The more money you pay a company, the more they treat you like a thief!

[+Warwagon MVC]

The more money you pay a company, the more they treat you like a thief

Something recently occurred to me. The more money you spend on a single software solution, the more the company treats you like a thief.

If you spend just a few dollars to buy an application, the developer usually gives you a serial number, and that's the end of that.

If you spend over $50, now you must be some sort of threat, because not only do you have to enter a serial number, but now you have to "Activate" the product as well. Gotta prove you own it!

Now it's time to spend some real money. You spend $1,999.00 of your hard earned money on something like DecoStudio e2 from Corel. You must be the worst thief of them all! Now just to install or run the software you have to have a special USB security dongle plugged into your computer.

So now someone is thinking, hmm.... I could give them some actual money and go through the hassle of activation and using a security dongle, or I could just pirate the software. Companies should be treating their customers better. Shame on them!

[giantpotato]

Or maybe, just maybe, the more expensive the product, the more the company will do to protect it from being pirated.

How are you being treated like a theif? Are they throwing you in jail for purchasing decostudio? Are they forcing you to do community service?

Do you think companies that require employees to have authenticators to login are treating them like criminals? Would you refuse to work for a company because of that?

[Raa]

Try Vectorworks.

You pay goodness knows how much for a network license.

I have to install the server license host, which has a hardware dongle. Insert a serial number. Activate it online.

Then I install the client software, which also has a serial number, then verifies against the locally hosted server, and runs.

Definately don't want to be stealing that software.

Worst part about being legit? The knowledge the pirates just copy a few files, and they're instantly enjoying the software. WTF man. (N)

Don't get me started on Assassin's Creed II...

[Phantom Spaceman]

Or maybe, just maybe, the more expensive the product, the more the company will do to protect it from being pirated.

How are you being treated like a theif? Are they throwing you in jail for purchasing decostudio? Are they forcing you to do community service?

Do you think companies that require employees to have authenticators to login are treating them like criminals? Would you refuse to work for a company because of that?

My company has managers go through the trash every morning (per LP and corporate) to make sure the employees aren't tossing things to come pick them up in the dumpster later, oh but they do returns without receipts for gift cards, and KNOW certain customers steal and don't do crap. I find it hypocritical but what ever they pay my bills lol.

[remixedcat]

not till some troll steals ur hardwayer donglezz LMAO.... and ur company RAGES and needs moar and then they gotta wait.... disgrtuntled emoloyee wins and company looses.

[Wolfbane]

Or maybe, just maybe, the more expensive the product, the more the company will do to protect it from being pirated.

Yet it doesn't help one bit.

Look at it this way: The people who crack the product take a few days, maybe a week or two longer to crack it due to the additional protection measures. Once it's cracked (and it always gets cracked if the product is popular), the only thing this "protection" is doing is driving potential customers away from buying it (and potentially making more people pirate the product).

[giantpotato]

Yet it doesn't help one bit.

Look at it this way: The people who crack the product take a few days, maybe a week or two longer to crack it due to the additional protection measures. Once it's cracked (and it always gets cracked if the product is popular), the only thing this "protection" is doing is driving potential customers away from buying it (and potentially making more people pirate the product).

Maybe I just don't know how to search for pirated software, but I can find no evidence that Corel DecoStudio e2 is cracked. To me that sounds like whatever protection they're using is working.

We're talking about thousand dollar software. 99% of customers will be businesses. Do you really think that any serious company would turn down a product that suits their needs because it requires a dongle or online activation? This will not drive away any serious customers.

[wrack]

It won't take that long. Corel DecoStudio e1.5 has been out in wild and same will happen for e2.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

hey man!

I agree with you 100%. These USB security dongles are a complete pain. Their developers suck at developing drivers for them. If you are on a 32 bit XP machine, it's probably gonna work like a blast; but if you are on a 64 bit Win7/Vista, the chances are it's gonna fail.

