Here I sit...

[Guest Ken_Salter]

>Piracy is here to stay and there will always be those who will>look to steal others wares, but most who do it do so not to>obtain the end product, they do so for the satisfaction of>beating the latest and greatest security measure. I would say that the crackers are the ones who may be doing it for the satisfaction. Pirates, OTOH, are the ones who are stealing so they don't have to pay for it.

[Guest Zevious Zoquis]

"A lock in its basic form is there simply to keep an honest person honest. One who is determined to find a way in or a way around paying will do so."It seems to me that a lock is there to keep everybody who has no key out. The fact that some people will find a way around that doesn't really change this. A lock is irrelevant to an honest person. I could walk by a house with the doors hanging wide open and I wouldn't be even slightly tempted to walk in and steal stuff. I think the question that really isn't ever answered in these debates is "how many of the people who go to the trouble of finding and installing pirated software are actually potential customers." It just seems to me that the vast majority of people stealing software (including music) simply wouldn't spend the money to buy the product even if they couldn't get it free. We can argue about the ethics of someone using software for free that someone else has had to pay for but that's a seperate issue really. The issue that is fundamental to the dev is "am I losing actual sales to piracy?" If I walk in to a shop and pocket a CD and walk out without paying, I've not only acquired that product for myself for free, but I've removed the opportunity of the shop to sell that item to someone else. That is theft. If I download a piece of software and use it for free, that may be unethical but unless there was some chance I'd have purchased the software otherwise is it really theft? I mean, there is no way in the world that I'm ever going to buy myself a Ferrari, but if someone were to park one in my driveway with the keys in the ignition, it wouldn't be too many days before I'd consider taking it for a spin. :) Again, it might not be ethical, but Ferrari certainly hasn't lost a sale becuase theres no way I'd be buying anyway...I don't want to open up a whole can of worms here and I certainly don't mean to advocate for piracy. I just have some doubts about alot of the claims made by (for instance) the music industry suggesting that all their problems are related to music sharing. I would suggest that while piracy might account for some small percentage of any losses the industry has seen over the past few years, there might also be other explanations that come in to play but which are never mentioned by the industry (such as the possibility that the industry is charging too much for a product that is often of questionable quality - when was the last time you bought a CD that had more than 2 or 3 really good tracks?)

[Guest Accent]

I wholeheartedly agree that quality has a lot to do with the driving force behind sustained sales and some developers use the piracy issue to justify higher prices while not turning out higher quality.The potential customer issue is an argument unto itself and I agree, I

[Guest SoarPics]

I'm going thru the reinstall routine with my new system. So far I've been lucky, but I've yet to try reinstalling the Aerosoft Katana... that one has been a nightmare in the past. This reinstalling of protected software is becoming more streamlined for most of the popular add-on developers. Nice that they're making it a bit easier on their paying customers.Greg

[Mike T 208]

At the end of the day, for whom does anti-piracy give a sense of security? The developer or the end user? Undoubtedly it gives the developer a sense of security, albeit a FALSE sense of security.Case in point. I have a deadbolt on my back door, along with a lock on the doorhandle. I check it every night before I go to bed and my family sleeps soundly. Unfortunately, right next to that deadbolt and the door handle lock is a pane of glass that can be easily smashed an arm reached in and the deadbolt and the handle lock turned all in about 5 seconds. I know this and the burglars know this, which is why I have a Glock 19G with three clips of Corbon hollow points upstairs in the bedroom! :-lol Software developers don't have a Glock 19C with which to back up their software security features, just the perverbial deadbolt next to a glass pane. The fact is that Microsoft spent MILLIONS and years of research on authenticaion and long key strings for Windows XP hopefully assuring that pirated copies of Windows XP could not be used and the end user is limited to one unique copy of XP per computer. This was as useful as a submarine with a screen door because an XP Keygen and an activation crack will ensure that any illegal copy of Windows can be used and loaded at will. Instantly XP's security has been rendered flacid.So, what if developers gave up on security because it is almost always ineffective? Well the average user would now be able to utilize illegal software whereas only the power user familiar with the existance of Warez sites, keygens and cracks could access them at this point. Instead of 5,000,000 people using illegal copies there would be 10,000,000. In economies of scale, one understands that loss will happen and one can figure in the loss of sale due to cracks and hacks. Take away security and you might as well give copies away for free.Software piracy and hacking are facts of life. Like crime and prostitution you can survail, punish, deter, or penalize and at the end of the day there are still criminals and there are prostitutes. One can only hope to keep their numbers under control and make it harder of those who are looking to go that route, but one understands that they will never be irradicated.I point you to any high crime neighborhood. You find that the honest folks are locked behind window bars and heavy iron doors while the criminals roam free in the streets. Much is the same with software security where you and I jump through hoops to install software on our systems while the hackers enjoy the freedom to do as they wish.It is a sadly bass ackwards society that we live in but alas we stupid humans accept it as the status quo. While software piracy and anti-piracy don't have a bearing on society as a whole, its intrinsic microchams scales up nicely. At the end, it is a sad testiment to who and what we all have become.*end of rant*Regards,Mike T.

