Have to say that as a paying customer, having two of my rather polite (probably too polite in these circumstances) and constructive mails totally ignored doesn't fill me with any confidence or will to hand over anymore of my hard earned cash to you mate. Basically Steve doesn't seem to believe me that I have not shared my porter install around and has told me that he has reset it one more time. I assume he means one more and FINAL time (though he never actually said this)I asked for some clarification on this as I intend to buy a new motherboard soon, I also offered some sort of solution to this problem (albeit rudimentary but it's a start) both mails have been sent nearly two weeks ago and both have been ignored.Sorry Steve but this is a very poor show indeed, Tim and co seem to work very hard but Steve you apparently want to push the self destruct button.Paul McGuire.

While I'm sure you feel like you are their number one customer, it's probably the case that you haven't posted in the correct forum, they are busy and your e-mail is one of dozens or hundreds that are routinely ignored as spam. And there are hundreds, or thousands, of customers.I suggest you post in the correct forum for technical support. The replies there are usually same day. Good luck - With your attitude you're going to need it!Allcott

Hmmmm what attitude is that then?Actually my attitude is very calm compared to some of the outbursts I have seen here (from developers also)I post on here simply because I want people to actually see it (soapbox if you will) rather than the rather poor forum system that FSD employ.However if you think I have an attitude then that is your perogative.**Edited to remove unnecessary wording**

All I have to say is you must be a very lucky man if Bill answers all your Microsoft questions personally.A soapbox is useful if you have a genuine grievance. But not getting a reply to an e-mail? That's hardly a `grievance` is it? Try stepping back and putting things into context. Allcott

Guess what!You are actually right :)No really, I have far bigger things to be worrying about than this silly matter.Moving house next week for a start. So thanks Allcot, and I really mean that.Paul

Hi Paul,I've run into the same problems 2 or 3 months ago. Essentially, Mr Small accused me of distributing "hacked" copies of the Navajo panel over the internet. I did modify the panel but for my personal use because the job that FSD did on the reality XP JL2 modification was a gross quick fix. I explained this to him many times but no to avail.Here's the full storyhttp://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...ing_type=searchIt seems that Mr Small loves to labels his paying customers are potential suspects, that's not how customers should be treated. I learn my lesson, never buy anything from FSD again.Good luck.

>It seems that Mr Small loves to labels his paying customers>are potential suspects, that's not how customers should be>treated. I learn my lesson, never buy anything from FSD>again.Double bump

Hi Nick,I don't remember that thread, probably because I only recently bought the Navajo. I can remember my dissapointment when I tied it in with the Jet Line 2 though :DIt was no big deal, I just removed the association, it wasn't really designed for a glass style gauge anyway.Just FWIW my suggestion to Mr Small was that users could have the ability to revoke their own licenses before any major hardware update.This would allow only 1 installation and activation to be needed. However in the event of a catastrophic hard drive failure then an email could be sent to explain the situation.This apparently fell on deaf ears.

>>It seems that Mr Small loves to labels his paying customers>>are potential suspects, that's not how customers should be>>treated. I learn my lesson, never buy anything from FSD>>again.Which is a shame because they make some fantastic aircraft. The Aerostar looks great, not so sure about the Avanti though. Probably irrelavent though because going by the scheme of things I expect this thread to be locked and I will be banned from ever buying FSD products again.

>While I'm sure you feel like you are their number one>customer, it's probably the case that you haven't posted in>the correct forum, they are busy and your e-mail is one of>dozens or hundreds that are routinely ignored as spam. And>there are hundreds, or thousands, of customers.>I suggest you post in the correct forum for technical support.>The replies there are usually same day. Good luck - With your>attitude you're going to need it!>>>AllcottEvery customer should be made to feel they are number 1. If they have hundreds or thousands of customers I can bet that the only repeat customers are those with more money than sense - remember the old adage 'a fool and his money are soon parted'.As for attitude Allcock - I think your post was reasonable until you bothered to add the last sentence.Spam is a great excuse to ignore emails that poor business people routinely hide behind.It amazes me the number of times Steve Small acuses insinuates people are thieves simply because they ask for access to further downloads. This chap has giant chip on his shoulder and a greatly inflated sense of power over the consumer. At the end of the day he may have made a sale but in the long run he needs to nuture his market if he wants to continue - something he appears incapable of doing.I bought one FSD product - the Cheyenne - it is now been removed and will not see the light of day on my system again.Andy b

