I just came to the forum to see if others were having the same kind of problem with Curious Labs and what do I see? The first post is from someone who can't get help from them.

My Poser 5 somehow became corrupted and wouldn't open. I re-installed it in a new location and it won't accept my serial number. I've Email Curious labs twice the first time over a week ago. I've called them twice, once to support and once to there general number. Of course you can't get a human being, but I did leave messages with my phone numger. No Response.

I'm hopeing that someone here can tell me how to get to an actual person in the company and maybe get some help. I've been a Poser customer for years (Poser2, Poser 4, Pro Pack and Poser 5), you'd think I could get a response.

I also realize that this type of "service" seems to be the norm these days with American business (I've had much better service in 'Third World' countries). Maybe some day things will..... No, I guess not.

I don't think we matter that much to them, and I can't figure out why. Seems like we get strung along for a while then nothing. I've given up on Poser as far as updating and support. I will just use it the best I can as is and wait for Daz to finish up Studio. Marque

The company isn't fully staffed from my understanding and from experience the machine always picks up if at all. CL only comes in here to make announcements and they leave the public to do their own tech support. I would continue to use email to try and reach them and just wait patiently since there are no other options I am aware of. No slam agaist CL intended but they are a very small company(smaller than Daz) so their email is likely overwhelming.

ps: That american business thing you said is just silly. And not much appreciated. :)

If Curious Labs goes bust, try to get hold of a source form of Poser and let "many hands make light work" of debugging and improving it?

There's one other temporary glitch. They just had this huge rain/hailstorm, and local utilities may be affected, like electricity and internet.

Hi, Dilliance, I'm sorry for the recent experience. We do have technical support live on the phone (and email) all day - 5 days a week but PheonixRising is correct at some level, we are now working to get more personnel into Curious Labs in the US. Right now, we do not have a receptionist or person who answers the main line live - but we have been successful on getting call backs to customers within a few days. I'm not sure what happened in your particular case, but if you would like to IM me within Renderosity with all of your contact details, I will have our technician call you. Kind regards, Katherine

Sorry, but just wanted to add in reading more the other post about a delay in response that the question did concern a demo and though we'd like to have immediate response to everyone, with the SR4 questions and inquiries, our Technical Support department has been trying to get through these issues as priority. Tia, with the demo question won't be forgotten, just probably have a little delay in answer for your question on creative ways to use our demo. With kind regards, Katherine

PheonixRising
Regarding your PS.

Until about 3 months ago, I was living and cruising on my sailboat. About 4.5 years in Mexico and Central America. I never encounter a corrupt or impolite official and never went into a place of business that I was not made to feel welcome or where I received poor service. It did not appear that I was being singled out for special treatment because I was a rich (ha ha) American. It was the normal way of doing business. The only time I was hit up for a bribe was from the American company who was suppose to be fixing my radar and didn't want to honor my 2 year warrenty less than a year after I bought the unit. I could go on and on about the poor treatmet I have received at the hands of American Business. From not being able to get anyone to take my money in a store where the clerks, oh excuse me, "associates", were all playing grab ass and couldn't be bothered, to haveing to return defective merchandise 2 or 3 times before getting something that worked, but this is not the place.

Sorry to rant, but you hit a nerve ;)

PS I've IM'd Katherine. We'll see what happens.

My experience has been returned e-mails within 24 hours. For what it is worth.

and I'll second the poor US business practices.

The attitude that "Anyone who lives too far away to sue us, can be ignored" has become common place over the last few years.

US has great tech support, it's all transfered overseas to people who read scripts and cut-n-paste answers. ...sorry PheonixRising, but being a layed-off tech support myself (who's job went overseas) I couldn't resist dropping my 2cents.. (not just my paste employer but Dell, PC-cillin, and....)

Well one thing's for sure, if it weren't for American businesses, there would be no Poser and no Renderosity. Can we please not bash one another's nations in this forum? It's disgusting.

Just for the record. It's my nation and I am free to bash it. Ah, I mean as long as it's politicaly correct and no minority group is offended.

I've given your contact details to support who will try to contact you today. Kind regards, Katherine

Well I for one have had to contact CL's 2 times about various things and have always gotten a very prompt response, with no double talk and a solution and or answer to my queries immediatly. One about transfering a p5 licence was alnswered with in a couple of hours ( I think it was 3 hrs ) and another about the set up room was answered with in 24 hrs...not bad by my standards.

I got the call about 2 hours ago and the problem was taken care of. The caller claimed to have answered my Email some time ago. That may or may not be the case. But what happened to may second Email and the 2 phone calls? No matter and I really don't want an explaination. Just hope this doesn't happen again to me or anyone else. Thanks for the help Katherine and thanks to Renderosity for providing the means to get some help. By the way odeathoflife, of course you got good service. Your a Celebrity! :)

Odeathoflife is a Celebrity? Who are you odeathoflife??!! Just being nosey! :) As for American business.....well it could well be that you did in fact get excellent service because they at least thought you were a "rich american" dalliance :) Cruising around on a nice sailboat can have that affect, I suspect! :) On the other hand......and as an american....I must admit that "some" American businesses do leave a lot to be desired. Most of the service industry and retail jobs don't pay worth a hoot and often hire "first time workers". Unfortunately, first time workers often think they should be making more than they are, and are pretty much clueless about what it means to work for a living. I've noticed a dramatic decline in some basic social skills on the part of young people in particular (not all of them, mind you, but a good number!) as well as a decline in what we use to call "work ethic". Maybe I'm jaded because I administer employment and training programs for a living and see it every day. Worker attitudes are certainly not helped by companies jumping off shore to hire "cheaper labor", "outsourcing" (very popular in Washington these days),not to mention these crappy "mega firms" and "corporate raiders" who seem to want to shaft everyone to make their millions. Well......that was way OT!!! Sorry 'bout that :)

Not a celebrity afaik :) Maybe in bizarro world LOL

Speed of response appears to be slow. It'd be nice to see a commitment to fixing the depth map shadow problem introduced with sr4 ;) Cliff Bowman Of course the actual fix would be nicer, but just a commitment to fix it without us having to pay again (Poser 6) would be something.

well I was just in contact with CL's again today and they responded with in 10 minutes, so maybe I am a celebrity LOL, wish I could get paid for my status though <:o

odeathoflife, heed our call we beseech you. Use your influence with the Powers That Be to obtain for us that golden beacon of hope - a version of Poser5 sr4 that doth work with depth-mapped shadows. We thanketh ye, kind sir :) Cheers, Cliff

What is your process for depth mapped shadows, I will try to see whats what :) I do not think that I have used them or if I have never realised it.

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?Form.ShowMessage=1687970

OK just read up on it and it seems to be the way that the .lt3 files are being saved, there is a work around in a new post in the poser forum.

That solution appears to be unreliable (it certainly doesn't work for me except, as noted above, if I pre-render with lights of the same internal names before loading the lights). In fact I think that was one of the links I gave :( Cheers for the session info - oops! What a clutz!