As we reported last Sunday, Netflix Watch Instantly was "coming soon" for Mac users. Well, coming soon is today, dear readers. If you're into being a beta user, head over to Netflix to opt in at the sign in page, and give her a try. Of course, there are a few things to understand before you start streaming. You'll need to download Microsoft's Silverlight; and Netflix is imposing a six machine limit (PC, set top, whatever). Additionally, not all movies are available for viewing through the Silverlight player. Still cool though. Bye-bye DVDs?[Venture Beat]

The 2008 Olympics have begun, and now that we've had a few days to digest the coverage, we've found the best (and worst) things about watching the games online and on your TV. Those of us stuck here in America and not lucky enough to own Vista must deal with NBC's often delayed event broadcasts. Sure, if it's American basketball or track you're looking for, you can find everything you need without stepping away from your HDTV set. But if you've waited four years to watch table tennis or want to see how that Latvia-Angola rivalry plays out, you'll definitely have to use NBC's streaming online player. Here's a rundown of the tradeoffs between HDTV and NBC's online viewer, and some helpful tips to keep you from getting too mired in the programming.

AU: Nice to know what the US is bitching about, when all we have is Yahoo!7...

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The 2008 Olympics have already started, but those of us stuck here in America and not lucky enough to own Vista must deal with NBC's often delayed event broadcasts. Sure, if it's American basketball or track you're looking for, you can find everything you need without stepping away from your HDTV set. But if you've waited four years to watch table tennis or want to see how that Latvia-Angola rivalry plays out, you'll definitely have to use NBC's streaming online player. The Silverlight-based player runs well—even on a Mac—but it has a few rough spots when it comes to interface. If you want to make the best of your Olympic experience, here are the things you need to know.

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You may have noticed that we've got a bit of a Windows Vista takeover happening at the moment on Gizmodo. Part of that is having a hub dedicated to Vista, where Microsoft's "Professional Geek" Nick Hodge is blogging about helpful Vista features. One of the things he's mentioned - Turning the Pages 2.0 - is actually pretty awesome.

Essentially, it's digitised versions of 19th century (and older) diaries, books and records that you can read and flick through using Silverlight (there's also a plain Vista version as well). It's been done in conjunction with the British Library, and offers 15 of the library's most precious books up for you to read.

I hope that one day, in 150 years time, whatever technology has replaced blogs will come up with some awesome method of rediscovering everything you're reading today on Giz AU.

[Turning The Pages 2.0 via Giz AU's Vista Hub]

Not so hot on the heels of its Microsoft-built Windows-based counterpart, the Times Reader beta has been made available for all members of NYTimes.com. Although a Silverlight install is required, it's relatively painless and a small price to pay for Reader's efficient news presentation and olde timey typefaces. There are no subscription fees for now, but Mac users can expect to join the US$14.95 a month party when the software goes final. [NY Times via TUAW] –by John Herrman

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Nokia has committed to bring Microsoft Silverlight video services to its S60 devices. Further, Nokia will also add support for the video content to its S40-based handsets at later stages. Given the immense market penetration of Nokia's Symbian- based mobiles, this partnering will have a large effect on mobile content support, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Adobe is feeling a little sick right now. [Reuters]

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Courtesy of Lee Brimelow.

–Noah Robischon

Controversial Microsoft Silverlight Ad Campaign [theWPFblog]
Microsoft Silverlight [Product Page]