PACE anti-piracy is INSANE
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Posted on Jun 21, 2011 02:30 pm
Quincysan
http://www.unitedmusicians.info
Contributor Since: Nov 11, 2007
On my way back from a weekend at the lake with my old man, my ilok stopped working. "Dang", says I, and I decide to buy a new ilok to download my licenses to.
$50 wasted on functionless security peripheral. 90% of jackasses (RIP Ryan Dunn...but not really you drunken Darwin Award) steal software, so I guess I get that. Take my money, fine.
I log into my ilok profile to discover that I am unable to remove licenses from my broken ilok without the broken ilok being plugged in. The licenses can only be removed with the dongle plugged in. Rage ensues. I have to pay to ship my ilok to San Jose.
$12 wasted.
Because the ilok is not functional, I have to pay a recovery fee...REALLY? A $60 recovery fee for what amounts to a DIGITAL receipt? The ilok is broken. The serial number on the dongle matches the one registered on their website. There is no recovery. You throw the old stuff away and re-assign the applicable licenses to my account. End of story. What in this process warrants $60??? Couldn't they just delete the old ilok from my account and give me the licenses to download to my new Ilok? There's certainly no technical limitation...
I have my sessions booked solid for 2 months, I can't be out of commission right now. "Fortunately" there is a Zero Downtime feature for $30/year per ilok. Ok...another $30. I need to work, so I put it down. Two confirmation pages later I discover that because I have had Zero Downtime Protection for under 1 week I am in a "cooling off period" and a $100 expediency fee is required. No. I'm sorry, but no one has to be there to free up a 12 day trial license. It is an automated process. At this point I am angry with the passion of a thousand burning desert suns.
Total damage after taxes and nickel and diming BS: $267...more than half the cost of the licenses I just had to recover. $267 for nothing at all.
Worst of all...I had to ship this crap to San Jose. No wonder it's so expensive. Gotta maintain that primo real estate. Where's the anti-theft company based out of a cornfield in Iowa doing this anti-piracy stuff for 15% of the cost???
I can't believe the crap I just went through. Too bad I love ProTools. I still hate Avid. So much...
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Jun 21, 2011 03:43 pm I understand totally. Had to have a courier jump on a jet in NY to fly me out a dongle on a Monday morning for an afternoon session (client was already on another plane and couldn't exactly cancel).
The dongle was $350 or something. The flight and the local courier was -- I don't even remember. $700-ish.
I don't hate the software guys too much because of it -- They're just C'ing their A's. I hate the source of such covering.
This is why I hope there's a special level in Hades for software pirates who "need" something. Makes me hotter than the sun rubbing two mountains together over a forest of dry twigs and Smurfs.
Jun 21, 2011 06:17 pm Well, if there wasn't piracy, there wouldn't need to be anti-piracy...like any social, political or economic theory, the downfall always falls back to the same weakness...the human factor.
Quincysanhttp://www.unitedmusicians.infoContributor
Since: Nov 11, 2007
Jun 21, 2011 06:18 pm It's the endless "gotcha" fees that really hack me off! $100 expediency fee for no reason other than the time that I decided to buy the Zero Downtime Insurance is ludicrous.
In health insurance, sure, I understand. But with the anti-piracy device there is no consequence for late "insurance" registration. It's not like they have to hire someone to run into a room in the middle of the night to hit the "ENGAGE ZERO DOWNTIME!" button. It doesn't cost any more money for them to enable the service tonight than it does to enable the service in a week. They borrowed a common sense concept from health insurance and use it to exploit software users.
I wish they would make anti-piracy efforts less annoying...this makes me want to ambush ilok employees and handcuff myself to them in order to charge a locksmithing fee to remove the cuffs. It's an "Anti-Criminal Activity" fee. Oh you want them removed before you get into your car? Expediency fee. $75 dollars if you want me to not sh!t my pants before I unlock the handcuffs.
Jun 21, 2011 06:22 pm Well, I have been using Cakewalk products and there hasn't been a very intrusive anti-piracy scheme in those products, some manufacturers go much more out of there way, the dongle sucks ***, admittedly, I won't use a product that need a dongle, personally...
Quincysanhttp://www.unitedmusicians.infoContributor
Since: Nov 11, 2007
Jun 21, 2011 06:23 pm I've been bitching at their support staff and they assure me that each of my licenses are unique and are not stored anywhere on ilok.com. That kind of makes sense, considering their customers are really software producers and not software consumers...but the expediency fee! No logical explanation for that.
Jun 21, 2011 07:03 pm Quote:
"ENGAGE ZERO DOWNTIME!"
That's the thing -- THEY should be paying US when THEIR PRODUCT fails. We're the ones being honest enough to pay for it in the first place. Heck, when I lose a credit card, they jump through hoops to get me a replacement the next day. The LEAST these guys could do is FedEx priority a new dongle when one goes down.
Jun 21, 2011 07:03 pm bitchin doesn't help much...
Quincysanhttp://www.unitedmusicians.infoContributor
Since: Nov 11, 2007
Jun 21, 2011 07:33 pm Just trying to understand their logic. They convinced me on the recovery fee...but I can't get behind the expediency charge or the zero downtime charge. Sneaky jackholes. Bitching may not seem to do any good, but not venting to the vendor at all would turn me into the kind of guy who swerves to hit squirrels crossing the road. So really, I ***** to software vendors to save wildlife from being slaughtered in acts of road rage.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Jun 21, 2011 08:45 pm They gotta make those extra dollars somehow those pricks.
Same as when a company setups and sells their brand of appliances.
they start up a maintenence division to fix all the "inevitable" lemons, that is a given obviously, and then they write it all of end of year. awesome money maker without making money, but it's US that have to deal with the inconvenience......
dont get me started.
Despise is word that come to mind.
Jun 21, 2011 09:05 pm I just wanna toss in that I love the name "jackhole".
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Jun 21, 2011 10:16 pm I like (excuse the french) "shitass" atm.
But it'll pass and i'll like something else soon.
hahaha, geez Jackhole could soon replace it though.
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Jun 24, 2011 03:56 pm The irony is, you wouldn't have had to go through all of this if you would have pirated the software in the beginning. It is like they are encouraging you to use pirated software in the future, if nothing else, just to avoid the hassle and the nonsense fees.
Jackhole... is that where you stick the dongle?
Keith WarrenMans reach exceeds his graspMember
Since: Oct 23, 2007
Jun 28, 2011 11:43 pm You should look at their "Zero Down Time" policy coupled with their "About" section. According to their plan, they should have you covered for free.
In their listings, they leave several loopholes for the process.
I'm speaking, of course, as a third party with limited experience with iLok, but from what I've experienced, read and researched, if you can get a someone on the phone- or someone via e-mail - and explain the situation, (if it's already on it's way back to them or there,) the iLok can and will be verified as defective and you should be able to receive reimbursement for any charges incurred.
Also, I'm not sure which version of the iLok you have, but if it's the version with the detachable card reader placed in the back, you can talk to DigiDesign about the issue as well and if it's their card that went bad, they're obligated to recoup the price of the replacement.
Just some ideas to help.
