Ah yes - I'm back with another edition of the SUX (Sarah on User eXperience) series. This time, I'm singing the praises of the Netflix Silverlight app.

Recently, I had the house to myself and a day to rest. So I had the idea of playing World of Warcraft while watching movies over Netflix.

The laptop: ASUS G1

The Internet connection: Time Warner cable

A part of me thought this would be a flop and that I'd have to choose between the movie and the game. I had anticipated that streaming a movie would bog down my connection, making it impossible for me to run through the Blasted Lands - maybe more like grinding and then eventually lagging across the continent but not smoothly running through. However, I had forgotten about an awesome feature with the Netflix Silverlight app - it detects the current bandwidth and changes the streaming based on the bandwidth available. It was glorious to play World of Warcraft and watch movies and TV shows at the same time. The best part - the app didn't have to recalculate for bandwidth issues until my husband came home and logged in. Even then, it did its recalculation and resumed my Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode right where I left off. So it was steady Netflix streaming and gaming all day. The Netflix Silverlight app does not SUX - it ROCKS!

Labels: Netflix, Silverlight, SUX

What: John Stockton, presenting "Consuming Web Services in Silverlight"

Where: Microsoft Office
6050 Oak Tree Blvd
Suite 300
Independence, OH

When: Tuesday, August 12th, 5:45pm-????^*

John has spoken locally at the GCPCUG VB.NET/C# SIG and at Cleveland Day of .NET. He is also co-authoring Silverlight 2 in Action, of which he will be giving a copy away at the meeting. He has accepted an offer with Ascentium in Seattle and will be leaving us, and we are sorry to see such a talented devigner (developer + designer) go. So come out and see John in one of his last Cleveland presentations.

^* The Bennett Adelson SIG meetings are typically scheduled until 7:30pm. But I'm issuing this challenge to my readers who come to these meetings -- come out with us afterwards. And if you have other people who attend these meetings with you, bring them too!

Where: The Winking Lizard, Independence, OH

Even if you don't consume frosty adult beverages, come out for the conversation.

If you need approval from a spouse or other significant other, talk with them now and explain to them that it's going out with a group of geeks, talking about all things geeky and some non-geeky talk too! It's meeting fellow developers in the area, seeing what they're about. It's networking with others, as you never know who you'll be there and who you can meet. From learning new things to maybe getting help with a problem that you are experiencing with your code, you'd be surprised what you could gain from being there.

So August 12th - see you there!

Labels: .NET SIG, John Stockton, Silverlight