With the latest update of the XBox 360, Microsoft enabled the ability to stream movies from Netflix to your gaming console, but is it worth it?

While people have been able to streammovies from the popular video rental service Netflix to their computers, they are trying hard now to get those streamed videos to yur TV.  When Microsoft updated their XBox 360 dashboard in November, they made it possible to stream the videos to your console, and then use that to show the videos on your full-sized TV.  Unable to resist such a convenient way to watch movies, and with a family member about to undergo surgery which will have him on the couch recovering for weeks, we signed up with Netflix to give it a try.

So, how is it?  Let’s break it down:

Pros

• Easy to set up.
• Videos look amazingly clear considering their source.

Cons

• Have to use a computer to add things to your ue before trying to stream them.
• Selection is mostly old or odd ball movies, but with over 12,000 titles there is sure to be something for every one.

We do recommend the service, and considering you can get unlimited streaming for as low as $8.99 a month, and the old television shows selection alone is worth it, we suggest you treat yourself if you don’t already belong!

It appears that some of the big retailers in the United States are going to try to get an early jump on the holiday shopping season.

Traditionally one has to wait until the day after Thanksgiving, also known as “Black Friday”, to find really good deals on electronics, but it seems Kmart and Walmart have some different ideas this year.  Starting this weekend, November 8th and 9th, both retailers are going to be putting some items on special that are of particular interest to technology and gadget enthusiasts.

KMart

The big item of interest here is going to be a 32 inch Sylvania LCD HDTV LC320SS9 for $499, normally it is $550.  While this set is in the low end of HDTVs, it is certainly a great price to jump into having a nice flat screen TV in your home.

Other items of interest include:

• Nextar Q4 GPS for $99.99
• Kodak M763 camera for $129.99
• Wii Fit for $89.99

Considering there have been shortages of the Wii Fit in some places, that will probably be the hottest item of this weekend.

Walmart

Walmart is coming out with their guns blazing by offering a Compaq CQ-139WM 15.4″ laptop with 2GB RAM and 160GB hard drive for $298.00.  Unfortunately there is no information about this laptop on their website, and we have no idea on its processor, operating system and so on, but at $298, we wouldn’t suggest you expect much out of it.  Compaq used to be a uality company until HP bought them up, so it will probably be pretty lackluster.  I would suggest you buy this as a backup or possibly using it to doing things like just streaming video to your TV.

Other items of interest include:

• PlayStation 3 for $399 with a $100 Walmart gift card
• PlayStation 2 for $129 with a $30 Walmart gift card
• Selected PS3 games for $19.82 each
• Magnavox Blu-ray player for $198, was $229

The PlayStation 3 might make a good way to get a decent Blu-ray player, but the actual player is also tempting.

Anything listed here would be a great way to get an early leap on your holiday gift shopping, and with these sales not being widely known, you won’t even have to fight crowds!