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100 Comments
- aplardi, on 10/12/2007, -21/+89"Sorry for the comment abuse. I don't have anything to say but it seems everyone is apologizing for it lately."
- TheNik, on 10/12/2007, -13/+70Are people too lazy to input 25 character keys now? Lordy, lordy.
- mikelieman, on 10/12/2007, -10/+64Funny, with GPL licensed code I never seem to have to go through any of these hassles.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -16/+63"What could be more Mac like?"
how about make it over priced and shiny? - hfx392, on 10/12/2007, -14/+59FTA -
1. First of all -- starting from the very beginning, Mac has always been more about graphics than text. Using graphics allows you to represent the information the way you want. An image is more tangible that a hexadecimal sequence of seemingly random characters.
2. Drag-and-drop defines the Mac. We do not want people trying to type the license key by hand; images can be dragged and dropped with ease.
3. Since the license information is hidden in the image file, developers can stuff as much information as they want into it. No longer will developers need to avoid adding something to the generated license because of space constraints.
4. The license cards contain the user's personal information, so they will be less likely to publish it on the Internet.
5. Software is intangible, and this is especially true for products purchased online without a shrink-wrapped box. The sequence seemingly random characters does not give you a feeling o that you got something real in return. This license card is a close as it gets.
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The license image is something tangible? What, moreso than the actual software you bought? They're both still 1's and 0's - unless they want people to scan the license 'card'?
Good thing they contain your personal information too - since most people usually willingly upload all their serials to the internet for everyone else to use anyway...
Ugh, this is idiotic on so many levels. - rabidsnail, on 10/12/2007, -8/+50Better solution: no copy protection
- thedarkrabbit, on 10/12/2007, -4/+41With text... if my computer takes a massive dump, I can still re-enter text that I've written on my CDs... with an image... it's probably going to be lost with all the other info on my computer... Not the best idea in my opinion...
Also... it makes bootlegging this ***** a pain! - PLUMCRAZY, on 10/12/2007, -3/+36Comment about Hardware Dongles is wrong. AutoCAD was one of the few CAD programs that did NOT require a dongle to work. That is why it became the most popular CAD program out there.
The article says "The absence of protection or very simple protection can significantly reduce the number of sales" I don't think this is true and the AutoCAD example is proof. Because they did NOT require a dongle, every CAD designer I meet says they learned CAD using a borrowed copy running on their home computer. The author is twisting the truth trying to make a point that is totally invalid.
DRM sucks in any form, even when it comes with pretty pictures. - clesch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+32I just registered 1passwd today and was pretty surprised when I saw the instructions about registering the tool (by simply dragging a jpg into the program). It seems like a nice idea overall, though.
Ironic though - I bought 1passwd (also) to store my Serial-Numbers in a safe place. I was able to archive all my serials except one; the 1passwd license-jpg. ;o) - rwallen, on 10/12/2007, -3/+29I don't see what the problem is with long keys. You enter them once, it's not like we are dealing with rocket science here.
- alx359, on 10/12/2007, -5/+30Nice effect, but essentially it has the same flaws as a txt key, because validation is still happening locally, therefore it can be cracked. In this case, just crack the "card reader" and you're done.
The only viable solution I can imagine is to secure the validator to sit outside the user's (cracker's) access. This to work needs to produce some form of a personalized copy for download or if still local, some surreptitious auto-update mechanism to keep the validator clean. - cliffzdude, on 10/12/2007, -8/+33A solution in search of a problem.
- thorn101, on 10/12/2007, -7/+31How am I supposed to print this (for backup)?
- mattus, on 10/12/2007, -7/+25You seem to be missing a rat.
- Dumbledorito, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23Well, they had to concede the one-button mouse wasn't for everyone, so now they're trying to eliminate the need for all of those pesky numbers and letters cluttering up your keyboard.
- Kevin108, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Sounds like WinRAR. When you register they e-mail you a RAR file with your registration info. Just open that archive and your program is registered.
- clesch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16so yeah, this is what happens if you open the file in textmate (preferably via drag and drop!) and scroll all the way down.
http://www.moep.at/stuff/1passwd_license.png
I assume you can c&p or print that to a safe place and attach it to the end of a random .jpg to register the tool without the original license later on. Haven't tried, though. - yevkasem, on 10/12/2007, -17/+31this is absolutely mac like. i mean you take something that has existed for 20 years, mask it with a cool [ugly] gui, and call it innovation.
