WindowBlinds 5: Black title bars on cracked ver

[RvXtm]

Lol,i will never trust stardock again ... it sucks ... alot of people reinstalled windows for this ,they are sick,how can they even think at a thing like this,not all people know how to disable it ...i think they should block WB,not play with the whole UI ... sick ... :angry: :angry:

[Neil Banfield]

Lol,i will never trust stardock again ... it sucks ... alot of people reinstalled windows for this ,they are sick,how can they even think at a thing like this,not all people know how to disable it ...i think they should block WB,not play with the whole UI ... sick ... :angry: :angry:

WB IS the UI.

Modify bits of WB and obviously strange things might happen when WB is providing the entire UI. If you didn't steal a copy & then crack it then obviously this would not happen.

Regarding reinstalling the OS, that seems a little extreme as my first step would be safe mode (or a different user account)

The rise of P2P apps and bittorrent are a real risk to the future survival of small companies like Stardock. This is especially true given the WindowBlinds market is mostly advanced home users, not companies. Just look at how many people have posted on neowin about this crack not working right. WindowBlinds is not something you MUST have. You can live just fine without it. Food, water, housing, heating are required to live, computer software is not.

Its not as if its expensive either. Ever since release WB has been $19.95. Stardock have not used piracy as an excuse to up the price, instead they have worked on reducing piracy. Thus not being unfair on those who actually pay for the software.

Stardock care so much about their customers that many staff even work weekends to help track down problems reported by customers and to enhance the software based on requests.

If you want to use the software then use the trial for 60 days. If you like it after that, buy the software. If you cannot afford to buy it then consider assisting in the community, making skins, entering competitions. Stardock give away copies of software to people all the time. Once a new graphics card was sent to a customer because they were having problems with their (ancient & obsolete) card. Thats a very unusual case of course, so don't expect that to happen when you e-mail support!

In the end we cannot stop people cracking our software and we cannot stop people pirating it, but we make it so you need a new crack every time a new build comes out. At some point you have to think how much your time is worth trying to find these pirate copies & cracked builds.

Edited December 18, 2005 by Neil Banfield

[AbandonedTrolley]

Personally if you haven't paid for something and you are running MODIFIED code, then at that point you can no longer hold Stardock responsible for what happens :cool: If you want it to use it then buy it. But don't moan at a company that secures their own products :no:

[willdao]

I've just discovered this thread, and have been reading with growing incredulousness that's fast approaching real anger. I've just recently registered here, and at other forums on the web catering to skinning enthusiasts...my own enthusiasm has been pretty high in the last week or so for this "new thing" (new to me, of course!) My enthusiasm is more than a bit damped, at the moment, though--entirely because of Stardock's unprecedented actions that I've just read about. Accordingly, I will NEVER be a Stardock customer.

There is simply no justification for Stardock's actions in simulating gross OS and/or UI problems, in my opinion. I can imagine newbies to this scene, like me, having no idea what has happened, and dumping the whole OS. Whether they were using pirated sw or not (and apparently many were not), simply unloading the prog. with a brief and POLITE msg. INVITING one to make a purchase at stardock.com would have accomplished the same primary result of crippling the sw, and achieved the secondary result of encouraging a healthy and respectful use of Stardock's product. The tertiary effect would have been a bit of amazement that Stardock was able to discern pirated product use, enhancing the coders' reputations. And, of course, there would have been no incredibly negative blowback in forums such as this; furthermore, no one would have had to give up any hint of tactics or strategies which thusly, undoubtedly, have aided further cracking attempts.

Crippling the OS ITSELF (or, appearing to, which, for many I'm sure has been the same difference) is unconscionable. These are the tactics of an arrogant company with no respect for customers--i.e. future customers who will stay away in droves, and past and present customers (how many using the pirated copy of WindowBlinds have purchased from Stardock in the past and will stay away in the future?) I will certainly give Stardock a wide berth. Frankly, I've found the Stardock websites more than a little arrogant, too--I just wanted to find out some product info. yesterday, and to read Stardock forum posts about initial problems of the first release of WindwBlinds 5, etc., before buying, and found that I had to jump through a ton of hoops--providing lots of private data not asked for in forums elsewhere--only to find in the end of the process (after having provided such information, if reluctantly) that I ALSO, incredibly, had to be a CURRENT customer to use these resources! In order to find out sys. requirements? Problems with an early release in order to evaluate whether to buy now or wait for a while? What unmitigated arrogance! And, there is NO UPSIDE! To any of these heavy-handed tactics. Not if one wants to attract as many happy customers as possible. Frankly, these are sophomore-level Business 101 errors (yes, I've taught...at the graduate level!).

