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Until today, an exclusive agreement between Netflix and Microsoft meant that only Xbox users were able to use a native Netflix app on their consoles to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix without the need to insert a disc into their machines. Starting today, however, Netflix users with a subscription of $8.99 and above who own a Nintendo Wii can also download a Netflix app on their consoles and recycle their old Netflix CDs.

The Netflix iPhone application has just been updated to a new version which now supports "video out" on the iPhone 4 and the 4th generation iPod Touch devices. That means that Netflix subscribers can now use the app to stream the on-demand programming from their mobile handheld to their TV set using a connector cable like this one available for sale in the Apple store.

Who needs an Apple TV now?

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings will arrive in Toronto on Wednesday to launch the company's first foreign expansion: the Canadian market. For now, Canada's version of the movie-by-mail service won't actually include the "by mail" option - it will only offer online streaming, according to a recent Reuters report.

Schools have been illegally showing videos in schools for educational purposes forever. But now universities are taking advantage of Netflix rentals and streaming video to supplement their media collections.

The practice recently gained attention after some first person accounts of the cost-saving wonders of Netflix showed up in a library trade publication and on a blog.

Earlier this summer we told you about Bitbop, a mobile TV subscription service that launched exclusively on BlackBerry devices. At that time, it seemed intriguing that BlackBerry phones would be the target market for mobile TV viewing, especially when other mobile platforms now offer Netflix and Hulu. The FOX-owned company may have taken a significant step forward today as it has announced the service is now available on Android devices.

For as long as I can remember, Blockbuster Video has been the nation-wide go-to spot to rent movies. Some of my earliest movie experiences as a child involved movies my family rented from Blockbuster. When the popularity of online music downloads began shuttering music stores, the world realized that Blockbuster's days were similarly numbered. Now it seems that number is quickly approaching zero as the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that an impending bankruptcy could be as close as a few weeks away for the video and game rental giant.

Netflix has finally launched its highly anticipated free mobile application for the iPhone and iPod Touch and it's available now for download in the iTunes App Store. Like its iPad counterpart, the app lets subscribers stream TV shows and movies straight to a handheld device, either over Wi-Fi or 3G. Membership plans for Netflix start at $8.99/month, which is low enough, perhaps, to entice people to sign up, even if they only plan to use Netflix for mobile streaming.

Siri - an iPhone application that uses its speech recognition technology to act as a mobile personal assistant that was purchased by Apple earlier this year - is an excellent case study in how to leverage open APIs to satiate utilitarian consumer needs. So why don't more marketers create open APIs and allow others to create enjoyable consumer experiences?

As Tim Berners-Lee says, we now live on a Web of data rather than a Web of documents. Companies are currently sitting on piles and piles of data. While all of this data is useful to someone, a company's management team will traditionally balk at the chance to share data, even if it's non-personally identifiable data. Executives often do not see a direct correlation between their company's vitality and sharing their information with the world.

The news is all over the Web - Netflix is coming to the iPad! For all of you doubters and naysayers, you can put away your beloved netbooks, laptops and miniature iPads (iPhones) and...oh, wait, is this true? It might all be an April Fool's Day joke that's getting repeated by trusted media around the Web?

But this Netflix on the iPad thing is the perfect example of how half-believable information can be put out there and repeated and repeated until everyone thinks it's true. And it might be.

Recently, Netflix sent out a survey to select subscribers in order to determine interest in an iPhone application for streaming movies via mobile phones. According to the survey's wording, the proposed app would be Wi-Fi only and would offer the same content that the Netflix "Watch Instantly" service provides. Currently, subscribers are able to stream movies and TV shows to their PCs and Macs as well as to game consoles like the Xbox 360 and certain set-top boxes like the Roku. However, plans for an iPhone application were far out on the company's roadmap last anyone heard.