CompuServe Messages

Bruce: I don't agree with companies like Autodesk putting too much heat on the people that sell ways to avoid dongles (or copy protection…) These tools, which do, I admit, often get used to make illegal copies also have legitimate uses and provide part of the counterweight to balance the software suppliers. They sometimes make it look like they would go to copy protected explosive dongles if they could get away with it. Most companies that are responsive to their customers (like AutoDesk) removed copy protection because their customers hated the pre-broken software. The protection breakers are a barometer of how angry the customers are – the more they sell, the more annoyed the customer base is. Dongles are a lot more responsible than copy protection since they don't require that you buy damaged disks that you can't back up. I would be happier with them if you didn't have to stack them off the back of the computer, if they were all as transparent as they are supposed to be, and if they didn't provide a **very** vulnerable single point of failure. (If you wanted to shut down a 3DS-2 system you could steal the dongle, a simple, 60 second operation…) If 3DS is going to be protected, a dongle is probably the best way available right now. Let's not get too heavy handed with the companies that provide software that avoids them. It is legal to write, advertise and sell, so you seem to be advocating putting them out of business because you don't approve of the product. Chris