I LOVE MAC. - philz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Whats so difficult about copy&paste from keygen to installer window?
he. he. - dustinmacdonald, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14It is ridiculous that they're calling this "revolutionary". Here's why it's nowhere close:
1. Entering registration codes is not hard, and you usually only have to do it once. They're trying to solve a non-issue. I'm a shareware developer and I rarely receive emails from customers not knowing how to enter a registration code.
2. It's been done before. Take a look at the AquaticPrime Framework (http://aquaticmac.com/), which offers actual encrypted license *files* (not images) that can be dragged and dropped.
3. It's moving backwards. What happens if you lose the email? You can save the image but you can't print it out, and I can imagine interfacing with other apps for storage could be a nightmare if the metadata is lost. - edzieba, on 10/12/2007, -12/+24I wonder if the author realises that you can drag-n-drop images in windows too?
- cleverboy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16Same flaws? Of course it does. I don't think this is meant to miraculously eliminate "security" problems. It's meant to make it easier for USERS to enter in the license information. As such, see my comment above.
- tupperbacharach, on 10/12/2007, -19/+28Anyone who uses the vague term "Mac Like" can be described by the more specific term: "Mac Tard."
- Misos, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10No, a brilliant and truly Mac-like registration scheme would be the one OS X uses for registration - it doesn't.
Software registration schemes are a waste of time for programmers and an annoyance to consumers.
People will either pay for a piece of software or they will pirate it. It makes no difference if that piece of software has some sort of protection. It all gets cracked. - mipadi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Uh...this isn't an Apple product.
- antdude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Hehe, someone leaked Steve Jobs' license? [grin]
- Homunculiheaded, on 10/12/2007, -8/+15YAY Software Licenses RULE!!!! I really don't mind having everything on 'my'(quotes becuase I don't really own everything on it) computer locked down and restricted as long as you slap a pretty interface on it.
I like apple, I think they make great products, but I don't think better ways of ensuring licensing is really on my list of reasons to start loving them more. - madk, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11My Software Registion was never done wrong.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Free software has plenty of piracy problems; they're called GPL Violations and they happen every week
- Vektuz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Software registration "Done right" is no registration at all.
"Done Right" would be no needing to type, drag, pull, drop, copy, paste anything into any box to make software work.
Thats "Done Right". Anything else just screws up legitimate folks and the pirates just make a key gen. Or an image gen. Or a crack. Or a cracked installer. And it takes them only a few minutes. - Alisic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6One fault though. You can't copy it to a piece of paper with a pencil. Call me old fashioned, but I copy any important CD keys to a piece of paper which I keep somewhere safe at my place. (Online storage) disks malfunction, maybe you can get it sent to you by email, but email addresses change, get lost etc., the piece of paper is only likely to 'malfunction' if the house catches on fire.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You what would be even more "Mac-like"? Having no software registration at all. When was the last time you had to input a "registration code" to use your newly installed copy of MacOS X? Exactly.
- Katana314, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5This has the same problem as CD keys, if not more. It can easily be copied, I mean it's just an image...and it's probably not too hard to make a generator for them either. Also could pose many problems by being in digital form.
- aristotle0dude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4For people too stupid to understand the concept of backing up or license whether in text or jpg form, here is a short tutorial even an complete moron should understand.
1. Take blank CD-R
2. Insert it into your macs CD/DVD burner drive.
2. Drag all of your text files and jpgs with license keys over to the Blank CD-R on your desktop.
3. Drag Blank CD-R to Trash noting that the image changes to the BURN icon.
4. Wait for burning to complete, take CD and place in CD jewel case after labelling/writting on the label side of the CD-R concerning the contents.
5. Store CD in the case off site incase of fire such as in a bank safety deposit box, at a trusted friends place or at a family member's house. - yournamehere, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4why would you have to back up a license key? every company i've ever bought anything from that required a key already stored it for verification in a far more secure place than I would. if i 'lost' the key i would just email them asking for it. they usual respond almost immediately.
- dteare, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Good point. We'll tweak the configuration to fix this.
- robdazomba, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The idea is interesting, but the belief (as stated in the article) that this will stop people from spreading registration keys because the name is embedded is terribly naive. Serials are often associated with a name so crackers and serial traders just register a serial under a false id then spread it far and wide. Using images offers no protection against that.
- gotamd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You enter them once for every piece of software you have and for every computer you adminster (or the same one multiple times if you reinstall the OS).
