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Netflix may have started out as a service that let you rent DVDs through the mail, but these days the company’s better known for its online video streaming service.
It’s available on PCs, smart TVs, connected devices like the Roku, and mobile devices including phones and tablets. But if you’re using a PC, you need the Microsoft Silverlight plugin to use Netflix… for now.The company plans to change that soon, making a switch to HTML5 which will support most modern web browsers and work across a range of different devices… without plugins.
Here are some of the day’s top stories from around the web.
- Netflix is working on moving from Silverlight to HTML5 for online video streaming
Once Netflix figures out how to get sufficient DRM to protect its video streams, the company will switch to HTML5 for streaming video, which means you won’t need a browser plugin anymore. Does this mean we’ll finally see official Netflix support on Linux? I dunno. [Netflix] - Slider-style tablet + active digitizer = stable base for writing or drawing
If you try using a digital pen to write or draw on a laptop, you’ll probably end up making the screen wobble. As Chippy from Ultrabook News demonstrates, slider-style tablets, on the other hand, lock the screen into place when you’re using them in tablet mode, which makes it easier to use the pen. (They’re kind of chunky as tablets though). [YouTube] - TWRP 2.5 custom recovery released
Team Win Recovery Project has released an updated build of TWRP custom recovery for Android devices, adding scrollable lists, more screen controls, and other improvements. [xda-developers] - Rumor: Samsung “Roma” tablet to features Nexus 10-like specs
Looking for a tablet with a Samsung Exynos 5 dual-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 2560 x 1600 pixel display, but don’t want to buy a Nexus 10 for some reason? Rumor has it that Samsung will offer a tablet with those specs under its own name soon… probably with TouchWiz software. [Techblog.gr] - 76% of US libraries lend eBooks, 39 percent loan eReaders
Part of the reason I bought a Kindle a few years ago is that I realized I could use it to borrow eBooks from my local library without leaving the house. Apparently you can do that almost anywhere in the US… and in some places you can even borrow an eReader if you don’t have one. [The Digital Reader] - Xiaomi sells phones at cost, makes money on services and accessories, going global soon?
Chinese phone maker Xiaomi sells top-tier smartphones for relatively low prices, and they tend to sell out as fast as the company can make them. Now the company wants to ramp things up and hopes to ship 15 million phones this year… while making its money on services and accessories. [Engadget]
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