FWIW, I am a Total Quality Management (TQM) expert, and a pretty devout admirer of W. Edwards Deming, Crosby, Juran, etc. (do a google!), and hold multiple graduate degrees (two graduate degrees in business, including an M.B.A.). In my considered opinion, such tactics will backfire--and how! What a pyrrhic victory! (As Pyrrhus of Epirus said, after defeating the hated Romans at Asculum, but losing over half his own army in the process: "One more victory against the Romans and we will be finished."

Again, my considered opinion: The customer is ALWAYS right...even when he is wrong. Harming him or her in any way is ludicrous. This includes potential customers and past customers. What folly. I can just imagine the peurile glee among the coders when employing this little bomb. There's a problem with playing with explosives, of course: they may explode collaterally or unexpectedly, engulfing you! Even when they work as expected, they may cause widespread horror that they were used in the first place! Such is the case with me, a newbie to skinning the OS, and otherwise a pretty perfect potential customer for Stardock.

willdao

Edited December 18, 2005 by willdao

[While You Were Art]

By the sounds of it quite a few mystified people will have reformatted their computers and perhaps they deserve that degree of misery. Perhaps Stardock will avoid legal shenanigans that they do not deserve, but it is a twisted world of litigation out there. I would suggest, with no sarcasm intended, that those who feel they absolutely can not afford to pay for their software give Linux a try (SUSE and Mandrake are excellent examples). The instillation DVD installs not just the operating system but all the programs you are likely ever to need. Most of the said programs will read and write files in Microsoft formats, etc. In terms of Office suites, they all have a familiar feel to them with very little learning curve. Just a couple of mouse clicks during the install and you're up and running. It is now a mature operating system and almost as straight forward as Windows to use. Also, it is supremely customizable!

*If something goes belly up, however, Linux is certainly less user friendly than Windows. You gets what you pay for!*

[willdao]

Well, I'm not up for jumping the MS ship, if only because of the inevetable learning curve AFTER the easy jump off point. But I'm CERTAINLY in the mood for open source skinning solutions...Stardock just made up my mind for me! And my point [if you were referring to my post, While You Were Art (what a great alias); if not, disregard] was not even about the possible legal ramifications (I'm no expert there, albeit I know more than most about business law) was merely to address the loss of business that may very well be more than they would have lost through piracy!

Face it, pirates WILL find a way to do their dirty deeds, a basic business fact. All Stardock has done is give them some insights into how to do their work more effectively, as well as to give itself a black eye and a bad rep that will enlarge as it grows...after a few retellings, people on the fringes won't remember what the fuss was about, or whether Stardock was justified; there will be simply a widely-inherited sense of unease about the company. These effects are widely known (and often exploited as tactically "against" others, e.g. competitors) in various ways, although there's nothing quite like watching a company full of apparently otherwise bright folks do it to themselves.

This whole debacle is foolish, destined to fail, anyway, and utterly avoidable. What's worse is that it could have been utilized--exploited, even--in such a wholly positive way and to very positive effect and feedback.

Live and learn. I may use this as a "living case study." What a classic!

willdao

Edited December 18, 2005 by willdao

[mercury]

Wow, again, the audacity of people to complain about software that they have no right to complain about, astounds me.

If you cracked the software, and it doesn't work anymore because of the crack, where is your right to complain? The only way that Stardock should be held liable for anything was it it truly did damage the PC, which it did not. It made it so that the PC could not use the STOLEN program. Plain and simple.

I suppose if I stole a pair of pants from a department store, and it had the theft deterrant ink system on there, and it wne off while I was trying them on, I should yell and complain at the department store for knowingly destroying my stolen goods? Or, if I robbed a bank, and their ink cartridge went off in my nice new bag o' money, I should seek legal action against them for tainting the cash?

People who steal products pass up any right they have to complain about said product when it does not work anymore. Once these people realize that their are consequences to their actions, maybe they'll stop. Probably not, but I feel that it's a nice start. If Stardock were to pop up some message about how it Windowblinds no longer works, these same people would hve been up in arms about how it just stopped working, and most likely seek a new crack. Seems to me that Stardock just figured out a way to thin out the herd to paying customers, and those that actually want to pay for the software. Good for them.

