#speak out to PC Mag
Bill Machrone has a regular column in PC Magazine called Second Looks and is
asking for
feedback as to what we love and hate about 3D Studio.
The thing I hate most has to be that hardware lock device. If you agree with me
please contact
Bill on CompuServe at 72241,15 and voice your opinion.
What follows is the letter I sent.
I am writing to you in reference to your column Second Looks and the Looking
Ahead portion about Autodesk 3D Studio.
I have been a user of 3D Studio since it first came out, I really enjoyed the
program at that time and it was lockless however when Autodesk introduced
version 2 it came with this hardware lock device by Rainbow Technologies that
plugs into the printer port.
This entire idea of hardware locks is ridiculous. We have a lock for 3D Studio,
a lock for Liquid Speed (a $295 program that enhances 3D Studio screen
displays) and another lock device for Pennello ( an ad on module for 3D
Studio)! That is 3 locks on the back of my computer for what amounts to one
program! If that wasn't bad enough I have to crawl under a desk, remove these
things and lock them up each night and take them out each morning. You see,
even though I 've paid my $3000 for this program, Autodesk has the nerve to
tell me in the doc's that if this lock device is lost or stolen it is just too
bad, I'll have to buy another program at the regular price. If it is damaged I
might be able to get it replaced but how many days of work do I lose waiting
for a replacement?
These lock devices are more than an inconvenience. How do I make a working
backup copy of my program when the program will not work without this lock?
During a time when software and hardware platforms are supposed to be getting
friendlier and more interchangeable, these locks prevent this from happening.
For example, you can not run your 3D Studio program on a Mac with a Dos board.
Has anyone seen a parallel port on a Macintosh lately? Even to do a backup you
have to remove the lock device.
Is any software protection really needed at all? Did Microsoft become the
largest software company in the world by using hardware locks on their
software? No! Autodesk's new Autocad 13 does not come with a lock device, and
it far outsells 3D Studio, does this mean that Autodesk trusts people that use
Cad programs but not Graphic or Animation artists?