Online activation

[Lin Evans]

Hi Barry,

Not necessarily the case ("its not that hard to find a connection"). Sometimes friends of mine who use PTE spend months in the high country on photo safari's far away from civilization and beyond anything but satellite telephone service. I usually spend a week or more in similar situations at least once a year and do my work on a laptop in my small travel trailer. Where you are there may be internet connections available, but where I live it's quite different. The only places where internet is available are in towns or sometimes at certain rest stops along the major highways, but it's not uncommon at all for me to be completely out of internet contact for as long as two weeks when I'm camping in the mountains.

Best regards,

Lin

[Barry Beckham]

As I wrote those words I knew you would reply as you have. Forgive me Lin, but you do state the obvious at times. Well in that case you would think ahead wouldn't you? Like I do in Australia which is much the same in places with regard getting an internet connection. I deactivate the connection on the computers I am leaving at home, because I find I can't use them while away.

Then the laptop works with no issue at all and the words ("its not that hard to find a connection"). relate to the majority of people who can.

[Lin Evans]

Hi Barry,

That's why I said "it's not necessarily the case." Actually, where I will be moving soon, it's not the case at all. Internet connections are few and far between so about anytime I would leave home would be out of internet range. My internet connect at home will be via satellite because the ranch I'm considering buying is 36 miles from the nearest town. Therefore, in such a situation in order to use PTE on my laptop I would have to deactivate the software on the home system nearly every time I left to pursue my normal wildlife photography which I, personally would find quite inconvenient because I spend several days per week in that pursuit even now. It wouldn't be a deal killer, but it would be quite inconvenient. At nights at camp in my small travel trailer powered by my generator, I spend a good deal of time experimenting with PicturesToExe. Of course, were this scheme used on PTE, I could always use an older version then do updates on my development system when I returned home. One of the reasons I refuse to use Adobe CC products at all is because of this system. Probably there are only a few users of PTE who would be so affected by such a process so in the great scheme of things whatever works best for Wnsoft is fine with me.

Best regards,

Lin

[PGA]

Lin,

Your existing PTE Licence allows you to install it on two systems. As I understand this proposal of Igor's, the Internet access is required only to validate a newly loaded licence key. Once both systems have had their licence key loaded, thereafter both copies of PTE will continue to work with no further need to access the Internet. I do not see how this scheme will impact you at all. At home, the desktop system will continue to work; away from home the laptop system will continue to work (until it runs out of battery power).
regards,

Peter

[Lin Evans]

Hi Peter,

I own more than one PTE license... It's not Igors's proposal I'm discussing, it's Barry's proposal describing the way Adobe CC works.

Lin

[wideangle]

Hi Lin/Peter

If someone owns two licenses, that allows them to install on two desktops and two laptops - more licenses then even better. The Adobe system, as described by Barry, sounds very flexible and sensible, and surely would satisfy most people.

Another possibility for Igor to consider, is to build into the licensing system the option to activate on more than two machines (at extra cost) just as is done with say some antivirus packages.

Regards

wideangle

[Guest Yachtsman1]

We had to deal with intermittent internet access the 3 years we lived aboard our boat in the Med. Internet cafes flourished in ports in the 2000's & towards 2004 marinas in Portugal were offering wireless connections. Those yachties who wanted internet access offshore used either Sat Phones or Single Side Band radios, but both were very expensive, but then again it's only money

Yachtsman1

[Lin Evans]

Hi Guys,

The issue I have with the Adobe system is the necessity of the system to "phone home" when being used. There is no way to monitor such without the system signing on to the internet each time the software is installed. So what happens at home when there is no internet connect at startup when the user needs to reinstall PTE because of some file corruption, etc., and there isn't an internet connect available? What happens if Wnsoft is down or there is an issue between your server and the Wnsoft server?

If you monitor the complaints with Adobe CC it's not insignificant. I have friends who are pulling their hair out still trying to resolve issues of activation with the present Adobe format. I think alternative solutions are available which do not involve the internet other than for initial activation/registration which are generally more amenable to the user. Once the program is installed on a system, there should not be a need to "phone home" for a re-install on that system. That's what the registry is for.

There are other systems which are available that create a unique identity for a particular system by performing a software inventory involving a hard disk and other bus attached hardware. This system has its faults as well. Should your hard disk fail and you have anticipated this by doing a clone, the software will not work on the new hard disk without reactivation. If you install a second internal hard disk or replace your CD/DVD drive the software stops working without a reactivation. You are only allowed a specific number of reactivations. I found this system to be highly annoying when I recently had to replace a failing hard drive with a new cloned one.

The point is that there are multiple types of registration and activation schemes and not all require a reactivation each time software is uninstalled and reinstalled. This decision requires careful analysis to find a way to both protect Wnsoft against theft yet allow the PTE user flexibility as they now have.

Best regards.

Lin

[jak101]

I presume that one would still have to download to get PTE so it should be no problem activating it at that time. the second computer might have to wait until one gets the Internet connection. Most good software today requires on line activation.