[Neil Banfield]

I've just discovered this thread, and have been reading with growing incredulousness that's fast approaching real anger. I've just recently registered here, and at other forums on the web catering to skinning enthusiasts...my own enthusiasm has been pretty high in the last week or so for this "new thing" (new to me, of course!) My enthusiasm is more than a bit damped, at the moment, though--entirely because of Stardock's unprecedented actions that I've just read about. Accordingly, I will NEVER be a Stardock customer.

There is simply no justification for Stardock's actions in simulating gross OS and/or UI problems, in my opinion. I can imagine newbies to this scene, like me, having no idea what has happened, and dumping the whole OS. Whether they were using pirated sw or not (and apparently many were not), simply unloading the prog. with a brief and POLITE msg. INVITING one to make a purchase at stardock.com would have accomplished the same primary result of crippling the sw, and achieved the secondary result of encouraging a healthy and respectful use of Stardock's product. The tertiary effect would have been a bit of amazement that Stardock was able to discern pirated product use, enhancing the coders' reputations. And, of course, there would have been no incredibly negative blowback in forums such as this; furthermore, no one would have had to give up any hint of tactics or strategies which thusly, undoubtedly, have aided further cracking attempts.

Crippling the OS ITSELF (or, appearing to, which, for many I'm sure has been the same difference) is unconscionable. These are the tactics of an arrogant company with no respect for customers--i.e. future customers who will stay away in droves, and past and present customers (how many using the pirated copy of WindowBlinds have purchased from Stardock in the past and will stay away in the future?) I will certainly give Stardock a wide berth. Frankly, I've found the Stardock websites more than a little arrogant, too--I just wanted to find out some product info. yesterday, and to read Stardock forum posts about initial problems of the first release of WindwBlinds 5, etc., before buying, and found that I had to jump through a ton of hoops--providing lots of private data not asked for in forums elsewhere--only to find in the end of the process (after having provided such information, if reluctantly) that I ALSO, incredibly, had to be a CURRENT customer to use these resources! In order to find out sys. requirements? Problems with an early release in order to evaluate whether to buy now or wait for a while? What unmitigated arrogance! And, there is NO UPSIDE! To any of these heavy-handed tactics. Not if one wants to attract as many happy customers as possible. Frankly, these are sophomore-level Business 101 errors (yes, I've taught...at the graduate level!).

FWIW, I am a Total Quality Management (TQM) expert, and a pretty devout admirer of W. Edwards Deming, Crosby, Juran, etc. (do a google!), and hold multiple graduate degrees (two graduate degrees in business, including an M.B.A.). In my considered opinion, such tactics will backfire--and how! What a pyrrhic victory! (As Pyrrhus of Epirus said, after defeating the hated Romans at Asculum, but losing over half his own army in the process: "One more victory against the Romans and we will be finished."

Again, my considered opinion: The customer is ALWAYS right...even when he is wrong. Harming him or her in any way is ludicrous. This includes potential customers and past customers. What folly. I can just imagine the peurile glee among the coders when employing this little bomb. There's a problem with playing with explosives, of course: they may explode collaterally or unexpectedly, engulfing you! Even when they work as expected, they may cause widespread horror that they were used in the first place! Such is the case with me, a newbie to skinning the OS, and otherwise a pretty perfect potential customer for Stardock.

willdao

Firstly only cracked copies of WB have this problem. Trial copies & paying customers have no problems at all. While a couple of people have suggested they have legit copies, none of them has been willing to contact me to prove it. Additionally similar claims were made by users on the Stardock sites and the claims have been shown to be false and the user admitting they didn't buy it.

Regarding the end result. The crack is the root cause of these problems. No crack, no problems. Thats why there is no nice message. In order for this to happen there had to be 3 WB files modified.

The Stardock forums do not require you to be a customer and never have done. What site were you accessing?

[While You Were Art]

In the end we cannot stop people cracking our software and we cannot stop people pirating it, but we make it so you need a new crack every time a new build comes out. At some point you have to think how much your time is worth trying to find these pirate copies & cracked builds.

