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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, October 5, 2008 Netflix adds Starz material to streaming mix From "Spider-Man 3" to "No Country for Old Men," Netflix Inc. is making another 2,500 movies, TV shows and concerts available for instant viewing through a deal with Starz Entertainment LLC. The world's largest online movie-rental service and Starz, a subsidiary of conglomerate Liberty Media Corp., were planning to announce Wednesday that Starz titles were being added to the "Watch Instantly" feature of Netflix's Web site. The new content will beef up the more than 12,000 movies and TV shows Netflix already makes instantly watchable over the Internet through its streaming service. While this is just a fraction of the 100,000 titles Netflix has available on DVDs, Net­flix says it continues to grow both numbers and eventually hopes to close the gap between them. In doing this, the company may be ensuring it remains relevant once people migrate from renting DVDs to watching movies over their high-speed Internet connections -- just as they switched from watching VHS tapes to DVDs. Over-50 game players could get a break on auto insurance: Could playing computer games enhance mental agility enough to turn people over 50 into better drivers? Allstate Corp. wants to find out, and if the answer is yes, it might offer insurance discounts to people who play the games. Under a new pilot program called InSight, Allstate will offer specialized computer games to 100,000 customers in Pennsylvania aged 50 to 75. The games' developer, San Francisco-based Posit Science, will track the total number of hours these drivers play. Then the group's accident rates will be compared with a control group of people who do not play the games. The games are not all specific to driving. They're designed to reverse age-related cognitive decline and improve visual alertness. For example, a game called "Jewel Diver" has players keep track of underwater jewels that pop up on the screen for a moment before they are hidden under fish swimming around. When the fish stop moving, players click on the fish hiding the jewel. It's like Three Card Monte but without the cheating. Over time, the game gets more complicated as more fish appear on the screen. Apple ends nondisclosure agreements for its iPhone: Apple Inc. will no longer force iPhone software developers to sign a nondisclosure agreement that many had said was hampering their ability to work. The switch, announced Wednesday, comes a week after the introduction of the first phone loaded with Google Inc.'s Android software, an open-source operating system that lets developers make and sell programs without restriction. In contrast, Apple had required every person who downloaded the iPhone software developer kit to pledge not to speak about its contents, even to fellow developers. Associated Press READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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