Piracy Solutions

[Jack Mitchell]

quote:

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One of the richest men in the world, Bill Gates, is also the biggest victim of piracy. What does that say about the subject?

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A-Ron,

Please run this by me again

 

Bill Gates and victim do not belong in the same sentance structure He IS the richest man in the world - how many times have I bought the very Microsoft bill of goods? - Gates is the one wearing the pirates hat and yet I have paid through the nose as most everybody else does.

 

Business is business and Bill Gates is trully the master of sham - I buy it, you buy it, and so does virtually every person that we know. We just keep on buying it and buying it and buying it. Then we buy it some more I have bought this s__t twenty times over in the last three years.

Damn, I wan't to slap him in the face - twice, just for kicks.

 

I guess my lowest point was when I bought two copies of the prerelease of Windows 2000 - I am such a moronic sucker don't you know?

 

Someone once said there's a sucker born every minute. I'm am admittedly the worlds biggest sucker for not only promoting Microsoft - but buying into the same old crap time after time after time after time after time.

 

Regards, your sympathetic Bill Gates affectionauto (sp) , Jack.

 

For the ney-sayers, Bite me, cause I will still buy the very product that I despise anyways.

 

If I have offended Bill in any way then I am so very, very happy to be noticed - and FYT Bill! and this is given in the true spirit of Al Pacino!

 

By the way James, I noticed your new and improved sign-off Are you now into another realm? or perhaps just happy to see me? Don't hold back, just beat me to a pulp!

 

Regards, Jack

 

[ 05-16-2003, 02:04 AM: Message edited by: Jack Mitchell ]

[CAM-mando]

Nicely done jack.

 

quote:

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Damn, I wan't to slap him in the face - twice, just for kicks.

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Another pie in the face perhaps

[Alias]

quote:

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How about when shop owners and managers start to have so many applicants stating Mastercam as their most familiar and most effective programming tool… -doesn’t that create large market demand?

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Yeah - it creates a large market demand for "free" (i.e. pirated) software.

[Rekd™]

Nice job Jack.

 

Don't forget that Bill is one of the original pirates, only he got away with it and made billions...

 

'Rekd teh Darker side of a dark man

[A-ron1286490684]

Wasn’t trying to ruffle any feathers, just making the point that brief demos don’t truly showcase Mastercam’s potential like seeing it in action. I dig this software and I’m fortunate enough to work for a company that lets us take the sim device home.

 

And your right Jack -"Gates" and "victim" in the same sentence was a poor choice of words.

 

4 out of 5 Piranhas prefer the taste of A-ron

[CAM-mando]

quote:

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Don't forget that Bill is one of the original pirates, only he got away with it and made billions...

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Yeh but he didnt steal it ... he cheated em' out of it fair and square.

 

[ 05-16-2003, 11:42 AM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]

[Mark Lovelace]

Jack, I sense that you're holding back about your feelings toward Microsoft, here. It's okay to let it out. Tell us what you really think.

 

With all of the money Bill Gates has, you'd think he could afford a decent haircut. And maybe he could pay someone to dress him better.

 

A-ron, your employer must really trust you. I hardly even trust myself to take the sim off of my computer!

[Slixmix]

Just curious how many of you are programming with Mastercam on a Mac? Is there even a Mac version? All this anti-Microsoft talk cracks me up. Gates Haters crack me up. The guy is freakin brilliant. Everyone has the choice to not use Microsoft products. Theres always Apple.

[kccadcam]

Are those Green or Red Apples?

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Kevin,

 

Thos are "Road" Apples.

[Bullines]

It's a shame since Apple's client/server license setup is much better than Microsoft's horrible Open License.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

Let's see now,... Write software for 75% of the desktop computer world, or 15% of the desktop computer world.... Hard decision. NOT!

 

[Bullines]

Now that the MacOS is a Unix variant, there are suddenly many more Mac developers than before Don't worry James, I'm not a Mac head (though I do enjoy a jaunt in Unix Land). I just like Apple's licensing scheme better than Microsoft's. Microsoft's licensing schemes are a joke

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

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Don't worry James, I'm not a Mac head...

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I know, I'm just messin' with ya!

[Rick Damiani]

quote:

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Obviously redundant servers would be in place for just such an emergency. I think it could be feasable. Most folks do not know this but Microsoft is already doing this with several of their software offerings. If people only read the EULA's...

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1) Microsoft's upstream link and its mirrors have gone dark on occasion. This did not keep end-user computers from working like the plan above would.

 

2) Microsoft does on-line authenticaiton at install-time, and reserves the right to disable hacked copies of thier software via patches, which (depending on your settings) may be applied automaticly. As intrusive as that is, it is far preferable to the online authenticaiton originally proposed.

[Jack Mitchell]

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Jack, I sense that you're holding back about your feelings toward Microsoft, here. It's okay to let it out. Tell us what you really think.

