CS activation

[Raul]

Take a look here. Interesting.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1004&message=12823021

 

[Michael Worley]

From his history, looks like all this guy does, month after month, is have activation issues, or write about them.

--
Mike
---

'No matter how many lenses and cameras you take, you've always got the wrong lens on.' Jay Maisel

 

[budmci]

If I had that much trouble I would be posting too.

 

[Camera Dog]

reading the post sounds like he was inconvenienced and embarrassed to call. That is a far cry from the "activation nightmare" that he claims.

If that is his idea of a nightmare, then he is probably afraid of his own shadow.

 

[Michael Worley]

. . . he indeed does.

--
Mike
---

'No matter how many lenses and cameras you take, you've always got the wrong lens on.' Jay Maisel

 

[JAM214922]

MacroMedia (Dreamweaver, Flash. etc.) has used this form of activation in their Studio MX product for some time. Some of my other pro-level software. like plug-ins for ProTools such as Waves, require a USB dongle.

None of this would be necessary if people began to respect copyrights and not pirate everything that isn't nailed down.

 

[Hamstor]

Which isn't going to happen

1 How many extra copies of PS do you think Adobe has sold because of their activation?

2 How many copies of PS do you think Adobe has lost due to activation?

3 How many people would have Adobe stopped using PS illegally due to activation?

I don't have the answers, but I am pretty sure it would be:

1 VERY few
2 A few but probably not that many
3 Initally a lot, but within a few months of release, almost none

Wanting things for free is human nature, acting on it is a personal decision.

None of this would be necessary if people began to respect
copyrights and not pirate everything that isn't nailed down.

 

[Rob Duke2]

The gimp for one..will try it and seeif it will do what I need it to do.

Linux for example...which is supposed to be free but I will be buying it from a third party to have the ease of installation and the support.

I have been getting tired of the hassles of windows and lack of security.

Now it seems that adobe is going to start playing games with loyal customers to Try to stop piracy which we all know will Never stop.

I agree Most people want something for nothing BUT a working pro wants something that works and works right with little or No headaches.

RD

 

[Ausoleil]

This is interesting to me. Basically, before I install CS2, I will make a copy of my Track0 sector. Then install and DIFF the two. The SafeCast Photoshop changes will pop right out.

 

[budmci]

would be gleeful about paying customers having trouble with their product?? Anybody remember Lotus 123 or Wordperfect? They thought they could force whatever on their customers. Where are they now? Somewhere there is a Photoshop killer out there and Adobe would do well to try to make happy customers, not angry ones. Everything ends up coming back to you. Good and bad.

Bud

 

[Camera Dog]

and don't you think that the photoshop killer will at some point want to protect their intellectual property?

remember, Adobe is a public company and NOT taking steps to protect their IP would not be perceived well by their shareholders.

look at sales - I don't think that many people are really unhappy with activation - people will be chomping at the bit to get the next version - because it is really, really good software.

 

[JAM214922]

. . . already figuring out how to defeat the protection. Without prejudice to the poster, I resent this activity, as well as the 'explainers' who condone the activity.

IMHO, the courts do not come down hard enough on this subculture of hackers, spammers, software pirates, ID thieves and similar low lifes.

While I understand the adventure inherent in breaking the law, I don't understand the general acceptance of this kind of illegal activity versus physical burglary or robbery, for example. When the RIAA started suing "file sharers" (read - people too cheap to pay US 99 cents or less for a song) The outcry over abrogation of privacy and 'rights' was amazing. I hope the U.S Supreme Court comes down heavily on the side of Copyright protection in the current file-sharing case.

To me, the bottom line is this; If you can't afford professional software products, - even with the rather generous educational discounts offered to qualified people - find an alternative product and don't start bashing Adobe, Macromedia, and others for trying to protect their huge R&D investments. In a way you are stealing from me, because the price I must pay for an upgrade assumes a longer than necessary re-coup of these investments.

Flame away...

 

[Octane]

What you say it pretty much to point.

Usually it takes the hackers less than a day to crack it. There are competing groups and its their sports to beat the others being the first.

In the end all the free riders got their version up and running just fine, but the majority of paying users had to go through the pain of activation and trouble it caused in some cases. It make exisiting loyal users angry and didn't convince any of the others to actually buy the product.

OTOH I don't believe in those horror stories where people were in the middle of finishing a big job for a major client and all of a sudden they had to reactivate.

--
David
http://www.usefilm.com/artist/octane
Wildlife: http://neptune.atlantis-intl.com/dolphins/cpg132/index.php

 

[Octane]

I know a lot of pro users that used a hack to avoide the trouble of activation of a lot of their software. After all you own it legally and you want to make sure it keeps on working even after you just upgraded you hard drive to have more space for the job (HD update requires reactivation!) In many cases it has become easier that way than to do the official way, and that is the opposite of how it should be.

--
David
http://www.usefilm.com/artist/octane
Wildlife: http://neptune.atlantis-intl.com/dolphins/cpg132/index.php

 

[Jim Keye]

I kind of agree with your general opinion, but I think some balance--the perspective of the other side--is always useful.

In the case of software, $600 bucks, plus $150 every 18 months is a chunk of change for an amateur/hobbyist to pay out. Frankly, I think its an unreasonable amount of money for them. Yes, business get tax write-offs etc., but it's not that easy for everyone. It's freaking expensive. There will alwasy be people who won't want to pay anything, but I think there's also a group of people who say "if it's reasonable."