Neil, one thing that would be supremely worth doing here is listing a physical address that people can order WindowBlinds from. No, I'm not talking shameless seasonal plug here! My point is... what is clear from this thread is that it's $20 and clearly not worth the hassle of obtaining by other risky means but that, equally, a lot of people who use cracked software would never risk typing their credit card details into their computers. (Installing a crack/patch from an unknown source is a great way to get a keylogger/trojan on your computer that an antivirus program won't detect. Not all patches are malicious but they can rob you of your privacy and, depending on how the hacker wants to use your computer, it can slow your dialup internet connection). Give Stardock their due, it's a mature and solid product and a lot of fun. Address, Neil? :)

[Neil Banfield]

Neil, one thing that would be supremely worth doing here is listing a physical address that people can order WindowBlinds from. No, I'm not talking shameless seasonal plug here! My point is... what is clear from this thread is that it's $20 and clearly not worth the hassle of obtaining by other risky means but that, equally, a lot of people who use cracked software would never risk typing their credit card details into their computers. (Installing a crack/patch from an unknown source is a great way to get a keylogger/trojan on your computer that an antivirus program won't detect. Not all patches are malicious but they can rob you of your privacy and, depending on how the hacker wants to use your computer, it can slow your dialup internet connection). Give Stardock their due, it's a mature and solid product and a lot of fun. Address, Neil? :)

Order.txt included with WB has full details on how to purchase WB without purchasing it online.

[Krad]

Being that developers of the this product read these posts.

Can you guys develop a small freeware application that makes the startbar/taskbar completely transparent? I would like to see the quick launch icons, programs, clock not transparent, but just the actual background gone?

I used the trial of wb5 and enjoyed the dreamland skin, i was wondering if you guys could take it to the next level?

[KoL Veteran]

OWNED lol I have to say that.

People crying because their pirated version of WB dont work?? common guys.

Im using WB in my desktop and laptop and everything works fine.

[willdao]

Mr. Banfield, I've been all over the web in the last few days, joining everywhere. But, I believe it was at the Stardock main site. I was making a spree of joining sites (e.g. this one, you've quoted my very first post)-- anywhere I thought I'd find a great resource. I found the info. requirements intrusive...and, yes, after having given my info, I was asked which Stardock products I was a registered owner of, which I and most people would infer means that one HAD to be such. I clicked back out and went on my merry way, joining other resources.

Regarding my argument, it is immaterial to such whether it is only users of pirated products who are harmed. Harmed people are, and this tactic will--and should--have consequnces for your company. Whether you feel you were justified will do nothing to change my mind, or, undoubtedly the minds of others, that you have entered the fray with undoubted malice. You have stepped over a line...one that I discern, anyway...towards trying to engage your "enemies" using tactics that are dubious, and are perceived as harmful. PERCEPTION is what will be your bane. It's the only thing that matters, not whether you might have been justified. (Meanwhile, you've not attacked your real enemies, crackers, just made victims of your potential customers.) This is not a morality tale, nor do I mean it to be.

It simply makes no difference whether you were morally, legally, or otherwise, "right." In many minds, you will be preceived as wrong--even by those who haven't clue number one about the issues. That's simply bad business. And THAT'S what my whole point has been about. Your actions do not make good business sense. Good coding sense, maybe (although I doubt that, too...what happens if a checksum causes these issues among legit users after a slight data corruption? How will you make the customer "whole" with a working copy of your product later, after they've mistakenly hosed their OS? "Oops. sorry, but we HAVE to do this, you see, because..." Well, in fact, you don't. You ENJOY it. Admit it.).

But, anyway, I've spent far, far more time on this issue than I intended, reading the same responses to every different cogent observation made here that questions your tactics. I'm not even a customer. You may infer that this state will continue. I will vote with my wallet for other options (or, since there really aren't any at your level--hence your arrogance, I'm sure--probably open source options). It's really not that big a deal, anyway, is it, Mr. Banfield--this tweaking of the eye-candy that last littlest bit? Certainly nothing to get excited about. And I, for one, am not excited by it anymore, after only about three days of it. Credit yourself. In such a marginal business (tweaking that last little bit), one would think even losing one customer like me (and all the myriad whom I quite cogently subsequently can influence) would be a negative...

willdao

Edited December 18, 2005 by willdao

[While You Were Art]

Order.txt included with WB has full details on how to purchase WB without purchasing it online.

I know but that response isn't addressing a sector of the audience that, I put it to you, would welcome an excuse to go legal and hassle free. I'm sure they could find it if they looked but, re good will toward an excellent and hard working staff, how about posting a URL to a physical address?

[willdao]

O.K., then. 'Bye bye.

[mercury]

Mr. Banfield, <snipped long winded diatribe>

willdao

Quite full of yourself? Because that is how you are coming across. 3 days, and you've given up on the community? Way to dedicate yourself.

Seems to me that the skinning community is losing much, if you are so turned off by this, that you would rather just not deal with it.

Again, pirates get what pirates deserve. You crack a program, you invalidate any right you have to complain about the program not working. I don't care if you were going to buy the program next payday. If you really meant to purchase it, I think you can wait a few days.

