Peter Wassink wrote:
Yes, in effect TVP regards the dongle itself as the license
the Toyota analogy doesn't fly... because you are not asking the dealer for a new set of keys but for a new car.
and he has to trust you that you really have lost the keys or you'd be able to use two cars. oh and cars would have to be duplicatable for free and... ah forget it its not a good analogy.
[True, IF we say that the "key/dongle" is more valuable than the "car/software". I see now what you say about "TVP regards the dongle itself as the license" . The analogy does break down as all analogies do at some point , but in my analogy I wasn't considering the key be more than the car , but rather a small inexpensive item that would enable me to continue to use my still functional automobile , if I could just get the replacement key, instead of purchasing a whole new automobile. I don't understand why the TVP dongle can not be uniquely keyed to each users TVP unlock code , so if the dongle is lost or stolen then that particular unlock code can be deactivated by TVP , so the dongle becomes a useless piece of hardware. The honest user who has their purchase receipt on file with TVP would be issued a new unlock code and new dongle keyed specifically to that copy of TVP . Or is that not how it works ? I suppose the unlock code is embedded on the dongle , too ? So the thief could still use it to run another copy of TVP ? -DN
Still you are right that it does feel wrong. You bought with your license the right to use a software.
This transaction is registered at TVP Development so it feels very unfair that if you happen to loose the (cheap) piece of hardware in which this right was "stored" you also loose the right to use the software (which is not so cheap)
I do understand TVP's point of view on the "dongle IS the license" and given the level of piracy that goes on I don't know what a better solution would be.
I completely support TVP against the pirates , I was just pointing out that I don't think the dongle system is ideal since the consequences are so dire if an honest user loses their dongle or it is stolen (as you say , laptop or a tablet pc is very vulnerable ... I suppose something like this might help a bit:
http://www.donglelockbox.com/Product_Info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . I'm thinking I should get one of those. Of course that is not really
portable at all for people using Tablet PC's or a laptop w/Wacom on the go. If someone would design a locking USB port which physically prevents removable of a USB drive that would be ideal. Is there such a thing and I just don't know about it ? )
I am revealing my ignorance on these matters in this post, but
how do other software companies handle this issue ? Because of the school I work for I have many different animation/graphics software packages installed on my work computer: ToonBoom Studio, ToonBoom Animate Pro, Digicel Flipbook, iStopMotion, Adobe Creative Suite CS4 including Flash , Toki Line Test, ArtRage , Sketchbook Pro and a few others . TVP is the only animation/graphics software out of that group which uses a dongle. What do the others use to avoid illegal duplication and use ? Is that what "DRM" is ? (see , I reveal my ignorance: I had to Google for
"DRM" to find that it means generally "Digital Rights Management" , but is DRM also a kind of software that is installed on the user's computer to prevent their copy of the software they own -- ToonBoom or whatever it is -- from being duplicated ? )
)
), but when I found it again, I attached it on my key chain, with a snap clasp and for 5 years, everything still goes well !