I had an opportunity of installing a client-bank software for a business account. The bank used such USB dongles as part of the process to ID their clients and guess what - they had no drivers for 64 bit Win 7 haha. The client ended up switching the bank because in the end, after going thru all the hassle to get it installed, the client-bank interface sucked.

There's also a financial analytical software, Alt-Invest, which goes for $4000, that I had a chance to use. And for the longest time they too didn't have 64 bit Win7 drivers for their USB dongle which is used for the activation.

So yeah, the parallel definitely exists: the more you pay for the software - the greater the hassle you have to go through to prove that you've acquired it legitimately.

It makes sense from the software-developers' side as they want to protect their intellectual property (the more sophisticated their software is, the more sophisticated tools they're gonna use in the licensing process) , but it's the honest customers who suffer in the end because of the many incompatibilities.

[Wolfbane]

Maybe I just don't know how to search for pirated software, but I can find no evidence that Corel DecoStudio e2 is cracked. To me that sounds like whatever protection they're using is working.

We're talking about thousand dollar software. 99% of customers will be businesses. Do you really think that any serious company would turn down a product that suits their needs because it requires a dongle or online activation? This will not drive away any serious customers.

Well, I kind of doubt DecoStudio is a popular (i.e. lots of people want it) product (at least among the people with the skills to crack it), but it will be cracked eventually.

As for your second point, my argument that these protections will drive potential customers away still stands; when faced with a product which meets their needs yet deliberately inconveniences the consumer, even serious customers will look for alternative products which also meet their needs, or perhaps turn to piracy.

[+Warwagon MVC]

I was recently at a business that spent the $2,000 on a piece of software which then required the USB key. Well someone accidentally pushed the usb stick sideways and bent it (maybe walked by and brushed it). Then the authentication key didn't work and they where locked out of the software and their productivity came to a halt, until they had a new USB key shipped to them. I think even the replacement key was even pricey!

[Ironman273]

The more valuables are in a building the more security there is!

 

Have you noticed if you go to a virtually abandoned hut you can probably walk right in?

 

Then if you go to someone's house they probably lock the door!

 

God forbid you go into a bank!  They have security cameras and even possible a guard on premises.

 

What is this world coming to?

[+LogicalApex MVC]

 

The more valuables are in a building the more security there is!

 

Have you noticed if you go to a virtually abandoned hut you can probably walk right in?

 

Then if you go to someone's house they probably lock the door!

 

God forbid you go into a bank!  They have security cameras and even possible a guard on premises.

 

What is this world coming to?

 

There is a fine line that has to be walked between security and respecting your customers.

 

I have decided against business with certain banks solely because they had bullet proof glass between me and the teller. I don't want to feel like the bank sees me as a bank robber when I'm attempting to transact business. It is likely a real threat for them, but that isn't my problem...

 

You can see the same reality in many places. I have gone into many high end jewelers looking at watches where the "cheap" watches were north of $10K and they had them behind a simple glass case. They had secure doors, but once you were in they made sure the environment didn't make you feel like a criminal for being in there.

 

I have walked into Mercedes-Benz dealerships and Maserati dealerships and they have no special craziness going on. Even though you're passing by $100K+ cars and could pull a gun out and ask for the keys and drive off. They don't put you through metal detectors, talk through bullet proof glass, and etc. They also don't come with you during a test drive. Even though you could just keep going and steal the car...

 

The software world isn't the same. Companies think they can get away with anything because by the time the customer is "dealing with it" they have already purchased the product with no way out. So they don't really care about customer service or the customer experience.

[Arachno 1D]

If you think of all the system users moaning "Oh having to remember all these da*n passwords are a pain" and "why cant I use 12345 as my password for everything instead of complicated alpha numeric do-dad" its the same thing.Much like your front door lock, whilst it may be only weeks or months before the security device is capable of being opened with a crafted device or procedure its there to provide a modicum of protection and stop the casual user just entering willy nilly.