leban@cs.umass.edu (Bruce Leban) (08/08/90)
Former Subject: After Dark 2.0 - any news? isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ken Hancock) writes: KH> Now I'm going to have to pay $15 (70% of purchase price) for version 2.0. KH> So, now I'm getting to pay $37 for the same package that will still cost KH> $22 from MacConnection. chuq@apple.com (Chuq Von Rospach) writes: CVR> what is the *value* of having it for the period between "now" and CVR> "later"? If it's zero, then why are you bothering to use the product? CVR> CVR> Remember, you're USING the product while waiting for the upgrade. That use CVR> is returning some of the value that you paid for it. Sure, you could have CVR> waited. But what would that have cost you elsewhere? bruce@sim.uucp (Bruce Burkhalter) writes: BB> The other problem is the upgrade price. If we make the upgrade price BB> any lower we are virtually giving it away to all registered users. BB> It costs a couple of bucks just to mail it. Of course, the upgrade is worth something. But consider the typical case where the new program adds 20% more features (as if it were possible to quantify this (:-)). I already own most of the program I'm buying, yet I frequently have to pay more than 20% to upgrade it. Here's my five point plan for reducing software piracy: 1) Whenever the software is first installed on a disk, the user must enter both a serial number and an authentication code (the authentication code could be information from the manual instead). Anyone wishing to pirate software must have both of these. This would make it much more difficult for anyone to pirate my copy of a software package without my consent, assuming I stash the master disk with the serial number someplace secure (in the manual authentication case, they would need to take the manual with them). [Developer Note: if you don't know how to do this, I'll tell you how for a free copy of your product.] 2) The software AUTOMATICALLY becomes a demo version if it is not installed with the correct authentication code. The software would be be disabled in a way that didn't affect the ability of the user to see how the program worked. For After Dark, it could be set so that only the "Demo" button in the control panel worked. For a word processor, it could be set so that it could only print one page at a time. 3) Software companies can provide intermediate upgrades at effectively no cost to themselves by providing special upgrade programs through standard distribution channels (as done by Symantec). The upgrade program will only work if you have the previous version. It would be easy for users groups to sell disks with many upgrade programs from different manufacturers at low cost. 4) Any version which fixes significant bugs in the previous version should be by definition an intermediate update, even if it adds new functionality. Despite the standard disclaimer that the software doesn't actually DO anything, the customers still didn't get what they paid for if there are signficant bugs. 5) Major upgrades (adding major new functionality and increased price) should be sold at costs which take into account the amount of increased functionality and prevailing discount prices. $200 upgrades to $300 packages are a joke. In the specific case of After Dark 2.0, it sounds like this is really two upgrades: the changes to the driver and the new modules. The driver could be provided as a no cost (on both sides) upgrade. The changes to the driver alone probably do not constitute a major upgrade. The new modules could be sold as a separate upgrade package (which would of course include the driver upgrade on the same disk). At least that's what I think.... --- Bruce Leban@cs.umass.edu @amherst.mass.usa.earth --- Bruce Leban@cs.umass.edu @amherst.mass.usa.earth
chuq@Apple.COM (Spot the Wonder Dog) (08/09/90)
leban@cs.umass.edu (Bruce Leban) writes: >Of course, the upgrade is worth something. >But consider the typical case >where the new program adds 20% more features (as if it were possible to >quantify this (:-)). I already own most of the program I'm buying, yet I >frequently have to pay more than 20% to upgrade it. These statements don't mix. First you say that there's worth, then you throw the worth out in your comment (20% new features but pay more). Besides, it's a false argument. Features do not an upgrade make. You can't claim 'you already own most of the program' because you don't know that to be true. Maybe they went and completely rewrote the code to be faster and use less memory. How do you quantify performance? How do you quantify productivity? Feature lists are nice but are in many cases irrelevant. Do what I do. Don't look at an upgrade as an upgrade. Look at it as a purchase. That is, after all, what it is. I'm a registered owner of Pyro 3.0. When I had the chance of upgrading, I asked myself the following questions: o what do I get from pyro? o What do I get from the pyro update that I don't get from pyro? o Are those changes worth the cost of upgrading? The answer was no. What I did instead was ask those same questions between Pyro and After Dark. I ended up getting After Dark. Just because it's an upgrade doesn't mean that the way you buy the software should change. I know some folks automatically buy upgrades, but that's stupid. If the current program meets your needs and the new features aren't worth the cost, don't do it. (Letraset is STILL trying to get me to upgrade Ready, Set, Go! What they don't realize is that I did -- to Pagemaker). Let me ask you this question: If you're an owner of After Dark and someone wrote a neat, new screen saver that happened to have all the features of After Dark 2.0 and charged $15 for it, would you buy it? If so, why are you complaining about that as an upgrade price? And if not, then After Dark 1.0 is probably good enough so you probably shouldn't upgrade. -- Chuq Von Rospach <+> chuq@apple.com <+> [This is myself speaking] It's a small world, after all! It's a small world, after all! It's a small world, after all! It's a small, small world!
russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) (08/09/90)
In article <18088@dime.cs.umass.edu> leban@cs.umass.edu (Bruce Leban) writes: >Former Subject: After Dark 2.0 - any news? > >isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Ken Hancock) writes: > >KH> Now I'm going to have to pay $15 (70% of purchase price) for version 2.0. >KH> So, now I'm getting to pay $37 for the same package that will still cost >KH> $22 from MacConnection. > >Here's my five point plan for reducing software piracy: > >1) Whenever the software is first installed on a disk, the user must enter > both a serial number and an authentication code (the authentication code > could be information from the manual instead). Anyone wishing to pirate > software must have both of these. This would make it much more difficult > for anyone to pirate my copy of a software package without my consent, > assuming I stash the master disk with the serial number someplace secure > (in the manual authentication case, they would need to take the manual > with them). [Developer Note: if you don't know how to do this, I'll tell > you how for a free copy of your product.] Problems: Hackers (or crackers if you prefer) who will override the code. People who steal the already authenticated software. People who misplace the manual (yes, it happens). -- Matthew T. Russotto russotto@eng.umd.edu russotto@wam.umd.edu ][, ][+, ///, ///+, //e, //c, IIGS, //c+ --- Any questions? Hey! Bush has NO LIPS!
urlichs@smurf.sub.org (Matthias Urlichs) (08/14/90)
In comp.sys.mac.system, article <18088@dime.cs.umass.edu>,
leban@cs.umass.edu (Bruce Leban) writes:
<
< 1) Whenever the software is first installed on a disk, the user must enter
< both a serial number and an authentication code [...]
< 2) The software AUTOMATICALLY becomes a demo version if it is not installed
< with the correct authentication code. [...]
Unfortunately, there is absolutely no way of installing a product with such a
key (or with any other scheme ever invented) which does both
a- let the user backup/erase/restore his hard disk without having to
re-install,
b- prevent the software from working when being copied onto a disk, carried
across the hall (or across the country), and reinstalled onto another hard
disk,
c- guarantee that the program will not fail on next years' Macintosh just
because the fancy protection scheme no longer works,
d- doesn't resort to fancy hardware which I, for one, am absolutely refusing
to buy, and the tests for which a dedicated cracker always will be able
to remove anyway (especially when the protection's author honors constraint
-c-).
And even if you find a pirated copy that has been activated with such a key,
all you're likely to find out is that the package in question has been sold to
MacConnection or any other dealer, who didn't bother writing down your serial
number. What do you want to do? Sue MacConnection? You can't nail down the
guy/gal you caught the software with with anything more than the price of one
package, which in most cases isn't worth it.
Disclaimer: I don't know what it takes to make users more honest about these
things, but inconveniencing legitimate users with such schemes doesn't seem to
be it.
--
Matthias Urlichs -- urlichs@smurf.sub.org -- urlichs@smurf.ira.uka.de
Humboldtstrasse 7 - 7500 Karlsruhe 1 - FRG -- +49+721+621127(Voice)/621227(PEP)