- anocelot, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6If you could set it up such that the key was encrypted into the app at the time of purchase and download, you could essentially limit a single install to a single executable. THEN you could perform checking at the server level to ensure a single copy is executing at a time. You can still bypass that by pulling the plug, but it's less annoyance on the user.
Of course, this makes selling in a brick and mortar store impossible, but that's the price you pay for efficiency. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5- "We've all been there: you buy a nice new piece of software . . ."
WHOW .. stop . .STOP. . .you just used 2 words together that are a sin . . .software and buying. .. - robdazomba, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@rwallen,
There's room for improvement. For a single user, sure, there's no problem, but as a system admin, keeping track of 100s of machines and installed software, it can be a little frustrating at times. Quark actually has a great idea which is to run license administrator software on the network and let the software register itself when it launches. Then, you only deal with keeping that up and running and everything's good. At present, Adobe is possibly the worst, often times tying a serial to a specific disc which sucks. You literally only need one installer and then your list of serials, but with Adobe (Acrobat Pro comes to mind) you often need the specific installer too. - signal15, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4It's definitely interesting. But I don't think it's functionally any better than a text key from a piracy related standpoint. People routinely upload serials with their names attached. And people buy keys with stolen credit cards using fake names. This can all still be distributed.
I like the online activation idea, provided the app doesn't keep phoning home trying to see if it's pirated. As far as an efficient and effective licensing method goes, online activation when done correctly, is the way to go. Users don't have to mess around with keys or licenses, and it makes it very difficult for piracy to occur. Unfortunately, most of the people doing online activation right now make it extremely difficult for users to reinstall the software if they rebuild their machine or build a new one. - ROFLance, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"The license cards contain the user's personal information, so they will be less likely to publish it on the Internet."
Ever hear of fake info? - ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Code 1Pwd type application with open source license, with ALL the features and EASE OF USE with such speedy response as this provider (Omniweb support:2 days after feedback!) why wouldn't everyone download your program?
Remember: You won't ask for donations and will respond to every single newbie user with patience and understanding.
It is easier to post on digg and get diggs of course. - ahill7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Wasn't there a "revolutionary" license idea behind C-Dilla?
I'd say one of the better platforms for license management (from an intellectual property owner's point of view) is the Steam platform from Valve. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This isn't simpler than text, it's needlessly more complex. It's not even easier: I can drag and drop a text selection or a text file.
This scheme has one big problem: It tricks the user. You've gone and told your users that the image has the license key encoded in it. You put a bar code and all kinds of other weird, useless crap in the image. But that's just misdirection, because you've *actually* encoded the actual license key in the EXIF data. Well guess what? The EXIF data isn't the image. So now your user thinks the picture is the key, when in actuality the key is embedded in the original file. What if he converts that image? What if he decides to file it for safekeeping by printing it out and sticking it in a manila folder, thinking he can rescan it later if necessary? What if he just wants to store it in something like, say, 1Passwd?
The easiest license keys I've ever dealt with were text strings. The software could find those strings in any file, and would ignore any whitespace you introduced. You have the original email you got the license key in? Drag the whole email in. You made a PDF? Drag it in. You printed it out? Scan it, run it through OCR, and drag the resulting file in. Can't go wrong. - roustk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2More on AutoCAD:
http://discussion.autodesk.com/thread.jspa?threadID=480040
"From its initial release, up until version 2.5, AutoCAD was not locked, and
was widely pirated. When I was on the Autodesk dealer council, in 1986, all
the dealers were heavily pressuring Autodesk to put a dongle on the product,
because we felt caught in the middle. Ultimately, Autodesk did just this,
though the results were a real mess, and the company ended up removing the
lock.
In any event, the answer to the question here is that, yes, the fact that
AutoCAD was easy to pirate was a major factor in its success. But it wasn't
the only factor. The product, smart and aggressive management, the
structure of the Autodesk dealer channel, and major screw-ups by competitors
were all significant factors in AutoCAD's early success." - roustk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2RE: AutoCAD dongle. I personally used AutoCAD with hardware dongle. Google for "AutoCAD dongle" and you will find references like this one:
http://discussion.autodesk.com/thread.jspa?threadID=544813 - mipadi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Someone posted a text dump above. It's a property list embedded in a JPEG, basically.
- UGM2099, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Entering in a long sequence of numbers and letters is an unnatural act. That's why we invented speed dial, cell phone contact lists and so on.
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