[»X«]

Ive been chuckling my way through this entire post.

There are 2 kinds of people.

Those who think stardock did the right thing and those who didnt.

Those who dont agree have prob pirated the software. But the point still remains.

All you hot heads firing off saying "if i stole a loaf of bread..blah blah" Theres a SLIGHT difference. If i stole a loaf of bread and ate it, it doesnt poison me. (Theres a solution to theft, quick patent it!)

I sympathise with stardock about loss of money etc. And I will admit i dont know much about this "messing up the computer" business of the cracked version. But if indeed it does **** up the computer because its a cracked version, then you have a mute point. Is it just deserts? Or morally wrong?

2 sides to every story. If you paid for this software of course your going to act "the big I am" with the usual "dont steal its wrong" line. If youve cracked it "my computers ****ed up wha wha stardock boo". This topic could go on well into Windowblinds 6.5.

[Pas]

WOW! You people complaining about WB not working because you installed a cracked version are idiots. It's obvious that WB isn't the problem, so why are you bitching about Stardock and WB? You should be complaining to the hackers who made the crack you installed. They're the guilty party here. Well, the hackers and you would be more precise.

And what's with this argument about a noob having to format his/her machine because he/she wouldn't know how to remove WB? If he/she is such a noob, how did he/she acquire the cracked WB?

Also, as somebody else said much earlier in the thread, stop eating fastfood for a day or not buy a video game and you can afford to buy a legit copy of WB.

And while I'm at it, it's very difficult to give credence to an argument posted by somebody when the poster doesn't know if it's "to", "too", or "two"; "there", "their", or "they're"; "which" or "witch"; "your" or "you're"; or "except" or "accept". Correct spelling goes a long way, too. As examples, it's "appalled", not "apauled" and "legit, not "ligit". It's possible that paying a bit more attention in class would be more appropriate than complaining about your cracked software not working.

[Neil Banfield]

Mr. Banfield, I've been all over the web in the last few days, joining everywhere. But, I believe it was at the Stardock main site. I was making a spree of joining sites (e.g. this one, you've quoted my very first post)-- anywhere I thought I'd find a great resource. I found the info. requirements intrusive...and, yes, after having given my info, I was asked which Stardock products I was a registered owner of, which I and most people would infer means that one HAD to be such. I clicked back out and went on my merry way, joining other resources.

Regarding my argument, it is immaterial to such whether it is only users of pirated products who are harmed. Harmed people are, and this tactic will--and should--have consequnces for your company. Whether you feel you were justified will do nothing to change my mind, or, undoubtedly the minds of others, that you have entered the fray with undoubted malice. You have stepped over a line...one that I discern, anyway...towards trying to engage your "enemies" using tactics that are dubious, and are perceived as harmful. PERCEPTION is what will be your bane. It's the only thing that matters, not whether you might have been justified. (Meanwhile, you've not attacked your real enemies, crackers, just made victims of your potential customers.) This is not a morality tale, nor do I mean it to be.

It simply makes no difference whether you were morally, legally, or otherwise, "right." In many minds, you will be preceived as wrong--even by those who haven't clue number one about the issues. That's simply bad business. And THAT'S what my whole point has been about. Your actions do not make good business sense. Good coding sense, maybe (although I doubt that, too...what happens if a checksum causes these issues among legit users after a slight data corruption? How will you make the customer "whole" with a working copy of your product later, after they've mistakenly hosed their OS? "Oops. sorry, but we HAVE to do this, you see, because..." Well, in fact, you don't. You ENJOY it. Admit it.).

But, anyway, I've spent far, far more time on this issue than I intended, reading the same responses to every different cogent observation made here that questions your tactics. I'm not even a customer. You may infer that this state will continue. I will vote with my wallet for other options (or, since there really aren't any at your level--hence your arrogance, I'm sure--probably open source options). It's really not that big a deal, anyway, is it, Mr. Banfield--this tweaking of the eye-candy that last littlest bit? Certainly nothing to get excited about. And I, for one, am not excited by it anymore, after only about three days of it. Credit yourself. In such a marginal business (tweaking that last little bit), one would think even losing one customer like me (and all the myriad whom I quite cogently subsequently can influence) would be a negative...

willdao

I have not registered on the forums.stardock.com site for a long time, but I just checked and at no point does it ask you about any products registered.

Stardock also offer newsgroups for support.

