Registering process sucks!

p@mast3rs wrote on 4/22/2004, 6:42 PM
Finally returned home from my job fair this week to install VV5/DVDA2 and I must say, this activation crap just doesnt cut it anymore. I am about fed up with over the freakin top activation. I realize piracy is a problem for all digital industries but has any of these companies really thought about who this truly affects? It doesnt affect the warez kiddies or pirates. They always find a way to gain access. Heck, VV4 was no stranger to that.

I just no longer see the need why legitimate users who pay hard earned money are forced to enter a serial number, register name, address, email etc for marketing crap, and then add to it an activation code.

Installed VV5/DVDA2 on my editing system that isnt and wont be connected to the net. No floppy drive, no other way to get the saved regsitration file to the other computer (no network card.) Installed VV5 and entered serial number and clicked register later....Low and behold, 30 days trial. Installed DVDA2, entered the serial number, and have only two options to register...online or from another computer.

When are companies going to realize that the only people they stop from using their product are those that are entitled to it. So as of now, I can use VV5 in trial mode and in no way can I use DVDA2 since I entered in my serial number (demo mode is no longer available.)

SONY, please address these issues and please think about who you are causing problems for....its sure not the hackers or pirates....its your customers.

Comments

ibliss wrote on 4/22/2004, 6:50 PM
No CD-R or DVD-R on your edit system?
USB flash drive?
iPod?

I'm sure if it's causing real problems you can phone them.
p@mast3rs wrote on 4/22/2004, 7:02 PM
Phone support is available during the hours I am at work and they close at 6pm EST. Ill have to figure something out I suppose but thats my whole point. A paying customer shouldnt have to go through this crap for something they bought and are licensed for. A hacker doesnt have these problems, why should a paying customer?
JonnyMac wrote on 4/22/2004, 7:33 PM
You could always switch to another product if you find that Sony protecting itself is such a problem for you....

Honestly, blame the hackers and crackers of the world, not the companies forced into adding these meaures to protect their sales revenues.
p@mast3rs wrote on 4/22/2004, 7:36 PM
"You could always switch to another product if you find that Sony protecting itself is such a problem for you....

Honestly, blame the hackers and crackers of the world, not the companies forced into adding these meaures to protect their sales revenues."

I could care less about companies protecting themselves when it inconviences me. You can blame all the hackers you want but guess what? Thye get to use the software minus the hassle that a paid user has to go through.
Cheesehole wrote on 4/22/2004, 7:44 PM
The idea behind it is most likely to prevent "casual" copying. Everyone knows that people in the know can easily snag the crack, but if you are working in a studio / corporation most people don't really know where to go for that stuff and they don't want to get in trouble so... as long as Sony makes it easy to buy more licenses they'll just spring for a couple more licenses and stick it on the Credit Card.

The process was fine before... because you had a grace period - so if something went wrong or someone didn't have instant access to the net / Sony support - you had 7 days to use the program. WHAT HAPPENED? This new system is sure o screw over more than a few honest customers - caught on the weekend or at night or whatever.

I'm really disappointed because I've been through the hoops a few times with Sonic Foundry customer support, and it seemed like they were really trying to keep this process friendly. Am I missing something? Is there some kind of fall back for honest customers? Thank god for hackers.
Cheesehole wrote on 4/22/2004, 7:48 PM
>Honestly, blame the hackers and crackers of the world, not the companies forced into adding these meaures to protect their sales revenues.

Hackers/Crackers != Pirates
stevengotts wrote on 4/22/2004, 8:04 PM
thanks for the heads up on the new activation debacle. This info combined with no real earthshattering improvements in Vegas 5, ill save 250 on the upgrade from 4. counless times on weekends, or nites ive needed to reactivate vegas pro, acid pro, sound forge pro etc. Software companies are teaching us well, arent they. Guess ill quit investing in hassles.
wobblyboy wrote on 4/22/2004, 8:05 PM
I have been running vegas and dvda on three computers for the last two years. They are all connected to the internet. If I have any worries, I simply disable internet. If I need to register a product, access forums, or download, I just re-enable internet. I have all computers networked so I can order to share files etc.

I downloaded new Vegas, installed and opened it, provided serial number and I was registered. I don't know where people get the idea that they can't be connected to the net and run Vegas.
p@mast3rs wrote on 4/22/2004, 8:15 PM
I downloaded new Vegas, installed and opened it, provided serial number and I was registered. I don't know where people get the idea that they can't be connected to the net and run Vegas. "

Perhaps you missed when I wrote that my editing machine is not on a network nor does it have a floppy or network card. Theres the hassle right there.
wobblyboy wrote on 4/22/2004, 8:49 PM
Yes I got that, I was just questioning the need for it. It is so much easier to be connected. I have both an audio and video studio, and use the internet all the time to get updates, information and register products for the programs I use.
Cheesehole wrote on 4/22/2004, 9:00 PM
wobblyboy: One of the neat things about Vegas is it will run perfectly on a laptop. (I have come home from trips with finished videos - now I just need a DVDR for my laptop! :) But when I'm on the road, in Belize, or wherever - I don't have internet connectivity and phones are not convenient.

Until it happens to you, you'll never know what it feels like to have all the time in the world - but no access to software that you paid for.

I hope that people will purchase Vegas anyway, and just keep a failsafe handy. The developers don't have control over this stuff - it's a company policy type thing. I hate to say you can't beat the system, but I've never had any success getting any of these companies to change their policy. Again, thank god for hackers.

