I probably know the answer to this already, but I'll ask anyway. I do not need to have Poser 5 running on 2 computers simultaneously. I would like to have it installed on my home PC, and on my laptop so my 2.5 hours (total) on the train to and from work can be productive. The EULA is a little vague on whether is is permissable since it states it may only be "used" on 1 computer, but can be freely moved from one computer to another. But to install, you need to authorize your copy with a unique challenge code. So finally to the question. Will CL allow one to have it installed in said manner? Other programs do allow this use, such as zbrush amoung others.

Yes, you just cannot be running it on 2 computers simultaneously at the same time. You will need an unique challenge code and response code created by your second installation, but this should be without incident.

Wow, quick response. Thanks for the info!! BTW -- I didn't know the answer after all!! Hopefully soon, everyone at CL will get to get some rest and relax a little. Y'all deserve it!

Yes, you just cannot be running it on 2 computers simultaneously at the same time. You will need an unique challenge code and response code created by your second installation, but this should be without incident. Ooh! I actually have the same question, but I don't seem to have the smarts to understand the answer given.... :( What is this "challenge code"? Where does it come from? Is it user designated, or does it have to come from CL? Will it impact the re-loading of the program on a system? Does this apply only to systems that are connected on a home network, or to completely unconnected computers? Does it involve something along the lines of password protection on the secondary computer? I don't mean to hassle the ever-so-busy folks at CL. If anyone can answer this informally, please do....

Challenge Code is auto-generated by the installer and is totally unique for each installation.

So, umm. Is it like a password, or does it "challenge" other copies of Poser 5 on a network, or what? Will I still be able to load onto a new computer by backing up the entire MetaCreations (Curious Labs) folder on my external drive and replacing my fresh Poser installation with the backed up folder? I have been able to preserve my directory through three computer upgrades with minimal hassle, using this technique.... D'Oh! I interrupted a CL person. Sorry, Anthony.... And, thank you!

You must go through the installation process; you cannot simply move folders. The Challenge Code is an authentication code generated by the installer that you send to Curious Labs. We then send you a Response Code that you use to register the software.

So the code pertains to the re-registration of each new loading of Poser 5? I have been installing Poser properly on the new systems. I have been installing, but then replacing the new installation with the backed up material. I guess I am wondering whether the Challenge Code creates system files that would make it inadvisable to continue doing things this way. Maybe I should just start porting the libraries and geometries and textures and leave the Poser program files be.... Does this mean that P5 can only be loaded on a system with an internet connection?

hmmmm, what if you install it and something happens and you haveto reinstall it, will that be a problem? Sharen

Sharen, Nope. We use this with Avatar Lab and ProPack e-versions and it has been a VERY smooth process.

Cage- No, you can manually authorize by writing the codes down and using another computer that has an internet connection or you could print it all out and send it to me by mail if you have absolutely no internet connection. The confusing part for people without an internet connection on the installation machine seems to be in the writing it down to get it to the other computer or me...and then typing in the code you get back...we all tend to be a little techno dependent that we forget about the wonderful technology of PENCILS. :) Trust me, MANY of our customers who bought Avatar Lab and proPack e-versions had NO problems with this scheme. It sounds WAY more difficult that the click through window it really is. Tori cl

Hi, I know Curious Labs is trying to prevent Piracy, but I really really really do not like invasion of privacy. Am I going to be in there database as User #3459 Name_______ Address_______ System_______ Models Owned________ Art Work Created __________ ?

Oh... and what happens in my case?? I am purchasing Poser5... but I am planning to move to another country after some month... and of course I buy a computer there and would like to install Poser5 too... so what will happen?? It really DOES sound complicated :)

You will be in my database as Name......serial number....email and address....just what we need to find ya later when you lose your serial number...and you'd be surprised how many of you out there don't know how to keep track of a little number...and I need that info to verify you, especially if you are John Smith living in CA...sometimes it takes a little more info to find the right John Smith. You will not be tracked as to anything else...just standard reg data.

I admit it sounds pretty bad if people without Internet access have to write a letter to Curious for permission to use the software they just bought. I never had to register a piece of software BEFORE getting permission to use it, although I do register software AFTER I have been using it for a week or two. The flaw I see is that the wares dudes will be IM'ing various challenge and response codes to each other a few minutes you guys send out the first ones. So I don't see how it would thwart the wares copies.

