In my ongoing attempt to stay somewhat engaged with the ever-changing world around me, I've started using Netflix. I've already admitted I'm not an early adopter - it takes me a while to buy new gadgets and upgrade the ones I have. I still haven't bought a digital camera (as you well know from the lack of photos on my blog). I only got a DVD player when some friends of mine got one free with some purchase from Best Buy and they gave it to me because they already had a better model. My cell phone is just a cell phone. It doesn't take pictures or play music or send email. And I should point out that this is my upgraded phone - the one I just got a couple of months ago because my old one would no longer hold a charge and you couldn't even buy new parts for it. Or maybe you could. I don't really know because one of my co-workers just gave me her leftover spare batteries from when she used to own the same phone, so I didn't try to buy a new battery (Are you seeing a trend? Other people buy better stuff and give me their cast-offs because I'm so behind the curve that it's actually new and/or useful to me!). My 60-something mother upgraded her phone before I upgraded mine. I'm pathetic.
But my cousin gave me a one-month trial membership to Netflix for Christmas, and I finally used it this month, and I decided to keep it. I get charged starting today, so I downgraded it to the one-at-a-time unlimited subscription, which is $9.99 instead of $14.99 (I'm not cheap - I'm just on a budget! If I were cheap, I would've gone with the only-two-a-month subscription for $5.99), and we'll see how it goes. I can always upgrade back to the two-at-a-time or drop it all together depending on my usage. But so far, I'm really liking it. I'm getting caught up on tv shows that I either didn't watch when they were on or I didn't have access to (like HBO series).
The show I've been watching, courtesy of Netflix, this past month, and that I totally love, is "Arrested Development." What a hilarious show! It only ran 3 seasons, and I guess some people would say that people like me are why it died - I didn't watch it when it was on. But I do that a lot. I tend to tape shows and watch them when it's convenient for me, rather than when it airs, or catch it on DVD later - again, when it's convenient for me. Someday, I hope to have TiVo. And then life will be super wonderful great. But that's an expense I can't justify at the moment (see my previous paragraph about living on a budget), so for now it's my VCR and a Netflix subscription. It's possible the Netflix and TiVo expenses might balance out, but with TiVo, I'd have to wait for something to air and save it to the TiVo. With Netflix, I can order what I want when I want it and watch an entire season of something at a time. Plus, Netflix is DVDs, so I can watch them on my laptop as well as on my DVD player at home. This feature comes in handy. So, I'll go with this arrangement for now.
If you haven't seen "Arrested Development," rent it. It's a scream! The whole cast is great. Or at least rent the first DVD of the first season. If it doesn't hook you, it's not your thing. But if you love it from the first episode, it just keeps delivering! I also plan to watch the entire run of "The 4400," "The Sopranos," and "Six Feet Under." I actually have the first season of "The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under," so I'll see those shows from the second season on. And I may even order a movie or two in there!
This world of the future we live in sure is great. Maybe my friends can tell me what wonderful technology awaits me in a few years, since they're all using it already I'm sure!
1 comment:
Girl, I know why we've been friends for so long - we're so alike!
We have a DVD player that Scott's parents gave us for Christmas a few years ago. We NEVER use it. They gave us Pirates of the Caribbean for Christmas two years ago - we finally watched it when they MADE us. We don't rent movies, we don't buy them. I have a cell phone that has pic/video capabilities, but I'm too cheap to pay for the service. My phone went belly up when Tyler screwed up those little connection thingies on the bottom, and this was the cheapest replacement I could get.
However, I will say that wireless high-speed Internet is the BEST.THING.EVER. Best. No kidding. It is.
Haven't tried Netflix, though. Maybe it is better than high speed internet on the technology scale?
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