The key here is for Igor to provide a deactivation choice under the help menu so that one can move the license from one computer to another. Unless there is a deactivation choice, then one would have a difficult time getting it done. Corel has that problem as they have no deactivation key. You have to contact them, apparently, to get it done. that is a mess.

One does not have to be on line to use PTE.

[Lin Evans]

PTE can be purchased either on-line or via a DVD in the mail... Yes at the present time all activation is done via the unlockkey which is presently emailed to buyers. Once the unlock key is present on the system, there is no further internet required for use. What the discussion is about is future methods of activation...

Best regards,

Lin

[Ken Cox]

case 1

assume for some unknown reason I cant connect to the internet and I have to call the internet isp for help -- we work together trying various things -- reboot etc to no avail\my isp has a program where they go into my system and check certain things and they find that due to certain code they determine that pte is at fault and want me to uninstall pte --- what do I do

case 2 actual

the other day I installed 8.0.8 -- my normal procedure is to test it right away - my superspyware kicked in and declared it a Trojan and it would not run pte and wanted to scan to get rid of it -- no way hose' I said retried - no luck - I advised Igor -- he said it was a false positive and to advise superspyware of problem -- I filled out a form but was unable to include a screen shot of the error message == was advised that due to USA thanksgiving they would get back to me when holiday time was over -- not satisfied, I did a system restore - no luck in fact worse - p2e completely locked up -- as well my avg would not reset nor would malware bytes reset nor would VUZE my download facility work proper and who knows what else

so superspyware is disabled, avg is working, malwarebytes is working pte is working

up to this time superspyware never caused a problem until I installed 8.0.8 so there some code that is flaky

am hesitant to install 8.0.9 at this time

years ago the was a massive exodus on the forum from AVG to MS product and from what I have read it is no angel either -- it will not run certain 4.48 shows still - certain members have advised me of same

ken

[stonemason]

It seems to me that most of the above discussion is presenting lots of reasons for adopting an "If it ain't broke don't fix it" approach or at worse a one off activation on install. Judging by what I've read thus far I think that if Adobe style activation is adopted then I will cease to upgrade at that point. Adobe is a massive company, and able to withstand the bad PR it's cloud system has attracted, I'm not sure the same could be said for Wnsoft.

[PGA]

The issue I have with the Adobe system is the necessity of the system to "phone home" when being used.

Lin,

The Adobe Photoshop CC system does most emphatically NOT need to "phone home" in order to use it. I have regularly demonstrated using Photoshop CC on my laptop with no Internet access. You are propagating a common fallacy about the Creative Cloud offering. Of course, if you have chosen to store your image files on the cloud then, yes, you will need Internet access. But that is true for all files that you store up in the clouds - not just Adobe Photoshop CC.

Peter

[Lin Evans]

Hi Peter,

Please extend to me the same courtesy you have asked of others - If you're going to quote me or paraphrase me, at least understand what I said in context and get the facts first. The CC software has to phone home to be used. Precisely when is not known by the user and it's entirely possible for that time to occur when there is no internet connection. That has happened to friends of mine on more than one occasion and is why I will not use Adobe CC products. It also has to phone home on reinstallation after an uninstall - check this with Adobe if you don't believe me.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

I have Adobe Elements 11 & I'm registered with Adobe. Whenever I open the programme off the internet there is a different image in the opening sequence trying to persuade me to upgrade to 13, so they must have the ability to access my machine, this also happens with Java & Nikon, although I am registered with Nikon & Java updates.

Yachtsman1.

[Barry Beckham]

That has happened to friends of mine on more than one occasion and is why I will not use Adobe CC products.

Peter is right. I left for a 8+ week visit to the UK and deactivated my Adobe CC account on the two home machines and activated it on my laptop. As I was using the laptop for demos I didn't want windows updating while I was away, just in case it caused a problem. I deactivated the internet connection on the laptop because I didn't need that for emails. The wifes laptop was configured for that. During my time in the UK Photoshop worked without a problem and it couldn't touch base for at least 6 weeks. I think towards the end of the visit I allowed Adobe to update and even that didn't need me to sign into my account.

So, if I have things right. Here we have probably the most comprehensive image editing software we have ever seen with Photoshop. It has never been cheaper since the CC deal and the vast majority of users (millions I guess) don't have any issues at all, Just like me. Yet, because someone you know has had a problem or two, you will not use adobe products. Yes, that certainly is a rational response. Are you really saying that you cannot see any merit in the flexible Adobe registration system? Over the years I have sold many copies of PTE and dozens of people in that time have got hung up and had issues with the product key (mostly their own making) Under your logic, perhaps we should boycot wnsoft products.

[JudyKay]

I travel a lot and use PTE on various computers: desktop, a home laptop, 2 laptops of various sizes and purposes for travel, another desktop I keep at my aging parents home in another country. I am the only one in my family that uses PTE or even knows what it is--so it's used one computer at a time. I am sometimes (though rarely) off the grid for up to weeks at a time. I am starting to imagine deactivation, reactivation, no internet, can't use PTE, with diminishing enthusiasm. Perhaps I have enjoyed the freedom to use PTE this way long enough that I don't like losing this capability. If we have a problem would there be a way to call for help? That would require internet and Skype as well which might not be available some places.