When it comes to music, look at what the consumer is up against: the 5 industry giants purposely engaging in activities to keep CD prices at a certain minimum. They're the ones who started the stealing, not the other way around. I'm not saying two wrongs make a right, but you can hardly blame the consumer for reacting to CD after CD of the same old cr@p selling for $18 a pop. It's rediculous. Not to mention that so little of the money gets back to the artist that it's nearly impossilbe to make the case that someone's not going to be able to feed their children. That's not the consumer's fault, that's the industry's fault.

99 cents a song? The whole reason that concept even exists is because of "illegal" file sharing. It's not like the music industry sat around and came up with a cool new way to deliver content. They got dragged into it kicking and screaming, because they didn't see a way for them to get rich off it.

Tried to buy a U2 ticket for their Seattle show. $600 to buy a seat that faced the band, $140 or $170 (I don't remember which) if you wanted to sit behind the stage. That's right, $600 for a single ticket. Why? Because they allow 3rd parties to buy up all the tickets en-mass and resell them. So if you didn't get yours in the first 30 minutes, you're screwed.

No, two wrongs don't make a right. But consumers are going to have to feel like they're a prioirty, not just an afterthought. Adobe is starting to feel more and more like an out-of-touch microsoft. Things like releasing an upgrade every 18 months whether its warranted or not. That's hardly a consumer-friendly move.

 

[Ratso]

I run a high tech company, so this subject is close to home. Circumventing license enforcement is stealing. How would you feel if someone takes your photographic work and uses it for profit while thumbing his nose at you?

Another point which many people fail to understand is nearly all software is not sold but "licensed", you don't own it, it's not yours, you have just bought a license to use it under the terms of the license agreement. The license agreement states what you can and can not do. If you don't like the terms of the agreement then don't use the software.

If you don't like a company's licensing agreement, price, or whatever; you have a simple and powerful recourse: don't buy the product.

 

[Octane]

IMHO, the courts do not come down hard enough on this subculture of
hackers, spammers, software pirates, ID thieves and similar low
lifes.

Oh now we are puting all those in the same category!? Not only is that an unfair generalisation but it is not true at all that the courts are not coming down on them enough.

A teenager who thinks it is cool to have PS without knowing anything about colorspace or image editing doesn't cost Adobe a dime. He would never buy it anyway. Identity thiefs are very different, professional chriminals that can cause a lot of financial damage.

• find an alternative product

and don't start bashing Adobe, Macromedia, and others for trying to
protect their huge R&D investments.

If every software was as critical with activation and reactivation as CS it would not only be a nightmare to setup a system but it would also render you entire system unusable if you decide to upgrade any hardware (HD, faster network interface, ...). I think it reasonable for an end user to keep their own system their property and not have software companies decide what you can do with your own stuff and when. It has become very disturbing how company-controlled a new PC has become these days. We are more and more getting to the point where you are barely allowed to use the computer that you just payed for big bucks. The PC has become the most sophisticated bug placed in our home and the best thing, we get to pay for it!

--
David
http://www.usefilm.com/artist/octane
Wildlife: http://neptune.atlantis-intl.com/dolphins/cpg132/index.php

 

[Raul]

for piracy and those that use those products should be HUGE and that programs should not have all these stupid activation problems.

The bigger the locks for kids that hack, the nicer for them and they will take 10 mins to do it and up to the web it goes. And who will use those copies? some few guys, for fun.

Not a single pro would risk getting caught with one of those.

Then there is another subject: Adobe are idiots with respect to international sales. They will NOT sell online to countries outside the US. They make you go to their dealer in each country. Adobe Chile is a laugh. CS2 will appear in 6 to 8 more months here (in Spanish, that is ALWAYS a poorer version and there is no way to buy upgrades in English here in Chile -I have to buy the upgrade when I travel to the US or Europe).

The pirate version full in English (OF THE SUITE) will be available next week almost for sure, as has been before.

Do you really blame users?

I will have my upgrade but will use a copy. I will not use the suite because I do not intend to buy the original.

Kindest regards

Raul

 

[JAM214922]

... that "If every software was as critical with activation and reactivation as CS it would not only be a nightmare to setup a system but it would also render you entire system unusable if you decide to upgrade any hardware (HD, faster network interface, ...).", when CS2 hasn't even been shipped yet.

As I explained much earlier, Macromedia has the same sort of activation and has never been a problem. If you are a legitimate owner, all you have to do is 'de-authorize' your computer, make whatever hardware changes or upgrades you want, and then reauthorize it. Not a problem at all.

I'm becoming a fan of the iLok, a USB dongle that records all your authorization codes and then allows you to install the software on any computer. Of course, it can only be used when the iLok is plugged in, but it works really well.

All of these schemes have workarounds for the legitimate owner who is experiencing a problem. Some of the 'horror stories' I've seen about how the mean corporations are treating their good customers are often devoid of verifiable facts and strain credulity.

As to your high-school kid - if she's on a school computer and that computer has an educational release of Photoshop, I don't see the problem.

If the kid is too lazy to stay after school and experiment with PhotoShop, Adobe has made Photoshop Elements available for all those hobbyists and students who want to get familiar with the program. In fact, Photoshop Elements 3 has nearly all the features needed by a photographer, including Camera RAW, and its only US $99, or less. So what's the problem?

 

[JAM214922]

. . regarding "Then there is another subject: Adobe are idiots with respect to international sales. They will NOT sell online to countries outside the US."

It may be the fault of the U.S. Commerce Department which maintains some pretty arcane rues about allowing software companies to export certain 'dual-use' products, or products which contain certain encryption algorithms.

I don't know if this is the case with Adobe or not, but perhaps its the U'S' Government agency thats behaving like an idiot?