Forced upgrades? Installations limits? -ACID Product Family

Subject:Forced upgrades? Installations limits? Posted by: DigitalD0g Date:1/6/2002 12:13:22 PM I have sent 2 emails to customer support about this, but wanted everyone who participates in these forums to be AWARE of this situation, in case you aren't already. I have been using Acid Music 2.0 for a long time and am perfectly happy with it and do not need an upgrade for the things I do, but it seems that Sonic Foundry would think otherwise. I AM MADDER than I have been in a long long time!!! I am a professional programmer. I reformat my hard drive from time to time in order to clean up the excess junk from my system to keep it running clean. each time I have done this I have to register Acid and get a new activation code. Well this time (when I need ACID to work on a job) I get a message saying that basically I have reached the limited number of allowed activation codes and GUESS WHAT! I can NO LONGER use ACID 2.0!!! The reason it won't activate it because Acid 2.0 generates a 7 digit computer ID but the new registration requires a 9 digit one. It says on the site that if your computer ID is not 9 digits then an upgrade is needed... and guess what.. you pay for the upgrade, which UNTIL that point you did NOT need, want, or desire. I wonder how many other ACID programs have this limit. I was SERIOUSLY thinking of buying ACID PRO, but if I were to encounter this with that I would be even more angry! I expect a reply from Sonic Foundry to the emails I sent about this and I EXPECT the situation to be remedied WITHOUT me having to buy the upgrade. In the mean time, whoever reads this... be warned that this could happen to you also and that it looks like Sonic Foundry is trying to force everyone to upgrade to the latest version! WELL I paid money for the software I have and I should be able to reinstall it as MANY TIME AS I WANT TO without having to worry about whether, or not I have to purchase an upgrade. I EXPECT Sonic Foundry to remedy this for me and ALL users, otherwise I will be purchasing looping software that WON'T have these limitations!!! If you are looking at buying Sonic Foundry software... be warned... if you reformat your hard drive 1 too many times then you may end up having to fork out more cash to buy an un-needed upgrade to a perfectly fine product. If I don't have a remedy in my inbox by the time i wake up in the morning, then I will CALL Sonic Foundry and whoever answers will get a piece of my mind. I am very angry that a company that makes such nice software would pull such an apparent scam on it's users!!!
Subject:RE: Forced upgrades? Installations limits? Reply by: pwppch Date:1/6/2002 6:34:32 PM Nope, no deep down, secrect plot to force users to upgrade. (We are professional programmers too!) Call our tech support. They will get your ACID 2.0 activated again. Peter
Subject:RE: Forced upgrades? Installations limits? Reply by: bcflyerfan Date:1/7/2002 6:27:59 PM I am in the same boat right now. I have Acid 2 pro and emails to tech support get me a reply that they got my email but alas no other emails in the last week. I use this program for work and I am looking mighty foolish to my clients who are waiting for a song that I made befor I refomatted. I tried the phone route but sitting on the phone for 20 min listening to them say it would be faster if I contacted them by email ( I sent the first one 3 weeks ago ! ! ! ) I gave up. WILL SOMEONE OVER THERE PLEASE HELP ME ! ! ! A MIGHTY PISSED OFF USER RnB
Subject:RE: Forced upgrades? Installations limits? Reply by: SonicJG Date:1/8/2002 2:28:14 PM BCFlyerFan, I refreshed your install count for ACID Pro 2.0, so things should be good to go for you again. DigitalDOg, I couldn't refresh your account, because you have no name listed here, and there's no entry in our database for the email address you're using here (digitalD0g@bigfoot.com). Hopefully your issue has been addressed by now--if not, please include a name or email address you'd likely have used to register. FWIW, the idea behind the limited number of permanent activation codes returned is NOT to make people upgrade at all, but rather to ensure that mischievious people can't just post their serial number anywhere on the web, and entirely ruin the app's security--I honestly can't tell you how many times people have done exactly that. Sorry if you feel burned by our need for safeguarding. Best of luck, Joel

Subject:Forced upgrades? Installations limits?

