Next General Meeting:
Meeting preview: Streaming Video, with Mike Kaltschnee
Date: October 4, 2011
Location: Broadview Middle School Auditorium
72 Hospital Avenue, Danbury, CT, doors open at 6:30 p.m.

By Allan Ostergren

Hacking is one of those techie terms that evoke visions of ghoulies, ghosties and goblins—forces threatening to take down the Internet. But there is a kinder, gentler hacking culture that is making cyberspace a more friendly, useful environment—or as defined by Wikipedia, a form of hobbyist “who makes innovative customizations or combinations of retail electronic and computer equipment.”

Among the pioneers of this subculture is our own Mike Kaltschnee. A child of the digital age, Mike’s imagination quickly grew from exploring the contents of the family cookie jar to probing the far reaches of the digital universe. He got his start locally with Hijaak, a popularly priced screen capture and graphics utility, Webspice, a collection of more than 1,000 royalty-free images, and he is currently developing a collection of graphic editing tools for amateur photographers.

But his greatest claim to fame is perhaps by serendipity. In January 2003, Mike wrote a short article in dacs.doc entitled "No More Late Fees." It was about Netflix, an upstart Internet DVD rental service that was challenging Blockbuster's established business model. With a growing archive of more than 12,000 videos, Netflix subscribers could choose how many movies they would take out and keep them as long as they wanted--all delivered directly to their mailbox. 

Shortly afterward, Mike started HackingNetflix.com, a blogging venture to find out everything there is to know about this new Internet service and enhance his video rental experience. Fast forward to the future: In 2009, Netflix' inventory of DVDs had grown to more than 100,000 titles, with a pipeline exceeding 10 million subscribers, half of whom were viewing them on streaming video. Meanwhile, according to freewebsitereport.org, Hackingnetflix.com has become the premiere Netflix tracking site, with more than 300,000 monthly readers and 16,000 page views daily in 2011. Mike is one of the most oft quoted authorities on the Netflix business, providing information on navigating the video service's complex procedures and inner workings. Along the way, he has also become a wizard of the new streaming technology and the industry which has grown around it.

Asked about the subject of his presentation our next meeting on October 4, Mike wrote:

• DVD and streaming services like Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon, Redbox, Hulu, Vudu, HBO Go, etc. I'll compare pricing, title selection, features, and more.
• I'll talk about the hundreds of streaming devices, including game consoles, phones, tablets, dedicated streaming devices, etc.
• I’ll talk about the history of the DVD rental business, and shed some light on the future of movie watching.
• I'll be bringing a number of streaming devices for people to see, including the Roku Player, Wii, iPad, etc.

If your curiosity extends beyond this comprehensive list of topics, just raise your hand--Mike will have an answer.

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Due to construction at the Danbury Hospital, the next general meeting will be held at Broadview Middle School Auditorium, 72 Hospital Avenue, Danbury, CT. (Click here for directions.)

Activities begin at 6:30 p.m. with registration and casual networking. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. with a question and answer period (Ask DACS), followed by announcements and a short break. The featured evening presentation begins at 8:00. The meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 9:30 p.m.

DACS General Meetings are free and open to the public. Members and prior attendees are encouraged to extend invitations to anyone interested in this topic.