Netflix offers $1 million for a better review system

Part of the Netflix experience is its automated recommendations of other movies based upon movies you’ve already rented. It’s an OK system, but not great. So Netflix is opening up its database of 100 million customer ratings in a contest to see if someone can come up with a program that’s at least 10 percent more accurate than the one in place. The anonymity of those ratings has been preserved, so you needn’t worry about that rental of “Hot Dog: The Movie.” Winner gets $1 million.