[Guest Ken_Salter]

Maybe if the penalty for developing a crack around copy protection were the equivalent of armed robbery, and the penalty for possession is the same as possessing stolen goods, this will stop.As long as there is demand, someone will supply.In the future when our brains are directly wired into the Intraweb, then we can see something like Black Ice from Neuromancer where if you try to crack something your brain gets cooked like Jiffy Pop.

[Krister 51]

Thanks Doug!I had this image that at least some (like PMDG used to) has your licence firmly connected to your hardware and that moving to a new could be quite cumbersome. Was that Captainsim?Anyway, it's off installing tomorrow and then "ghosting" the whole enchillada!

[Guest Accent]

Comparing software piracy and armed robbery might be a bit extreme but I see where you are coming from.The whole supply and demand theory has been tested and tested again with, not surprisingly the same results. One only has to look at each and every time a government makes something illegal there is always a demand side be it liquor or drugs to cigarettes or pornography. It seems that Software piracy is more a moral issue than a criminal issue such as the case of visiting a speak easy in the 1920

[JimD737 0]

I also am a Comcast sufferer, but no more.Visit broadbandreports.com. In the COMCAST HSI forum, there are ways to get around the DNS problem. There are several other helpful threads about checking your cable modem and viewing Comcast's Network Health.Hope this helps.Jim

[Trans_27 Pilot Chase 59]

if they dont know about the piracy, they cant be bothered. They arent loosing income. There are alot more honest people than those people with their own messed up life and mad at the world. We all know that payware aircraft are out there cracked and for free some where. They get a good size profit one way or another though. :) Now if their sales reduced by a large sum due to piracy, thats one thing. But many many more people continue to purchase the add-ons and they get their money. Not supporting piracy, but dont understand why people flip out over 3D Models made in GMAX. Yes, much time is spent, and if they want money for it, they should get it. But then again, all this anti-piracy stuff doesnt help us much and doesnt stop pirates. They are determined and crack the planes one way or another.I dont support piracy a bit, but in the long run, it hurts the "true" owners more than pirates. Ahh well.. who knows.. Just hope i dont get my head bit off in here for saying that. Just seems like alot of trouble is caused for the true owners of the products and doesnt stop piracy much..Any ways, there are 2 sides to this i guess.. And im on the stop piracy side, but seems like our method now doesnt stop it, just delays it and causes problems for the people who have purchased it.:-wave

[Trans_27 Pilot Chase 59]

thats what i try to say but cant put it in words like you did.The way i see it, they dont purchase parts for every single add-on aircraft. They dont build every single addon for every single purchase. After its done, its up for purchase. Those who buy it, get it. Those pirates, get it sooner or later. But how did they loose money if they did not have to purchase parts to build that add-on?What im saying is this is a program we get. Not the same as some one stealing cars out of the local ford dealership. Now that is a loss in money, but a computer program? :-wave

[mgh 89]

Stealing software is as much theft as stealing a car. The software developers have spent time, money and resources and are entitled to a return on their investment. The car industry spends millions on developing a new car. Are you saying that they shouldn't get that back and that the price of a car should be just the materials and labour to assemble it?Having said that, I feel some developers are tending to protect their rights at the expense of the rights of their customers. I should have what the lawyers call "peaceable enjoyment" if I have a legitimate piece of software and use it in accordance with the EULA without needing any further approvals from the developer.As an bad example, Adobe Photoshop CS needs re-activation after an XP System Restore. It's not a big deal - a couple of clicks - but why should I have to do it? Incidentally Adobe says:"This product can tolerate changes to your computer's configuration. Minor reconfiguration of your hardware after activation will not require an additional activation. If you replace or overhaul your hard drive, or if you remove this product from one licensed computer and install it on another licensed computer, you may be required to activate this product."which is obviously not true because it can't tolerate a System Restore. Can FS add-on developers guarentee that their protected products can tolerate a System Restore?

[Pete S 7]

Seems to me that I would be angry at the Internet provider, and not Flight 1! Flight 1 promises that they will supply the new keys, however they can't guarantee your provider will deliver their promised services. :(

[Trans_27 Pilot Chase 59]

like i said, i dont support piracy. But grand theft auto for example is in the same neighborhood as piracy, but much more severe. I just think this whole Anti-Piracy is a good try, but a huge pain and isnt helping.:-wave

[W2DR 1,860]

Great tip. I've set my own DNS server addresses and, like you, I am no longer a Comcast sufferer (they are down again tonight). Not only that, but the new servers are much faster than those at Comcast. Great stuff! Thanks.Doug