Somewhat OT - in Redwood City, it's not unusual to see lines of 3-5 people at each of the two Red Boxes at the seven-eleven on fifth avenue. I'm guessing those two redboxes do more business than the entire Block Buster in downtown RWC based on how fast that line turns over.
Block Buster got squeezed out by automation - At the high end from iTunes and on the Low-End from Netflix/Redbox/Amazon.
Redbox's boost into it's current fame didn't have as much to do with automation as it did with the price and convenience factor.
People were tired of paying $5+ to rent from Blockbuster and get nailed with late fees all the time. Redbox simplified this model ($1/day until you return it). Of course the 24 hour kiosks are a boon too.
I'm starting to see the Seattle's Best Coffee machines (powered by Redbox, image[1]) replacing Starbucks stands inside grocery stores. The machines are way smaller, cost less, and make more consistent coffee. They seem like the younger sister to the "Microsoft Starbucks" machine [2], which are apparently available to anyone buying 4 cases of beans per month.
You probably already know this, but for those who don't Seattle's Best is a Starbucks company --they used to be the brand found in bookstores, when those were popular --now they seem to be the brand SBUX uses for in-store (substore) locations.
Seattle's Best started out as their own company that was then acquired by Starbucks in the 00's sometime. At around the time they were acquired, they became the cafe brand for Borders bookstore, and we all know how that worked out in the end :) B&N has always franchised Starbucks directly in their stores (or at least, for as long as I can remember).
I believe they were first introduced inside of Microsoft (in '05 or '06, I think). And it was a huge relief, too, let me tell you. They replaced these awful Farmer Brothers industrial-style coffee urns.
You'd punch in your order (tall drip, decaf, etc.), and it would grind beans and brew your coffee all in about 20 seconds. They're quite spectacular.
They're a simply amazing blessing. You press 3 buttons (cup size, right or left coffee (right is always house blend), then "Start"), and a minute later you have delicious coffee. Anywhere on campus, any time of day or night. The machine does Short (8oz), or a Tall (12oz) which makes a beautiful latte in my 16oz cup with 4oz of milk.
Block Buster got squeezed out by automation - At the high end from iTunes and on the Low-End from Netflix/Redbox/Amazon.