Strong title for my strong feelings. The watch it now feature has been festering inside me for a long time, but it has just finally reached boiling point.

Before I get into my rant let me first sing the praises of Netflix so you can see my perspective. I have been a Netflix subscriber for almost 2 years now. Not once in my 2 year history have I even thought about switching to Blockbuster or other movies by mail offerings. Now that I get Blu-Ray movies for no additional charge makes me even more happy. I typically ask my wife as soon as I get home, “did my Netflix movie arrive yet”? It really is the best service out there for online movie rentals.

With that begin said, I have had a huge problem with Netflix’s watch it now feature ever since it came out. First off let me say that if this feature was available for an extra charge (and it worked for me) I would be more than willing to pay. It is not a matter of me complaining about a free service. My complaint is strictly about Netflix’s apparent “screw you” attitude when it comes to Mac users.

Netflix’s watch it now feature only works with computers that are running Windows. It must be watched in Internet Explorer (the absolute worst browser on the planet). Watch it now, won’t even worn on Firefox on the windows side. It is highly DRM’d so you need all the latest firmware, and the DRM ridden Windows Media Player 11.

Netflix, for some time now, has mentioned that it is working on support for Apple users. However, It has been over a year and we haven’t still seen any progress regarding Mac support. Last week Netflix announced “MyNetflix (beta) Vista Media Center plug in with Watch Now streaming”. There is also rumors that Netflix will be adding watch it now to Xbox 360 and PS3.

This infuriates me, as an avid Mac user. while I will finally be able to use this feature on ether my 360 or my PS3, I still won’t be able to watch it on my Macs. Why would Netflix go out of their way to screw over Mac users. Instead of working on a Mac solution they decide to focus on a fragmented video game market, (most the users probably won’t even have a Netflix account) and also focus on the even smaller market of Window Media Center users.

I am not saying we need an a full blown solution or media center functionality, just get it working in the browsers. The Mac developers will take whatever you put out and make it more feature robust, and or write plug ins to additional applications. Apple may be closed to putting this feature on the AppleTV or in front row, but it doesn’t mean you can’t develop a watch it now application. Netflix, don’t abandon your mac users. Look at your site numbers, I’m sure you have many users of your site who use other browsers, are on the Mac, and an even greater number of users who would love this feature on the iPhone.

While I mention it, the iPhone would be perfect for this feature. I could watch a movie at work with ease. Studies just showed that 50% of all smart phone searches are done from an iPhone. Basically people using iPhones are using the web. Netflix’s watch it now feature would fit in great with the iPhone. Netflix, be the company I want to love. Make your watch it now feature available to everyone!