Netflix recently opened up a Mac Beta version of their Watch Instantly movie streaming service (via Microsoft’s much-maligned Silverlight. About 15 minutes ago I decided to give it a test drive, and now I’m already five minutes deep into Howard Hawks’ Twentieth Century. It’s that simple!!! Just go to Netflix.com/silverlightoptin, click a button to enter the Beta, pick a movie to watch, install Silverlight, and your movie really will start playing instantly. It’s not false advertising!

My only complaint thus far is that, unlike a YouTube or Hulu clip, you can’t wait for the full video to load before you start watching — the video buffers itself in real time based on the strength of your internet connection. So every time my Gchat goes off, Twentieth Century goes off, too. This is surely my fault for attempting to multitask. I trust you would give Carole Lombard the undivided attention she deserves.