You're not getting my MONEY! Buyer Beware!

[Wolfko 0]

When I bought my current rig 3 years ago a friend of mine, who runs a small IT business (no hacker) cloned the entire HD of the old rig on which FS (FS9 at that time) was located. The cloned HD was built into the new rig and voila, I then had FS9 twice on 2 different rigs with all the hundreds of GBs of add-ons including dozens of payware products, running on 2 different systems, with exactly the same settings, cfgs etc, without going through the huzzle of reactivation etc. All this was achieved by using legal software (Norton Ghost). So actually activation codes do not protect from piracy or theft at all. Yes, Bill is probably right, it will slow down the process of piracy a bit, but mainly it is a pain in the &@($* of honest customers, especially if activation is limited. Just my 2 cents.WolfgangPS: yes, maybe what I did was against the EULAs of many of the cloned products, but what the heck, I don’t feel guilty, because I only did it for my personal use.

[mgh 89]

PS: yes, maybe what I did was against the EULAs of many of the cloned products, but what the heck, I don’t feel guilty, because I only did it for my personal use.

Users of pirated software generally only do it for their personal use so that piracy's acceptable too?

[Wolfko 0]

Users of pirated software generally only do it for their personal use so that piracy's acceptable too?

Do you ask this in all seriousness??Let me tell you, what the difference is: I have paid for using the software, pirates do not pay for using the software! But I'm pretty sure you know that!Cheers, Wolfgang

[CFIJose 5,485]

Before this thread gets locked up, I'll throw in my last 2 cents. Pretty much what I intend to spend in future add-ons. :( Only kidding!If theft is theft and a thief is a thief then I can extrapolate that someone just stole some money from me. I bought software that will not run. As a matter of fact I can't install my Cessna 337 because I think my account has been deleted. It's pathetic when a developer has to resort putting restrictions on a paying customer.I was hopping that this thread did not turn ugly, but it has. David, shut this down.

[mgh 89]

Do you ask this in all seriousness??Let me tell you, what the difference is: I have paid for using the software, pirates do not pay for using the software! But I'm pretty sure you know that!Cheers, Wolfgang

I am serious. You paid for and accepted a licence to use one copy of the software. You are using it twice without paying for the second copy.

[JSkorna 137]

Wow, now it's OK to break an EULA if it is for personal use?

[Andydigital 93]

Some of you guys certainly are very narrow minded, not all EULA's are the same, some do allow you to use multiple copies of a piece of software for your own personal use, lets not sensationalise things anymore than people have already done in this thread. I can pretty much guarantee that everyone reading this thread has broken a EULA at some point probably without even realising it. Just the act of cloning a drive for backup purposes breaks some EULA's and how many of you give that a second thought.

[Jean-Paul 167]

I am serious. You paid for and accepted a licence to use one copy of the software. You are using it twice without paying for the second copy.

Aren't you jumping the gun here ? Where did you read he is using it twice ?

[JSkorna 137]

"I then had FS9 twice on 2 different rigs with all the hundreds of GBs of add-ons including dozens of payware products, running on 2 different systems........."Running is the same as using?And yes, under certain limited activation systems this would not work.And, "ops I broke an EULA, I'll try not to let it happen again" is different than, "ha ha I might have broken an EULA, but I don't care because I paid once and it's for personal use only."

[Jean-Paul 167]

"I then had FS9 twice on 2 different rigs with all the hundreds of GBs of add-ons including dozens of payware products, running on 2 different systems........."Running is the same as using?And yes, under certain limited activation systems this would not work.

Of course, Jim, it is so much fun to run the same software simultaneously on the older setup when you have a newer and faster PC... Come on :( Wolfgang only says that is possible to clone a disk and move it into a new PC without having to re-activate all the software it contains.

[JSkorna 137]

If he was running on one system, then there would be no need to broadcast that he may have broken EULA's because re-installs are not excluded.

[CFIJose 5,485]

I guess this means that if I run a system with 5 monitors, I need to pay for the software 5 times. :Just Kidding:I am using it in 5 different ways.

[JSkorna 137]

If each of those screens was connected to a different computer, then yes, in many cases you would need 5 purchases. :(

[mgh 89]

The FSX EULA is perfectly clear: "The licensed device is the device on which you use the software. You may install and use one copy of the software on the licensed device." How does that justify authorise multiple copies?In many countries it is legal to make a back-up copy of your software but that doesn't make it legal to install and use it the back-up version.EDITMore than one licence may be required on a multi-processo, multi-core chip."Customer C has a system with two processors, and each processor has two processor cores. One server software license would be required per processor."http://www.microsoft...-licensing.aspx

[ubersu 78]

If he was running on one system, then there would be no need to broadcast that he may have broken EULA's because re-installs are not excluded.

Little over the top, I think. As new systems are obtained, older systems are cloned and the old installations are rarely wiped out - nothing new there and hardly an issue. On the other hand, I'm seeing more efforts at keying the software to a particular box to force re-activation. I note that my favorite text editor has gone to that scheme in the latest release and I expect to see it used more in FS software in the near future.DJ

The FSX EULA is perfectly clear: "The licensed device is the device on which you use the software. You may install and use one copy of the software on the licensed device." How does that justify authorise multiple copies?In many countries it is legal to make a back-up copy of your software but that doesn't make it legal to install and use it the back-up version.

And your point (except for stirring the pot) is what, exactly? When was the last time you used FS on two systems at the same time, and why would you ever want to? I'm a dev (non-FS, be it noted) and have no issue with what this user did - except to note that FSX is supposed to be keyed to the system on which it's installed; that apparently doesn't work real well.DJ