Over the past few months Netflix has gone through a myriad of changes. Their recent price hike caused a great deal of Internet Outrage™ but it seemed unfounded because similar services - i.e. Comcast / Mega ISPs - offer so much less for so much more. Then the news came that they'd no longer be able to carry Starz / Disney / Sony films - an understandable unpleasing bit of news as content is king in their game.

All that being said, it seems that Co-Founder Reed Hastings has apologized for his lack of communication and transparency on the subject. Then he goes on to announce that the DVD-by-mail service will be split off to its own service called Qwikster and integration of DVD and Streaming Queues will no longer be an option.

My gut reaction is to think that they're losing their minds and just going to infuriate more of their customers. However, I can't help but think there's got to be some tactical advantage to the split. Netflix will become synonymous with "streaming" and having the DVD service off on its own may somehow give them leverage to work with more studios (between the two). Basically, I just hope Netflix isn't falling apart as they seem to have a good thing going... I just hope we aren't watching them screw it all up right before our eyes.

via.