Seems Corel doesn't trust us any more....

[Cruachan 705]

Hi,I installed the update to Paint Shop Pro Photo XI (PSPP XI) recently, which brings it up to version 11.11, only to find that a new service now starts up automatically at boot: ProtexisLicensing. It also appears under Task Manager as PSIService.exe.It seems this was introduced/installed by the update and unless it is running PSPP XI won't start!What it is is explained here:http://www.protexis.com/services/product_activation.htmI suppose this is yet another symptom of our times, but it doesn't stop my feelings of irritation and anger that Corel should have done this without warning the legitimate end user. The temptation now is to uninstall the update and revert back to the release edition, but then that would lose me all the bug fixes.Clearly this is an unwelcome trend that shows no signs of going away anytime soon so long as developers continue to seek new ways of protecting their software. However, I do feel that the prospective end user/purchaser of software should at the very least be given the opportunity to make an informed choice before making the decision to purchase and/or install. The release version of PSPP XI had no such protection mechanism in place nor did any of the previous versions developed and released by Jasc Software.Windows XP also requires an activation procedure which becomes tied to the hardware present at the time of activation. I knew this and understood the implications when I installed XP. This was an informed choice and I accepted it, however reluctantly.This is particularly annoying when, as a loyal customer of many years standing, every version/upgrade of PSP used by me has been a legitimate purchase. Corel did not feel it important enough to advise their existing customer base that this would happen and I, for one, consider that to be tantamount to a slap in the face.How do the rest of you feel?Mike

[Guest christianholmes]

I feel the same way-but thankfully to lots of bored college students, you can usually get rid of that stuff.Most of the software I have is cracked :) Let me clarify- I legally purchase, but I then go out and find no-cd, anti-protection cracks. I use Corel Photopaint X, and I can't remember when I installed it if there was any activation or anything. I absolutely despise Starforce and those other programs. When I got GTR2, I found that version of Starforce was causing my computer to reboot- Downloaded the crack when it came out, uninstalled Starforce, and problem solved! It may give you grief playing online, but I'm not really a multiplayer gamer so I don't care. I fully understand companies wanting to protect their intellectual property but DON'T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU!

[Mace 1,902]

>>Windows XP also requires an activation procedure which becomes>tied to the hardware present at the time of activation. I knew>this and understood the implications when I installed XP. This>was an informed choice and I accepted it, however>reluctantly.>Well, yes, but ask yourself: do you really have any choice in the matter? It was either that, or running your win apps on Linux using an emulator.>This is particularly annoying when, as a loyal customer of>many years standing, every version/upgrade of PSP used by me>has been a legitimate purchase. I feel these "Product Activation" and "Licensing" schemes do nothing to deter theft, but do everything to harass legitimate users. There are ways around ANY form of copy protection, and I am sure that the new PSP was warez'ed out within 0 or 1 days of release. So all you have now is an annoyance to legitimate customers, and a waste of time to software developers who must spend time coding activation/licensing setups rather than adding features or fixing bugs.'dat's my 2 cents on it.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

[Mace 1,902]

Starforce seems to give people a lot of trouble.I agree, "don't bite the hand that feeds you" describes it perfectly.Let's hope this Orwellian copy protection that we are increasingly seeing, disappears eventually. It's not worth anyone's time--the developer to code it--the legitimate user to be harassed by it.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

[Cruachan 705]

Finally, I have received a reply from Corel:The PSIService provides the minimal required administrative access to Corel product licensing and registration information in accordance with the new Windows Vista operating system guidelines. This service does not access any data other than the Corel product licensing and registration information, and it will not have any negative effects on your computer.All I can say is...Hmmm?!Looks like we have 'Vista' to thank for this unwelcome trend :(Same applies, I think, to the recently introduced 'Windows Genuine Advantage Notification' window which suddenly started appearing recently on my desktop as my very genuine version of XP finished loading at boot. Eventually, I had to call MS customer support to sort that one out. They couldn't explain why it had started to happen other than it is a 'new feature' introduced with 'Vista' to identify those installed versions of Windows that are not legit. When this window appeared I found I was unable to access the Windows Update site and, when it did not, all was okay. Odd the problem was intermittent. It is also odd that the problem seems to have been resolved by running an on-line MS diagnostic utility which, apparently, merely confirmed that my copy was indeed genuine and altered/updated nothing on my PC. Explain that! They couldn't. Now, the unwelcome side effect is, of course, my crossing of fingers as Windows loads! LOL.Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that MS Support did apologise for the inconvenience and understandable irritation caused by this glitch.Mike