On Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:51:12 +0000, Phil Da Lick! wrote:
I bought Hancock on DVD this week and couldn't help but notice there's a
"digital copy" on the disc which you can install into your computer.
Being a Sony disc, I wonder what else will be installed onto the machine
of anyone dumb enough to fall for this one. I had to laugh when I read
the blurb in the accompanying literature "using your digital copy you
can watch this movie anywhere!". Well thank you sony, this is much
better than simply having a dvd that I can watch anywhere!
So what solution do you propose that protects the companies investment yet
gives the user freedom?
I'll tell you how it works in the DAW world.
You buy a USB key called iLok, register for an account and when you buy
software, mmuch of which is VERY EXPENSIVE, you go online and deposit the
liscenses in your iLok account.
Now you can use that software, install that software, go to a studio that
has that software, install YOUR software on their machine etc AS LONG AS
you plug your key in and do not use it on more than one machine at a time,
which is impossible because you need the key.
The key has not been hacked and while anything is possible, this one has
really thrown a monkey wrench into the court of the hackers.
They did crack a similar system, Synchrosoft, but this is much more
sophisticated than just a dongle.
Also, it's easy to restore drives in the event of a crash, organize your
licenses etc.
No funny stuff is done to the drive or system and you can upgrade hardware
etc with no problems.
Much better than the typical challenge response method which is a PITA and
very time consuming.
The one flaw, and it's a major one, is if the key craps out or you lose it,
you are screwed until you can replace it.
This is one reason why musicians are interested in open source DAW and
music software but until it comes close to the commercial stuff in quality
it won't generate a market.
So how would you handle this?
