Netflix promised to move fast once it found a way around Apple's "iTunes only" mentality. And the movie rental company has delivered, announcing new software—from Microsoft—that will enable Mac users to finally stream Netflix movies.
Netflix moved just weeks after Microsoft launched a new version of its Silverlight software. Among other things, Silverlight enables studios to protect the Netflix streams from being captured and copied. The new version is the first to support Macs, at least those with Intel chips.
Netflix had complained earlier that Apple wouldn't license its own copy protection software (called DRM, or digital rights management). This from the Netflix site:
Apple does not license their DRM solution to third parties, which has made this more difficult, but we are working with the studios and content owners to gain approval for other solutions. As soon as a studio-approved DRM for the Mac is available to us, whether from Apple or another source, we will move quickly to provide a movie viewer that enables you to watch movies from Netflix instantly on your Mac."
Dawn of GA @ Oct 28, 2008 12:35:03 PM