I am curious to know what you think Stardock did. Given the software was not downloaded from Stardock, the crack was not made by Stardock and the software had no communication with Stardock.

I also should point out that the odds on a random disk corruption causing this are probably less than winning the lottery twice in a row.

I take no pleasure from anyone finding their cracked software has stopped working. I do find it curious that those same users then complain to Stardock that their stolen software that didn't come from Stardock doesn't work right anymore though.

[Davebo]

Could people be blaming Windows Updates because this round of updates required a reboot? I mean, it's likely that following the reboot the interaction between the crack and WEB5 timebomb took place, giving everyone their (deserved) GUI corruption.

I just think it's a coincidence...

Other than that one person who admitted to using a crack before purchasing, and has since been "sorted out" and is running again normally, has anyone's legit install of WB 5 been screwed up? I haven't heard of any myself...

Personally, if I was hit by this, I'd be laughing my ass off at how clever Stardock was. Then I'd sit back and wait for an improved crack. The one thing I wouldn't do would be to come here and profess my guilt. What stupidity...

And willdao? Door meet ass, you "wanna-be eloquent" tw*t...

Edited December 18, 2005 by Davebo

[Neil Banfield]

Ive been chuckling my way through this entire post.

There are 2 kinds of people.

Those who think stardock did the right thing and those who didnt.

Those who dont agree have prob pirated the software. But the point still remains.

All you hot heads firing off saying "if i stole a loaf of bread..blah blah" Theres a SLIGHT difference. If i stole a loaf of bread and ate it, it doesnt poison me. (Theres a solution to theft, quick patent it!)

I sympathise with stardock about loss of money etc. And I will admit i dont know much about this "messing up the computer" business of the cracked version. But if indeed it does **** up the computer because its a cracked version, then you have a mute point. Is it just deserts? Or morally wrong?

2 sides to every story. If you paid for this software of course your going to act "the big I am" with the usual "dont steal its wrong" line. If youve cracked it "my computers ****ed up wha wha stardock boo". This topic could go on well into Windowblinds 6.5.

The computer is not harmed in anyway. WB just gets very confused because of the crack. Unload WB or uninstall WB and all is fine.

Taking your loaf of bread example. To make it totally accurate you would need to add something like finding the stolen bread was in a plastic wrapper & using acid to remove that wrapper. Then complaining when the acid makes the bread inedible.

[»X«]

And while I'm at it, it's very difficult to give credence to an argument posted by somebody when the poster doesn't know if it's "to", "too", or "two"; "there", "their", or "they're"; "which" or "witch"; "your" or "you're"; or "except" or "accept". Correct spelling goes a long way, too. As examples, it's "appalled", not "apauled" and "legit, not "ligit". It's possible that paying a bit more attention in class would be more appropriate than complaining about your cracked software not working.

Mate, in this world millions of people use "illiterate" words like lol, wtf, IMO, pwned and so forth. Coming on a WB post and slagging off people who dont type perfectly only highlights the fact you dont have a clue how the world of today works. Also missing the point of the entire post. Its not called "the illiterate world of today: voice YOURE! opinion" is it?

Frankly i couldnt care less how someone spelt something, if i understood it, its good enough. I find people who pick on others for spelling imperfections are just looking for an argument and are trying to look smarter than they actually are. :whistle:

[Pas]

switchblade, you nothing about me. nothing! i am the king of typos and readily admit it. i do know how to spell correctly, though. if you or your "mates" are too lazy to type the entire word or are too illiterate to spell correctly, that's your problem. one method of remedying the problem would to pay attention in class, not lecturing me or moaning about cracked software not working properly.

you couldn't care less, huh? wait until you apply for a job and there are many incorrect spellings. if you're that person, the job won't be yours to have, i can assure you. before i retired, i was involved in the hiring process at my place of employment. trust me, bad spelling or l337 spelling such as wtf, IMO, or LOL = no job.

[»X«]

...if you or your "mates" are too lazy to type the entire word or are too illiterate to spell correctly, that's your problem.

Firstly being too lazy to type or spell properly isnt our problem. Because it isnt a problem at all. We are talking about forums and the internet. No one mentioned a real job. As long as you get the point accross its good enough.

...or moaning about cracked software not working properly

Well that kind of is the point of this thread mate. If you bothered to actually read what people have typed rather than how they type it, you might learn something.

[Inplode]

ok im ****ed i have the FULL VERSION of windowblinds i PAID for with Object desktop now this **** happends i also have the Full retail version of windows XP pro ! Basterd at MS needs to be nuked !