Before running to the public forums like this you might consider contacting us first. We have no record at all of any e-mail message or support request from you.If you sent an e-mail to one of our private e-mail addresses it is very possible that you are sending to an address which is no longer active. We have had to change these addresses a number of times in the past few months to deal with the large volume of spam and virus-infected e-mail.So perhaps before complaining here you would get better results going to our forum and making your inquiries directly, or sending us a message directly through our support mail form? Do you think perhaps that would be a good idea?http://www.fsd-international.com/team/TD_forum_sig.gif

Do I have to post the entire conversation Tim?It was perfectly clear that I had the correct email address as I had 2 direct replies from Steve himself.Pathetic!

Let me preface this post by saying I don't know Steve Small, nor do I have any dealings with FSD. I also do not know the original poster of this thread, nor the person who had the issues with FSD and his panel (a referenced thread in this thread).However, I do know that several basic concepts that are stated here as fact are indeed in error.1. I personally do not like restrictive product activation schemes, I think that they pose more harm than good, and while developers must do what they feel is right, I believe product activation is not the answer. It immediately puts honest customers on the defensive. Despite that belief, it is also imperative that developers must be able to protect their work. As consumers, we expect the convenience of downloadable media. This by it's nature precludes the use of any sort of copy protection. Thus another method must be used. I am sure that if such a method could be found outside of product activation, then developers would jump all over that. Most people in business are not out to alienate their customers. Companies like FSD and Flight 1 have found it necessary to protect their work. I know for a fact if they could find one as effective that did NOT irritate the customer they would use it. 2. A little sugar goes a long way. As a customer support representative myself, I would love to tell you that I give equal support to those who are nice, as those who are rude. I would like to tell you that, but I would be lying. Although I have spent countless hours in training about personality types and understanding how to deal with them, the plain and simple truth is that kindness gets you further that anger. If I am on the phone with someone who has been thoughtful, and pleasant, I will tend to bend the rules for them as far as my jurisdiction allows. However, rude, and insensitive people, usually will receive no such quarter. I do not return rudeness with rudeness, but usually rude people will not receive any special favors. 3. E-mail is the WORST form of communication because is simply relies on words to convey meaning. We do not get the advantage of "voice inflection" or "body language" to help determine whether or not some one is joking, or sarcastic, or serious. We tend to read e-mail with our biases already set. E-mails can be so easily and rapidly sent that the e-mail authors often fire them off before proper proof reading, and what appears to be well thought out and even e-mails can easily be misinterpreted as curt and critical. E-mails are instant communication and as a result, usually end up being a snap shot of the emotions we feel at the time we pen it. I have often had to snap off an e-mail, only to save it in a "draft" folder, so that I can re-read it in a calmer state of mind. And even though under the "heat of the moment" we think we are being "calm and collect", the language of the e-mail is different.4. Read your EULA. In this and other threads, the erroneous information that was given regarding your "rights" as a customer. Primarily, the idea that "I can do whatever I want, as long as I don't give it away" is false. Software in not "owned", it is licensed, and in most cases, that license can be revoked by the author at any time. When we install software, we all hit "I agree" and in a word, enter into a contract with the author. Now other nations other than the US may have different laws, but in most cases EULA's do not allow you to reverse engineer the software of any kind. Many EULA's don't allow archival copying. We have many "legal eagles" here in this forum. And although EULA's have not been fully tested in a legal setting, the fact remains, whether legally binding or not, when you install the software, you in principle ageee with the terms of the EULA. And most companies I know of make sure you Agree to the EULA prior to product activation. That way, they can more easily provide remedy to customers who do NOT agree to the EULA and wish to end the license agreement. I don't know Steve Small, nor have had any business with him, like I said before.However, I do know, that developers are people too (and many of them are consumers as well :-) ), vunerable to the same strengths and weaknesses that we are. So I suggest that prior to submitting personal attacks against character, that we consumers fully attempt to reconcile our differences. And most importantly be armed fully with the truth. Despite our feeling otherwise, I think you would find that as a licensee of the software, you have much fewer "rights" than you feel you do. Be sure you understand your rights prior to handing over your money, and you will be much more the better for it.