I bought the Poser 5 upgrade from Curious Labs ('cause it's not availabe from Renderosity) and innocently selected the download version. When I try to download, (using dialup) I find that it will take 26 hours! "Can I change my order and buy a disk?" "NO!!!" So I put everything on hold and try to download the thing...but somewhere around hour 19, something hiccups somewhere in the connection, and the download is cut off. Now, DigitalRiver's FAQ says: "This site provides downloads that adheres to the HTTP 1.1 specification that allows for re-startable downloads. Therefore, if your download stops or is interrupted before it is complete, simply press the begin download button again and the download should resume where it left off." LIARS!!!! After several attempts to download, I try once more, and get a message: "The number of downloads you have attempted indicates you are having difficulty receiving your file. Please contact Customer Care for assistance in receiving your product." BUT WHEN I CLICK THE "CUSTOMER CARE" LINK, I'M JUST BUMPED BACK TO THE DOWNLOAD WINDOW!!! I wrote to customer service, and got back an automated response with no connection to my problem. At the end of the response, it says "If you still have questions, please 'reply' to this message." So I did, and I got the identical automated response! I wrote to Curious Labs, and they said, "Sorry, not our problem, talk to Digitariver." Now, I paid my money 'cause I wanted their software. The least they could do is put me in touch with a living person. Tom

Attached Link: http://www.curiouslabs.com/article/articleview/20/1/289?sbss=289

Try the phone number on this link and try to talk to a live person.

I would find a number on their site you can call and then try reaching someone tomorrow. A lot of times a site will send an automated email before someone actually gets to read it. Its just so you know your email was received. Since its the weekend, customer service may not have been in.

They are only open monday thru Friday go to the page I gave you a link to and it gives you all the information to contact them for a problem.

When I try to download, (using dialup) I find that it will take 26 hours! I'm just wondering about two things: a) what kind of internet connection are you on? Dialup or DSL? b) If you're on dialup, hmmm... you could have guessed that the content of something that's usually shipped on several CDs might take some time... Now, DigitalRiver's FAQ says: "This site provides downloads that adheres to the HTTP 1.1 specification that allows for re-startable downloads. That's usually correct. However, the usage of http 1.1 doesn't only depend on the server - it also depends on the browser. What kind of browser are you using? If it's a newer browser: Do you have a firewall? Or changed the settings in the browser? Perhaps the settings are wrong to resume the download (i. e., for example, if you "taught" your browser never to read from the cache, or if your firewall settings are so that it's determined to always download anything again).

First take a deep breath and calm down. Sndcasie is right talk to a live person but being angry will only cause you to miss options. Second download Firefox at Mozilla.org it allows you to pause and restart downloads and although it dosen't always work it usually does. I too am on a slow 40K land line in a rural area where Verizon will probably not get in faster service for years so I know your frustration. i usually schedule these long downloads at night while I sleep. One last thought,,,I lost most my software thru an accident and the folks at renderosity and other places let me download it again after I explained my problem. So a download is not always a bad idea! Glenn

One word of advice: NEVER, EVER PAY FOR A DL! Unless, that is your only option. I always, always prefer to buy the CD if they have it. DLS online can't be trusted at all.

I agree with zippyozzy. I bought my copy from Amazon and paid less, plus the CD came in a box with the manual.

"One word of advice: NEVER, EVER PAY FOR A DL! Unless, that is your only option." I never ever get the hard copy of any software shipped to me. I always choose download version and then just burn a copy myself once I have it. Much more convenient, and no shipping fees. Then again, I would never do it that way if I were on DIALUP. I'm on a cable connection, so 200mb downloads or more aren't too much hassle. Maybe 20 minutes.

Many a time people suggest calling the company (in this case CL). However, a good share of people are not actually living in the US. For example in my case I would need to wake up in the middle of the night and place a continent-spanning telephone call to US. I hope I don't have to explain how much that kind of calling is gonna cost me ... just being placed in hold for 10 minutes listening to crappy music costs me easily almost 10 dollars. Not funny. This is not "European whining", it's just an observation that calling is not always the best approach - emailing is usually the first I try when dealing with companies abroad.

