Why I stopped buying activation required products!

[wkulecz]

Having success with Ulead MSP6.0VE in a windows virtual machine on Linux (Ubuntu 6.06, using VirtualBox with Windows 2000sp4 with all patches installed in the VM) decided I'd dust off my old Vegas Video 3. The machine I'd been running it on died long ago.

I used to edit with MSP6.5 and encode with VV3 and burn DVDs in Ulead MovieFactory. Newer versions of Movie Factory fixed the encode quality issues so I stopped using VV3. But since Ulead is now a dead end, I tried the Sonly Vegas Movie Studio Platinum and have learned to like it so VV3 would be very nice to have on Linux via the VM.

VV3 installed fine and works great in the VM until I went to make an NTSC DVD mpeg2. This needs "activation" to work, and guess what, Sonic Foundry is gone, the activation server is gone so I'm SOL without wasting a bunch of time trying to get a hold of someone at Sony and seeing if they will do anything about it!

--wally.

[Nowhere]

So...no new MS Windows for you from now on?

[Hulk]

Wally,

Sony had a similar problem with SF products no registering shortly after the buyout and fixed the online registration. Apparently they didn't go back to VV3 with this fix. I would give them a call I bet they will sort it out for you. After all you bought VV3 with the intention of being able to use it forever. Hey they might even upgrade you for free if you tell them you need to get this working quickly.

I'd like to know how it turns out.

[Jerry Jones]

VV3 installed fine and works great in the VM until I went to make an NTSC DVD mpeg2. This needs "activation" to work, and guess what, Sonic Foundry is gone, the activation server is gone so I'm SOL without wasting a bunch of time trying to get a hold of someone at Sony and seeing if they will do anything about it! --wally.

This is exactly my fear in connection with my Serious Magic Ultra virtual set software.

Adobe bought Serious Magic.

The activation server is apparently still working currently, but who knows for how long Adobe will continue to support it?

I spent a bundle on my Serious Magic software.

Activation blows chunks.

Hate it.

Jerry Jones

http://www.jonesgroup.net

[Hulk]

I don't like software activation either but I wonder if it actually has brought the price of software down due to decreased piracy?

I know everyone says you can get a cracked version of just about any software but I think for a lot of people it isn't worth the effort so it basically keeps "honest people honest."

If there is no correlation between software prices and activation then I'd say do away with it. In fact I'd even pay a small premium to NOT have activation.

I have heard that some companies distrbute the key generators for their software once they close shop.

[wkulecz]

So...no new MS Windows for you from now on?

Yup, I got off that bus at XP and still use Windows 2000.

XP and Vista are crammed down my throat at work, but my code has to run on what computers people can buy. About one third of my code is for Linux and its slowly increasing.

--wally.

[Technoid]

I just wish we had a virtualisation software that had 3d hw support.

That way I wouldent have had to uppgrade to XP to play C&C3

[Hulk]

I just wish we had a virtualisation software that had 3d hw support.

That way I wouldent have had to uppgrade to XP to play C&C3

At the risk of sounding really out of it what is C&C3?

[Nowhere]

MURC Police, get this man!

(Command & Conquer 3? )


BTW Technoid, there are virtualisation solutions with 3D hardware support...definatelly for OS X, perhaps also somewhere else...

But I imagine you've meant API emulation in style of Wine (which...also supports 3D ) and not virtualisation...which really doesn't go around OS activation.
Oh, and there's also game copy proection systems...ridiculous to the point it'seasier to run/less resource intensive to run cracked copy...