Netflix Disables Chrome's Developer Console

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I could be wrong on this one but I'm not really seeing where this is a big deal. Do you?

When you watch Netflix videos in the Chrome browser, the service disables Chrome's developer console, a debugging and programming tool that gives you transparency and control over what your browser is doing.
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I think the big deal doesn't necessarily lie in the fact that Netflix is doing it, it's that they're pushing the browser makers to lobby for this sort of thing to become a standard with W3C for HTML5 content and that opens up the possibility of some hacker making your browser not only do something you don't want it to do but also lock you out of a tool for figuring out what it's doing. For most people it's probably a moot point since they didn't know there was a debug console let alone how to use it.

It's all just more shots fired in various companies attempts to control the internet in different ways.
 
This is an awful idea, web applications should have ZERO access over the system. Why would Google concede this access!?
 
I don't care if they do it, but I want to be told when they do it and in a way I can back out of it happening.
 
It's a bad idea from a slippery slope perspective, that's for sure. I can't think of a reason why off the top of my head, but surely they will do more dickheadery later down the road. Bad precedent to set.
 
I know certain web applications disable the right click context for the developer tools, but the key combo shortcut still works? Same thing here, who wants to test?
 
dont they already obfuscate their videos from appearing in the network panel?
 
Ahh yeah this is no big deal. First they have shady goings on with Comcast, now they shut down the dev console. Which they did for one of two reasons:

1. People are probably using it to keep copies of media... heaven forbid...
2. They're up to things they shouldn't be, things that perhaps step into grey areas of privacy.
 
Deepminer said:
Ahh yeah this is no big deal. First they have shady goings on with Comcast, now they shut down the dev console. Which they did for one of two reasons:

1. People are probably using it to keep copies of media... heaven forbid...
2. They're up to things they shouldn't be, things that perhaps step into grey areas of privacy.
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What was shady about their deal with Comcast? Comcast is simply giving Netflix a more direct path from their servers to customers. This improves quality for the end user. Very shady indeed.

Netflix is likely protecting their assets by not allowing someone to read the code being sent back and forth. Its not doing anything to the end user's computer.

If you don't agree with their practices don't support their products.
 
weuntouchable said:
What was shady about their deal with Comcast? Comcast is simply giving Netflix a more direct path from their servers to customers. This improves quality for the end user. Very shady indeed.

Netflix is likely protecting their assets by not allowing someone to read the code being sent back and forth. Its not doing anything to the end user's computer.

If you don't agree with their practices don't support their products.
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Heh... do a little research before you dissect someone else's comment.

And um... I don't use Netflix as a matter of fact, should I assume you work for them, or just a fanboy? Keep on living a life where you assume big .biz has your best interest at mind.
 
So now script kiddies can't copy-n-paste JavaScript code for their own projects?

You can still grab the .js, .css, .html and all files from temp storage or from memory
 
So they are trying to run malware on my computer?

Guess I will go back to the pirate bay.
 
Why do Netflix disable the developer console? That reeks to me of a laughably simple DRM, topped with a healthy dollop of disdain for their customers.
 
This article is pretty much bullsh*t, imo, mainly because it makes the ridiculous assumption that everybody uses Chrome which isn't even close to being true...;) Not only that, but it's certain that 99 out of every 100 people who do use Chrome never touch the developer console. That's for starters...it's also very, very wrong on its major point:

The idea that when you "stream" a rental video from Netflix you aren't "renting it," but rather you are actually entitled to your very own copy of the movie/show, because it "comes into the computer," just as if you had purchased your own DVD copy. That's utter crapola, of course, as everyone knows that $8.00 a month for unlimited streaming is *precisely* for streaming/renting movies and *not* for buying your own copies...;) (Besides, what's the point in buying when you can stream them, most any time, anyway? You don't need your own library anymore because Netflix becomes your personal movie librarian.) Far from being a sham difference or a matter of semantics, there is a *huge* difference between "renting" and "buying," and I'm confident that 99 out of every 100 people understand the difference clearly.

It's fairly simple: Netflix enters contracted relationships with the folks who own the material, wherein Netflix agrees to pay royalties to them based on *streaming/renting* the material versus allowing Netflix members to download and keep their very own copies of the material for replay outside of Netflix. If Netflix did not make a public effort to block this kind of hacking, the company would open itself up to major lawsuits by the IP owners.

This is more bellyaching from the "free lunch" crowd who think that if they can hack and obtain IP without lawfully paying for it, then they are legally entitled to keep it...;) Naturally, they object to anyone who disagrees with that twisted rationale.
 
Mohonri said:
Why do Netflix disable the developer console? That reeks to me of a laughably simple DRM, topped with a healthy dollop of disdain for their customers.
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It would be, except for three major points:

*Most people who use Netflix don't use Chrome and are therefore completely unaffected

*Most people who do use Chrome don't touch the developer console and if you asked them what it was they could not tell you, and they are equally unaffected

*The only time the Chrome developer console is disabled is when the browser is being used to stream a Netflix movie--it otherwise works all the time if the user of the browser wishes to use it

I'm afraid that what Netflix has done here is simply closed a hacking hole that only people who were using the Chrome developer console to try and snatch their own illegitimate copies of Netflix movies might ever notice. Lol...;) The complaining is amusing to read because the complainers reveal just what they've been using the Chrome dev console for as regards Netflix...:D Waaaahhhh-Waaaahhhh...!
 
So the last two posts are just utter bullshit since no one but the respective posters are making those arguments.

tl'dr more strawmen in here than in kansas
 
WaltC said:
...
I'm afraid that what Netflix has done here is simply closed a hacking hole that only people who were using the Chrome developer console to try and snatch their own illegitimate copies of Netflix movies might ever notice. Lol...;) ...
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And does anyone actually think this will stop the piracy in the least? Anyone smart enough to use the Chrome console to pirate a movie sure isn't going to be slowed by these shenanigans.
 
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