[MojoRising022]

It looks like more and more applications will be using product activation in the future. Macromedia's new applications use it, as will Adobe's in the near future. Product activation has been around on the Window's side for ages, but now Mac users are forced to contend with it.

This brings a few issues to light:

Is this an inconvenience to you or is it a show stopper? Will you continue to support these companies? Can you live without Photoshop or Flash?

What methods are acceptable for a software vendor as an anti-piracy measure?

What do you think the future will bring as softweare vendors get more and more aggressive in protecting their products?

Why is this an issue for legitimate users?

[::maroma::]

I think that there are those certain few apps out there that most people won't part with, no matter how big the hassle is. For me, it's pretty much the Adobe design suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign (and possibly Acrobat). Those products I would continue to support, even through activation hassles. There are other apps though that I wouldn't stick with.

A method that would be unacceptable to me though would be gathering info without the users consent. Also, if they insist on gathering info, then it should be blatant, and not easily overlooked on the users end.

Companies like Quark actually drove the final nail in their coffin for me with their horrible activation and pricing schemes. The fact that one cannot use a single copy of XPress on 2 of their own machines is silly. There is where I think Quark has gone too far (not to mention some other issues I have with them).

[Macola]

One issue with Quark that I'd like to clear up is whether it really requires reactivation every time you change the configuration of your Mac (adding RAM, PCI cards, etc). Can anyone who has Quark 6 comment on this?

It's like the whole situation with WinXP--I resisted upgrading to it for a long time, but have done several upgrades/config changes to PCs without any activation problems.

[mishap]

Yay! another thread about product activation. This should be a boring and long thread.

Originally posted by MojoRising022:
Can you live without Photoshop or Flash?

Actually, no I cant.

Quark was never at any point a good program...it was always crap, so there isnt really any point in puttting up with anymore of that company's crap. I may use QXPress6 for a few jobs... but it is indesign here out (which is paid for so i dont care what activation schemes happen)...

[RyanG3]

I don't mind activation and I understand the reason for it, but I think it's a bit to restrictive. Since most software I need is so expensive I have to pick and choose, the one part that bothers me is only being able to use it on one or two Macs. I have three main machines, two desktops and one PowerBook. I hate spending $600 on software and then being told how I can use it, I'm the only one ever using it. It's like buying music and only being able to listen to it on one or maybe two CD players. I'm an honest customer why should I be punished?

My 2 cents.

[designbc]

Even worse:
Now I reinstalled everything from scratch on my computer and I can't activate Quark 6. I sent them the reactivation request from and nothing.They surely know how to lose customers.

[mishap]

Originally posted by designbc:
Even worse:
Now I reinstalled everything from scratch on my computer and I can't activate Quark 6. I sent them the reactivation request from and nothing.They surely know how to lose customers.

Yes, yes they do.

[alex_kac]

How about activation that allows 5 activations on different machines, only really cares about things like motherboard and ethernet card for a $30 app that just doesn't want to be copied to hundreds of machines?

Is that an issue?

[torifile]

Personally, I think all this activation crap is pure nonsense. I understand the desire to keep people from pirating your wares, but in the end, the people who have to suffer are the ones who paid for it. There will always be a way to crack apps and determined pirates will find them. And then they will be widely distributed. It's the users who have paid for the software who will have to go through the trouble of emailing tech support (who you will have to pay for) in order to use something they have a right to use.

If people need the software and depend on it, you need to believe that they will support you. Fostering good will is the only way to make sure that happens. If you piss off your customers, they'll go elsewhere (eventually).