Message edited on: 01/10/2005 03:33

Attached Link: http://www.internetdownloadmanager.com/

Tom, being on a dial-up you really need to purchase "Internet Download Manager" (around $24-$29). You will never lose a DL no matter if your connection had a hiccup, power goes off, or you just need to get off line. Your DL starts up where it leaves off. You can program it to start and stop at anytime (like when you go to bed or off to work),and it will turn your computer off for you. I got my copy of Poser5 using a dial-up and IDM. even had to start and stop a few times due to lightning storms with no problems. It's real nice for any type of connection, but for dial-up it is an absolute necessity. At the link you can DL a 30 day free trial which you can use to snag your Poser DL. SWAMP

You shouldn't need to buy a download manager, there are plenty of free ones at snapfiles.com. I still dont uderstand how a paid dl can be cut off regardless of internet speed. They should provide you with unlimited access of a paid download period, expecially, if it's a large file like poser. Order the CD's if you can. Will save you time and money and you will always have a backup copy of the hard disk instead of a download. When it comes to very large programs, dling a mega file only to lose it and not get any customer support is not a good way to do business.

I never ever get the hard copy of any software shipped to me. I always choose download version and then just burn a copy myself once I have it. Never ever? Im on an old machine without a burner but I do have broadband, I love having the orginal, hard disk for backups at all times. I might pay for very small downloads, providing, I can trust the site I'm dling it from very rare that I do. I simply do not trust paying for a download. Since Poser has been changing hands alot lately, it's a good bet their site/customer support went out the window.

"I never ever get the hard copy of any software shipped to me. I always choose download version and then just burn a copy myself once I have it." Yeah, that seems like a good idea, until 3 years later you put one of your CDs in the drive and discover it's "aged" and no longer readable. That happened to me last month with all of my old 'My Documents' backups - which had my pz3 files for the work I did from 99 to 01, and I wanted to take one of those and use it in something new. Then last night, a CD of 'weapon props' I bought from MMP in 2000 turned out bad as well, because he burned it with end-user CD-r and not through one of those srvices that costs millions to get a contract with... CD-R's are made to wear out, and the finest scratch on the 'sticker side' will also destroy them, as will humidity, warmth, and a number of other factors. Get professionsl CDs whenever you can, avoid CD-Rs for anything permanent.

Ditto on Arcady's comment. I have an external HD for back-ups. I never trust burned CDs (have been burning em since 1995 and seen enough bad discs in my life) as back-ups. I used to have a tape-back system, but the external HD pretty much has replaced it for ease of use (Maxtor One-Touch back-up system) and capacity. Sure the external HD can break down too ... but probably not at the same time I would need a back-up set (when my main HD lets decides to bite the dust).

I just do redundant backups. I've had CDs fail on me, for sure, but generally I have another CD with the same material on it somewhere else. ;-) bonni

Google "Net Transport" probably the best free download manager. I downloaded Vicky 3 using dialup without a DL manager since CL discourages you from using one and the first download was corrupted had to do it again. I've downloaded 150 MB size files using Net Transport or Flashget without a problem other than it taking many hours. If you don't have a CD/DVD burner or an external disk, save a copy on another physical HD if available or at least on another partition.

With a purchase as big as Poser 5, I'd be willing to make an international call to get things fixed and get a proper physical copy shipped to me. I can call to Asia for 3 cents a minute, rates I find by looking in the local Asian papers. I suppose it depends on the telecom rules of the nation you're in, but if you have competing companies like we do look into what the local American ex-pats use. And I'd be suprised to find a European country without a pack of Americans hiding out in it... :p I know we had all sorts of scemes for doing things among the American ex-pats when I lived in Korea. But even if I couldn't make the call cheap, I'd do it to fix something this big. Just time it to business hours for Curious Labs and probably before rather than after lunch (on the theory that you'll have less staff goofing around waiting for the clock to run out).