<.....I than had a HD failure and lost all my files and evey payware company checked my records and sent me replacements but Ariane who was going to charge me 25 pounds to replace it...>That was nice of them!Couldn't they find a record of your purchase 'at their end' like every other payware company?For

I guess this *should* at least turn me off of download - payware. It

I also have to say that they do tell you before you buy what might happen,and it deals with theft of their products.I did not want to pay and I had a real problem but its up to each company if they belive you and what the circumstances are to each case.I don't fault them thats their policy but I was out the money and the plane.I hope to hear from them for the activation of the 700 soon.I just wish that they would get their own forum or Tom would give them some space here,what happened is old news and simmers who use Ariane's planes need a forum also. Jeff

I think if you are installing payware addons to a computer that is not internet equipped, cd copies are far easier, however since I only run one computer - internet equipped I see no reason to pay the extra for some nice packaging and a disc when I can throw them all on a DVD or two (yes I do have a bit too much payware since I can't fit it on one DVD LOL!)

Moonraker (and others),Since I assume you're upset and maybe angry, I can accept that yu didn't sign your post (what in all cases, especially in one like this, would be a sign of politeness).Anyway, after my recent e-mail exchange with Ariane yesterday, it's absolutely untrue that Ariane doesn't answer mails, nor do they have some kind of extraordinary complicated and restrictive activation mechanisms.I'm a happy Ariane customer, having purchased some 737 with "Analogue Cockpit" and the 737-900NG with an axpansion pack in the past.I re-installed my PC from scratch recently, and I have never ever had any problems with Ariane's support so far. They're quick and helpful in their answers, and I have no doubt in their trustworthness. Someone would need to convince me they're not, I don't have had any bad experience yet, and I already sent them many mails (which all, without a single exception, were answered in depth).I always try to be calm and polite when I address support, and I always have the relevant data at hand. Maybe it's the way some people write their mails ("activate me now!!!" for instance is not a good starting point). So, maybe it's better to read through the mail once again and make some corrections before sending them.What Moonraker writes may be the truth, maybe it's a complete lie, I don't know, I don't know Moonraker. But I had (and still have) my experiences with Ariane, and I cannot confirm that any of Moonraker's claims is true.So, I suggest to start over again and send Ariane a new mail ("Hello, my name is... and I have the following problem:"). I'm more than sure that Ariane would help you.The word of mouth spreads quickly here in the forums, and a single person who has the impression to be treaten badly, even if it's his/her own fault, and writes angrily about this is trusted without some more questioning, I suppose.So, before starting to avoid Ariane because of somebody writing about his problems (which is always a very subjective matter), and not having a statement from Ariane available (it's primarily a thing between Monraker and Ariane, who don't necessarily need to comment here because they need to be held "not guilty" in the first place), I find it better to make a solution possible by contacting Ariane again. If you want, send me your private e-mail, and I'll route it through to Ariane's support.Andreas

AndreasYou make some valid points and I'm delighted that Ariane have treated you well. In this case however, their approach towards Moonraker has been far away from your experiences, to say the least.Were this the first time people have complained about their attitude/customer support, I'd agree that primarily this is probably a 'one-off' between the customer and Ariane. However, a brief search here on the forum will reveal just how 'patchy' their attitude has been, and that's got to be wrong.Nobody's suggesting people should avoid Ariane because of this - However, I am suggesting that Ariane should get off their 'high horse' and be nice and helpful to people who have given them their hard-earned cash (and lots of it!!!!!), particularly when the consumer has been polite to them from the first instance as is certainly the case here.Just my 'old fashioned' 2 cents worth.Toni.

"People tend to think that the install and activation procedure is fail-safe,and just fires ahead on trying to activate whether or not they have read the manual or not.Ariane's activation system is very un-easy believe me, and they claim it is because of piracy.I believe that."I couldn't pass this one up Svein! I guess in layman's terms, what you are saying is "What do you expect for $100? A product that will install and activate without any problems?"Yes, I guess we are asking for too much. I have to agree with many others that the response for assistance was a bit out of line and crude. I don't understand why it is so difficult to respond politely to customers anymore. Back before computers, I remember having pre-prepared responses where we only had to insert a persons name and address and mail it out. They were always polite and let the customer know exactly the status of their purchase. Computers can now make that procedure even more personalized.Kind regards,Jim

Gee... After reading what one has to do nowadays just to get their aircraft to work I woudln't go near their stuff... no matter how good it is. Sure they have blocked out some pirates with all this but I am sure they scared away many a legitmate customers (which surely hits their bottom line), by all this over zealous protection to the point where purchasing their product is such an unpleasurable experience. No thanks.

You got that right. No way I would touch anything that required that type of activation. The Flight1 wrapper is as far as I will go. Developers always need to be aware that life is much too short to waste any of it dancing with ugly women.Doug

>I always try to be calm and polite when I address support, and>I always have the relevant data at hand. Maybe it's the way>some people write their mails ("activate me now!!!" for>instance is not a good starting point). So, maybe it's better>to read through the mail once again and make some corrections>before sending them.I can tell you exactely "how I wrote my mail": "Hi, this is my log - file for the activation of the Ariane 737-700 I just bought". I don

Hi again!I understand and respects everyones opinion on this.I can only speak for myself. I had my problems with it, but thanks to Ariane they all were fixed.Moonraker, im sorry if this problem isn't working itself out for you.You are missing a good addon, and i know the frustration you feel when you have spent 100 bucks on it.Been there...There nothin left for you to do but contact Ariane.Explain the problem,and clear out any misunderstandings.

Hope it works then.And yes, the support is strange...in its way.But dont let that fact turn out negativ,because it may be not:)

I have had a reply from Ariane and was able to activate the pushback and now I can't activate the FMC and I just got a email from Ariane which said what to do and thats what I had done and had the manuals in front of me and was told read the manuals from their email.I had read them and have tried everything and just sent a pix when I tried to activate and said invalid IDPassword and I entered what I received from Ariane.I am now just waiting for a reply,we will see. Jeff

>Hope it works then.Fortunately, yes! I just activated my 737. However Ariane managed to surprise me one more time! From reading the manual for my "Lauda - air - expansion -pack" I was under the impression that I would now have to activate the expansion - pack, too. Strangly that was not case(a pleasant surprise ! :-)) Although that showed me once again that the manuals and the whole activation procedure is not really as faultless as Ariane would make you believe. If you really do everything exactely according to the manual you may run into difficulties (at least when using the offline/logfile-method) and if you don

Glad it's sorted at last, Moonraker.I hope you enjoy it!Toni.