microsoft has prevented me from using the Instant Play feature of my Netflix account. They tried to prevent all Mac users as well, but Netflix battled them over it until MS finally wrote them in. I called Netflix, they told me that. I said it wasn't right that Netflix's customer base be limited in ANY way, and that my ability to shop was also limited, by MS. I got silence to that one, but it seemed like a silence that agreed with me. There were sympathetic sounds. i don't guess anybody knows a way to get around this MS embargo of Netflix. oh, no, that's an embargo of gnu/Linux systems as well.

You may find this thread from the Ubuntu forums helpful http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=620640

It didn't help. Nobody's figured out how to watch Instant Play Netflix movies without actually owning a copy of Windows XP, or Mac OS. Or am I wrong?

Well, that sucks. Could you use another service, one that doesn't rely on special software or anything like that?

There's also this: http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyDevicesDetails?pdid=2&lnkce=nrd-d&trkid=849654&lnkctr=nrd-d-n-2-rokudigitalvideoplayer

Heh, it *runs* GNU/Linux... Anyway, I'm just trying to give you some ideas. I think it was a stupid move of Netflix to depend on Silverlight. Video streaming existed before Silverlight, Netflix! Then Microsoft fights them when they try to allow more platforms? That's some friendly customer service right there.

Have you seen this?

http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight

I'm new to all of this licensing jazz...this is what it says:

"Moonlight 1.0 is licensed under the terms of the GNU LGPL, it is a pure C++ engine."

Sadly, Moonlight is unlikely to help at all in this particular case. It is almost 100% guaranteed that the Netflix streaming service uses DRM, which would need to be bypassed(illegally in the US) in order to use Free Software to access it.

The only option would be to use one of those steaming video hardware devices and watch directly on your TV.

I too am annoyed by this, and had sent in a request to Netflix asking them to support GNU/Linux. I have received no response...

Please read here about Netfix:

http://www.defectivebydesign.org/day02-netflix