Let me ask this now, and get it out of my system... How many times can the software be re-authorized before it won't authorize anymore? Will this be like Windows XP (25 - 100 character code, can't be re-authorized more than 3 times a month, or else your code is blacklisted and you have to buy another license)? My system hardware changes on a bi-monthly basis, and my hard drive gets reformatted roughly every six months. Will I have to re-authorize if my hardware changes too much? What guarantee do I have that, let's say a year from now, I won't be told that I've re-authorized to many times, and will have to purchase another license? ~DM

Mateo, Some of us like to keep our work computers completely and absolutely disengaged from the Internet. Any beastie which is connected seems to suffer multiple crashes and slowdowns, even if protected by firewalls and anti-virus software. I would rather reach for a pencil than have some bored 12-year-old in Bulgaria or Singapore reach into my computer's innards. :: Carolly

'Amen' to that, Carolly!! mac

The flaw I see is that the wares dudes will be IM'ing various challenge and response codes to each other a few minutes you guys send out the first ones. So I don't see how it would thwart the wares copies.

I don't think that this will work because each time a unique challenge code is generated.It would be difficult to find the matching answer by chance.

How many times can the software be re-authorized before it won't authorize anymore?

Yep, I would like to hear about this too. Same here with hardware change and formatting at least two/three times pro year...

Bookmark.

About Challenge Code protection generically: The software I use for work (Xfrog) is protected with Challenge Code, but this didn't prevent it from being cracked in the past. Apparently the real advantage Challenge code gives is that the software needs to be cracked, simple straight copies won't work. This can do some good, especially at the level of people that is not "pro" pirates, i.e. who are not able to crack a program and are not experienced in finding cracks at pirate sites. In other words it efficiently stops the common "friend-to-friend" copies. On the other hand, it is undoubtedly somehow annoying for the legitimate user, to have to be re-authorized every time they reformat the C drive. This is not always something that's controllable. In the past I've been able to run a computer for as long as one year without reformatting the C drive. But it also happened to me with Windows Millennium that the system heavily crashed 3 times in a span of four months, forcing me to reformat every time. In another occasion I had so many problems (mainly with drivers) that I had to reformat several times in a week. Finally the main point with Challenge Code is that the company MUST be very supportive and don't complain if a given user, for whatever reason, has to reformat C drive several times in a row. Also the company must be quick in support, as there's rarely something more annoying that having to wait for a couple of days before getting a re-authorization code. Any company who uses Challenge Codes must be ready to provide assistance (i.e. new codes) within a working day, for the service to be really effective wihout penalizing the legitimate users.

Here is something that happened here in Renderosity Person A buys a product using Alias A, he posts a picture of it using Alias B. Alias B is threatened and told to buy the product or else. I will (or I may have even pre-ordered) Poser 5. But I definatly would prefer to use a crack to get my legitmatly bought copy of Poser 5 working to avoid my name going into a database (particularly when they also have my credit card number from ordering Poser.) Curious Labs at this momment with it's current employees seem very helpful and curtious. I just try and protect my privacy with all compines ranging from Curious Labs, to AOL, to local grocery store.

There's a simple hack to get past XP authorisation, it simply makes the PC think it's the first day of your 30 day grace period each time you boot. The Americans spent $1M designing a pen that would work in space, the Russians took pencils... There is a lesson there I think :) later jb

Praxis22, Yes, but our pens work underwater, and upside-down, too! And they don't need anything sharp to give them a fresh point (sharp things being a problem in zero-g). Since pencil lead is compressed graphite and graphite is a lubricant, the dust from the pencil leads could also present a problem if it got into the wrong places. The Russian solution is rather charmingly elegant, and I like it. I can see why we tried to find another solution, though. I also suspect that we learned something about fluid dynamics in a variety of environments which they did not, and that some of what we learned could be applied to other problems. I doubt if money spent in research is ever wasted whether we get a product or not. Every one of you who rides a lightweight bicycle or sharpens a knife on a ceramic rod or uses a modern widget with unpronouncable alloys should raise a toast tonight to the space program. We may never walk on another world but our daily lives here have already been improved by the research which has been done. Carolly