(edit: The Vegas dev team are pretty cool too ;)
DGates wrote on 4/22/2004, 9:03 PM
Lighten up, dude.
Cheesehole wrote on 4/22/2004, 9:13 PM
HACK THE PLANET!!!!
PeterWright wrote on 4/22/2004, 9:34 PM
It's a bit unusual not to have a floppy - I use an external USB one - but don't you have a CD writer - a CD-RW will do.

I registered mine for my non-internet laptop in 3 mins. No hassles whatsoever.

And stephengotts - don't believe the negative stuff, V5/DVDA2 are both wonderful.
JonnyMac wrote on 4/22/2004, 9:39 PM
...but no access to software that you paid for...

Keep in mind that none of use have actually purchased Vegas; we have, in fact, purchase a license to use it. And, for reasons that make a lot of sense to many of us, Sony has placed "restrictions" on procuring that license. Sometimes inconvenient for a few -- an unfortunate fact in an imperfect world.
Cheesehole wrote on 4/22/2004, 9:55 PM
I'm not complaining about restrictions, I'm complaining there is no grace period. Big difference. What I paid for is a license to use my software.

It won't happen to me again - I've learned my lesson. I just feel bad for the honest sap who has no idea about cracks and get's stuck without his creative tool. Imagine being a musician without his instrument. Even worse... it's sitting right there in front of you... implicitly calling you a software pirate.
kentwolf wrote on 4/23/2004, 12:01 AM
>>...this activation crap just doesnt cut it anymore...

If you like that, you should see the activation for Boris FX 7, ESD (download) version.

It is so frustrating/irritating, I just asked them to send a CD.

I will never buy another ESD/download product from Boris again.

Short version: Every time you install it, it requires that you actually call Boris and get a new activation code. Writing it down each time does no good; it's unique each time. If you're up at 2 AM like I am right now, and want to back up your partition *with all programs activated*, you're out of luck until the next day.

This may not sound like an issue, but if you backup, restore and tweak disk partions (like I do), this often necessitates multiple installations. Their scheme is extremely aggrevating...and if you run a dual boot system like I do, double all that I just said.
farss wrote on 4/23/2004, 12:31 AM
One thing overlooked in this debate is that ulimately we, the users pay for this activation nuisance. I'll bet pounds to pennies Sony didn't write the code themselves so they pay a licence fee for every copy they sell, and possibly every time you activate a copy. And I don't have any first hand knowledge of what those fees are but I'd bet they'd be enough to employ another programmer, well between the saving in licence fees and help desk staff.

So ultimately we're being charged for the inconvenience we have to endure.
TheHappyFriar wrote on 4/23/2004, 6:27 AM
I sympathise with acidsex. Last year I bought the Vegas 4 CD instead of the download so that if I couldn't register right away I could still use it. WRONG! If I install it off the CD there is NO demo option! You HAVE to register it! Annoying. Infact, I built a computer for Vegas for someone else last year. It didn't have a floppy (why should it? They're old, everything comes on CD, windows boots on CD now). I ended up saving the registeration html file onto a CD (well, burning it...), taking it to another computer, getting the reg code & REG file, burning the REG file to another CD, taking it back to the Vegas computer, then registering it. Whew!

And hackers/crackers DO NOT = pirators. You can do perfectly legit stuff and be one of those. Just like DVD X-Copy (or whatever it's called) is perfectly legit. It's when you're using the stuff illegaly that it's wrong (but making cracks for programs that aren't yours is wrong)
winrockpost wrote on 4/23/2004, 7:25 AM
Acidsex,

usb little storage thingy, 15 bucks,,
jwall wrote on 4/23/2004, 7:49 AM
these. It only costs like fifteen bucks, and is super convenient. Once you have one, you won't want to live without it. I assume you have high-speed internet access at school, since you're a teacher. You can use this to transfer anything in a matter of seconds. I used one for the NAB videos, and enjoyed watching them on my own computer. There is definitely a way to get things done without posting some sob story of how you hate being forced to be honest.

Jon
Cheesehole wrote on 4/23/2004, 8:10 AM
>There is definitely a way to get things done without posting some sob story of how you hate being forced to be honest.

legality != morality
p@mast3rs wrote on 4/23/2004, 8:24 AM
Jwall wrote "There is definitely a way to get things done without posting some sob story of how you hate being forced to be honest."

Son, no one is forcing anyone to be honest. The pirates will get around it as they always do and the honest customers are always the ones that have the problems. Please explain to me why I should go out and invest in more hardware just to use something that I have already paid a license fee for? That is the same bullcrap that Adobe hit their Premiere users by forcing them to upgrade to XP.

No sob story here. More like one of frustration. Sad thing is Im forced to register a product using the same serial number that a SONY rep sent to me. Somehow that just seem logical.
jwall wrote on 4/23/2004, 8:34 AM
Editing was 10 years ago, then complain about a fifteen dollar memory stick.

You clearly don't want a solution, you want to voice your outrage on being inconvenienced. I'm not in love with the activation process, but unlike you, I can stand a bit of inconvenience without crying to everyone on the forum. You presented a problem and have been given many solutions, yet you still persist in your complaining. If you don't want to buy more hardware, btw, you'd use it more than just once, you could use the DVD or CD burner you have on your editing machine. use an RW DVD or CD...it won't cost you anything.