Posted by: DigitalD0g

Date:1/6/2002 12:13:22 PM

I have sent 2 emails to customer support about this, but wanted everyone who participates in these forums to be AWARE of this situation, in case you aren't already.

I have been using Acid Music 2.0 for a long time and am perfectly happy with it and do not need an upgrade for the things I do, but it seems that Sonic Foundry would think otherwise.

I AM MADDER than I have been in a long long time!!!

I am a professional programmer. I reformat my hard drive from time to time in order to clean up the excess junk from my system to keep it running clean. each time I have done this I have to register Acid and get a new activation code. Well this time (when I need ACID to work on a job) I get a message saying that basically I have reached the limited number of allowed activation codes and GUESS WHAT! I can NO LONGER use ACID 2.0!!!

The reason it won't activate it because Acid 2.0 generates a 7 digit computer ID but the new registration requires a 9 digit one. It says on the site that if your computer ID is not 9 digits then an upgrade is needed... and guess what.. you pay for the upgrade, which UNTIL that point you did NOT need, want, or desire.

I wonder how many other ACID programs have this limit. I was SERIOUSLY thinking of buying ACID PRO, but if I were to encounter this with that I would be even more angry!

I expect a reply from Sonic Foundry to the emails I sent about this and I EXPECT the situation to be remedied WITHOUT me having to buy the upgrade.

In the mean time, whoever reads this... be warned that this could happen to you also and that it looks like Sonic Foundry is trying to force everyone to upgrade to the latest version! WELL I paid money for the software I have and I should be able to reinstall it as MANY TIME AS I WANT TO without having to worry about whether, or not I have to purchase an upgrade. I EXPECT Sonic Foundry to remedy this for me and ALL users, otherwise I will be purchasing looping software that WON'T have these limitations!!!

If you are looking at buying Sonic Foundry software... be warned... if you reformat your hard drive 1 too many times then you may end up having to fork out more cash to buy an un-needed upgrade to a perfectly fine product.

If I don't have a remedy in my inbox by the time i wake up in the morning, then I will CALL Sonic Foundry and whoever answers will get a piece of my mind. I am very angry that a company that makes such nice software would pull such an apparent scam on it's users!!!

Subject:RE: Forced upgrades? Installations limits?

Reply by: pwppch

Date:1/6/2002 6:34:32 PM

Nope, no deep down, secrect plot to force users to upgrade. (We are professional programmers too!)

Call our tech support. They will get your ACID 2.0 activated again.

Peter

Subject:RE: Forced upgrades? Installations limits?

Reply by: bcflyerfan

Date:1/7/2002 6:27:59 PM

I am in the same boat right now. I have Acid 2 pro and emails to tech support get me a reply that they got my email but alas no other emails in the last week. I use this program for work and I am looking mighty foolish to my clients who are waiting for a song that I made befor I refomatted. I tried the phone route but sitting on the phone for 20 min listening to them say it would be faster if I contacted them by email ( I sent the first one 3 weeks ago ! ! ! ) I gave up.

WILL SOMEONE OVER THERE PLEASE HELP ME ! ! !

A MIGHTY PISSED OFF USER RnB

Subject:RE: Forced upgrades? Installations limits?

Reply by: SonicJG

Date:1/8/2002 2:28:14 PM

BCFlyerFan, I refreshed your install count for ACID Pro 2.0, so things should be good to go for you again.

DigitalDOg, I couldn't refresh your account, because you have no name listed here, and there's no entry in our database for the email address you're using here (digitalD0g@bigfoot.com). Hopefully your issue has been addressed by now--if not, please include a name or email address you'd likely have used to register.

FWIW, the idea behind the limited number of permanent activation codes returned is NOT to make people upgrade at all, but rather to ensure that mischievious people can't just post their serial number anywhere on the web, and entirely ruin the app's security--I honestly can't tell you how many times people have done exactly that. Sorry if you feel burned by our need for safeguarding.

Best of luck,
Joel