I use Photoshop and occasionally have the hassle of deactivation / reactivation which never works automatically for me--I have to call.

My situation is probably rare, so maybe it doesn't count. Realistically, with a little adjustment of my habits, this wouldn't be much of a problem for me.

Edit: Statement Removed.

[Lin Evans]

Well Barry,

You apparently don't read carefully enough and you obviously know nothing about what I use and don't use. Did I say I didn't use Adobe products? I don't believe I've ever said that. I use possibly more Adobe product than you do including Photoshop 6 Extended, Elements, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Lightroom Acrobat and InDesign. I just don't us any Adobe CC products. Adobe CC products have had plenty of issues - try actually browsing the Adobe forums once in a while. Try browsing the Panos FX forum, perhaps there may be a bit of an education for you about CC and problems.

So no, you don't have things right and Peter is not "right." Please read more carefully what I said and what the representative from Adobe said. That was also pretty clear to me.

What I said should be quite clear for a native English speaker. Adobe CC has to phone home to operate and to reinstall after an uninstall. Period. That's the reason "I" don't use it. What you and Peter do is your business and what I do is my business.

I'm out of this discussion. There seems to be a logical disconnect and inability to understand my posts by both you and Peter so I'll make it easier ...

[Barry Beckham]

Now I am beginning to feel a bit silly, however.

Lin

Well, my apologies for leaving out the letters CC between Adobe and products in my text, but I did copy and paste you're own statement at the top, which did include the letters CC, so I kinda think you and I knew what we were talking about. To be honest I don't care what system PTE chooses, because I trust the company to come up with what works and what is practical for them and us. I also have no wish to make light of the wnsoft company either, but I doubt they would have the sophistication to adopt Adobe's system anyway.

If we were to be taking each others words and splitting hairs (not something that helps much) I could say that I never did make a suggestion that Wnsoft adopt Adobe's system as you quoted. It's Barry's proposal describing the way Adobe CC works

What I did say was: That I really like the way Photoshop CC works in that you can install the CC products you have purchased on as many computers as you like, but you can only use them on two at a time. This requires the ability to sign out and de-activate the copies of the software to allow this to happen. If you are signed in on two computers and then open up a third, the fact you are going over your 2 PC limit is picked up. However, you get the ability via your username and password to sign out of those other computers even remotely, that could be miles away, or as in my case recently, in another country. Very fair, very convenient and works well in my experience.

For those following this thread what I am saying here comes from my own use and experience of the CC system. I said in a later text that even if you do already have two computers activated and actually running Photoshop and fire up a third with no internet connection. Adobe will allow me to use that third version for 4 days, before you need to connect, or sign out of one of the others. I have just fired up that third computer again (no Internet Connection) with my other two PC's running Photoshop CC and its now down to 2 days, which you would now expect, but I can still use the software.

In a recent visit to the UK I used Photoshop CC for 6 weeks without an Internet Connection. Those clubs I demonstrated at can vouch for this fact.

In fact the Adobe's system has another positive aspect. If you have a very old laptop (as I do) which will not run Photoshop CC. (Due to the operating system I think) In that case, via my Adobe CC account (Aus $9.99pm) I am given the opportunity to download and install Photoshop CS-6 in the same way I would with Photoshop CC, which will work on that old laptop.

Going back to my original post. I said I liked the way Adobe works in relation to registration. The fact that you are able to download and install the software on more than 2 computers and choose which PC's to use it on. That can include one PC and one Mac too if you like. If anyone thinks this is a bad system, then you have a different way of looking at the world than me.

[Igor]

Hi,

Online activation in Adobe CC looks interesting. But we will not hurry. It's difficult to build such system which works well.

Also please take into account that you purchase a subscription to Adobe CC products, not a license. If you continue to pay every month/year you can use their products, when you stop to pay you'll not able to use Adobe CC. Not all users accept this way. And I can understand them.

[stonemason]

Igor

I think that if you are committed to online activation a once only on install may just be acceptable (although personally I'm not that keen). If you are doing it to reduce piracy then maybe you should take a look at this google search

https://www.google.co.uk/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=CmR8VPH6A9jBVNSggcgL&gws_rd=ssl#q=photoshop+CC+and+pirating Even with Adobe's vast resources it took one day to undo what must have take many hours and countless dollars to put in place. Despite what others have said on this forum there is still considerable customer resistance to CC, and it's noticeable that Lightroom which is gaining more and more popularity with photographers Adobe has chosen to retain as a Licensed serial number registered product, although it is bundled with some CC offers. I can understand your thinking but please remember that the contributors to this forum represent a very small proportion of your customers, so valuable as their opinions are there is a good possibility they do not represent the majority view.

Regards

Geoff

[Guest Yachtsman1]

By Coincidence this appeared on my desktop this evening.

Yachtsman1.