Watching Netflix in Ubuntu

As far as I am aware, the only way to watch Netflix in Ubuntu is through a virtual windows machine. It sounds like this could change soon though. There are a handful of dated posts about an imminent chrome plugin that will allow Netflix in Linux.

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2011/05/netflix-chrome-plugin-will-bring-on-demand-video-to-linux/
http://www.iheartubuntu.com/2011/05/netflix-coming-soon-to-ubuntu.html

However, it is now August 2011 and there is still no native way to watch Netflix in Linux.

In the meantime, your alternative is windows XP in a virtual machine. I resisted this method for a long time. An entire virtual operating system just to watch Netflix? I didn’t think it was worth it.

Finally I gave it a try. I installed Windows XP using VirtualBox and it ended up working great. It is less than ideal, but if you really want Netflix, this is your option.

I won’t outline a tutorial on this. The internet is full of tutorials for getting Netflix in Linux through a VirtualBox.