Hi all,

I agree. This stuff really annoys me. I am a legitimate user, I do not steal , software or hardware. What makes me most angry is that the system assumes that I will try to use the software in an illegal way and makes me jump through hoops to get at my product. Imagine if every piece of software on your computer used this type of copy protection. Re-formatting and re-installing to a clean system would be a nightmare.

The main thing for me with this type of copy protection is that you are not in control of your purchased product. If you change machines or replace your hard drive or simply want to move the software (I have more than one drive in my machine) then you need a new code. What about when new versions come out. I have software that is over five years old. Will CL still give me a new code in five years time for Poser 5? Or will the response be sorry we are not supporting that version anymore, you will need to update to the latest version at a cost of $XXXX.XX? So now I have a paid for product that will not work. This is not what I pay my money for. I pay my money to be able to use the product at my convenience. With this system I wont have that.

Part of what worries me is that since Microsoft XP, everyone seems to be trying to use this sytem. Imagine if other products were like this. What if they did the same with audio CDs for example? You buy your CD and you get to play it in your hi-fi. If you want to play it in other systems you need to get special keys to make it play. So, after you have keys for the portable and the walkman you want to use the CD in your car. Whoa, hold on!, says the CD maker, youll have to give us a really good reason why you need another key, you already have three! Not a pleasant thought methinks.

What really makes me sad is that we, the users, had the power to stop this already. If every Poser 4 owner had refused to purchase the update then CL would have changed it pretty quick. If no-one had updated to XP then MS would have dropped this challenge response system and used something else.

If the system worked then it wouldn't be so bad but it doesn't. It will be cracked (if not already) and then the pirates will be able to use the product at their convenience on any machine while I cant. So I will not be updating my Poser 4 to version 5 whilst it uses this system and I will stick to Win2K as long as I can in the hope that MS can come up with something less annoying and disruptive.

My thoughts on current systems:
Tying the software to my hardware worst (computers are flaky and need re-installing/replacing a lot)
Hardware dongle bad (ties up com ports and can interfere with the correct working of the system plus I have 2 already)
Serial number + registration OK
Serial number only best

Regards