that may interest you.

InstantWatcher.com

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Swagbucks - Search & Win

Matthew replied on February 27, 2009 18:09 to the praise "Great product, with only one small flaw." in Netflix:

I used to visit their forum (Roku's) frequently, and this feature has been requested very often... probably one of the top 5 most wanted.

They know it's wanted by all, that is for sure.

Check out their forum to suggest it to them directly:

Roku Digital Media Player

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Swag Bucks - Search & Win

Matthew replied on February 27, 2009 18:05 to the problem "Americentrism excludes gift subscription purchase" in Netflix:

I have a solution to this problem.

Paypal has made a feature that allows you to create a "one-time use" credit card to use online. Now, you will have to download their small plug-in to use it, but this will get you exactly what you need (I hope):

Paypal Plug-In

Hopefully that isn't to late. I've used the Paypal Plug-in before for a site I did not trust fully, and it worked excellently. You can delete the card immediately after using it!

Try it :)

Matthew replied on February 27, 2009 17:59 to the question "Long wait for New Releases" in Netflix:

It is my thought that if they were to buy more of the new releases up just so that they could account for the bombardment of customers wanting only the new stuff, they would then be stuck with an influx of discs once the rush dies down, and would be a waste of money for them.

Though I of course would like there to be a better availability, especially for those who pay more to get Blu-ray versions of them, would Netflix want to be stuck with 10,000 copies of Vantage Point after everyone realizes it is crap and stops renting it?

Swag Bucks - Search & Win

MCWHAMMER reported a problem in Gawker Media Tech on December 14, 2008 03:02:

# of Comments? Always wrong/behind the times.

The "speech bubble" area on the main Lifehacker page, beside every post (Meaning Comments) never displays the correct amount of comments. It will often get stuck on 5 comments, and stay there for hours, when there could really be 50 comments on a post. I try to use the # of comments shown here as a basis of seeing if there are new replies to posts, but the # is ALWAYS wrong.

For example, 1 post I just saw had 10 discussions (With replies to each) in actuality, yet the main lifehacker.com said that it had 5.

This is not a result of the redesign, it has always been like this.

MCWHAMMER started following the problem "Friends list is displaying login names, not commenter names." in Gawker Media Tech.