I had been reading Gizmodo for ages, but I just unsubscribed yesterday because of this change. I use google reader to aggregate all of the different blogs I read. There's no way I'd want to have to go back to going to every website every day to read the articles. I don't mind ads. I've learned to ignore them for the most part, but I don't want to have to click through. Especially when I'm reading on my Nexus One with a bad signal.
I think this is a great idea, and agree that credit would be much better than cash. Not just because it would benefit Redbox, but because it would decrease the incentive for cheating if you aren't getting cash.
I think that automating the process should be the goal. The Redbox kiosks should be able to run a quick algorithm to know that a DVD is genuine and that it's the correct region and such. I mean DVD players do some of that. Then it could also run a quick CRC type of check to make sure it's the correct movie. Then you could just have users deposit the movies directly to the kiosks that need the movie or mail them in depending on the user's preference and the need around that user's area. I'm sure people will learn how to hack and cheat the system, but then you just remove the credit from their account or close their account if you find that they are cheating. If there's no cash involved, but only credit, then that shouldn't be a big problem. I'm not saying I've worked out all of the details or that it could even be possible or feasible, but it might be an interesting experiment at the least.
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No More Gizmodo
Automation (as Justin Zak)
I think that automating the process should be the goal. The Redbox kiosks should be able to run a quick algorithm to know that a DVD is genuine and that it's the correct region and such. I mean DVD players do some of that. Then it could also run a quick CRC type of check to make sure it's the correct movie. Then you could just have users deposit the movies directly to the kiosks that need the movie or mail them in depending on the user's preference and the need around that user's area. I'm sure people will learn how to hack and cheat the system, but then you just remove the credit from their account or close their account if you find that they are cheating. If there's no cash involved, but only credit, then that shouldn't be a big problem. I'm not saying I've worked out all of the details or that it could even be possible or feasible, but it might be an interesting experiment at the least.
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