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"As I lay upon the classic form roll couch"

 

It all started when I was very young - you see my dad was yelling at mom and I was so very angry and confused and yet totally helpless - such helpless feelings have carried over to my adulthood. Am I just reliving the anger and simply taking it out on top of the soap box or perhaps the forum itself?

 

Mark, do you really want to entertain such possibilities?

 

Besides, I just know that you have some deep and nasty feelings towards Microsoft as well. It's in your nature!

 

One more insignificant note and I will call it a night - "Morning Wood" this is one heck of a name/title Imagine such possibilities

 

Regards, Jack

 

[ 05-17-2003, 01:56 AM: Message edited by: Jack Mitchell ]

[Charles Davis]

I think Peter from In-House raises some great points.

 

I particularly like the idea of a student demo version. To go the extreme, why not allow a Demo version that could be downloaded for free off the internet?

 

It would read any file (say, work or school project), and even saved, but only in a format that could not be read back by the Industrial/Educational systems.

 

This way, you could legit take work from home or school and "play" with it.

 

The Post idea: That would work to reduce piracy, but the logistics could be a nightmare. It deserves careful consideration.

[Rick Damiani]

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It would read any file (say, work or school project), and even saved, but only in a format that could not be read back by the Industrial/Educational systems.

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Autodesk tried that special 'student-only' file format bit with MAX R1. Students, because they could not move thier files between class and home, stayed away in droves. Teachers got kinda frosty about the product, too. We couldn't even give them away.

[PE @ IHS]

I think what Charles is suggesting is that MC start distributing copies that students CAN take home, as well as use at school. Only the teacher HASP needs to have the capacity to post files to a fully functional level. If students can play with MC at home, save files, but not have full posting capability, they will be pretty happy and there will be far less pirate MC in schools because there will be less demand for it.

[RStuart]

As a mastercam programmer and a machinist its hard for me to find the time at work to run production parts as wellas program and research and develope for new parts. This forces me to take work home. Unfortunately as stated above, the only way for me to do so is to take the HASP home with me. And of course remember to bring it back. I don't know how many times I have forgotten it. I too wish there was a version that would let you do everything except post, or possably just create geometry and be able to save it with no tool paths.

[Mark Lovelace]

If this 'student' version had its own file format, no file converters, and no posting ability, it seems to me that it would be a great tool. But I can imagine that one potential problem would be that some MCam shops could use it as a way to effectively get a second (or third) seat without having to buy it.

 

How about if the 'student' version was used in conjunction with a portable USB 'keyring' sim that was tied to only one MCam system? That way, work done by students could only be imported into their own school's Mcam system. Perhaps this non-postable version could also be available to industrial users, but only a single copy per licensed seat, and at a reasonable cost. It would give licensed users a little more flexibility, while keeping things under control.

 

To clarify: The keyring sim enables only a special non-postable version of Mcam using a special file type. To post or otherwise convert a file, it must be loaded onto a fully-licensed Mastercam system. For that system to read the student format, it must have the student sim also in place. The key is that each student sim would only work in conjunction with a specific regular sim. As an extra precaution, the student sim could be date-sensitive, and time-out after a year.

 

[ 05-22-2003, 03:27 PM: Message edited by: Mark Lovelace ]

[Charles Davis]

O/T but as far as forgetting your SIM at home: put it on top of your wallet before you go to bed. You won't forget it again.

[Rekd™]

I generally put what ever I can't forget on top of my keys. Can't leave without my keys.. (I tried this method after I left my wallet and some important papers that were under my wallet at home )

 

'Rekd teh It takes me a long time to learn things, but once I learn something.. I can remember it for hours.

[CAM-mando]

Cadkey now offers a USB dongle. Much smaller than the old ones, fits nicely on your keychain. So now you can leave your keys stuck in your computer and lock your self out in the parking lot at 8:00 at night.

 

Actually they are convienient if you have a USB port on the front of your box.

 

Dave teh climbing through the office window.

[Rick Damiani]

RStuart wrote:

 

quote:

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I too wish there was a version that would let you do everything except post, or possably just create geometry and be able to save it with no tool paths.

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Such a product already exists. It's called MasterCAM Design. See your dealer for pricing.

 

Peter wrote:

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I think what Charles is suggesting is that MC start distributing copies that students CAN take home, as well as use at school.

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Some of my students are making use of Demo to practice with, and it seems to help them. If they could save files, that would be even more helpful. On this I think we are in agreement.

 

The problem I see is that if those files cannot be read by the teacher's copy of MasterCAM, the students won't be able to work on projects that are complex enough that they need to do some of the work outside of class. i.e. a demo version that saves demo-version-only files is not going to be very useful in higher-level classes.

 

In any event, CNC Software does have a full-function, time limited version of MasterCAM that is avalible to students at a fairly low price. That seat, once the full-function time has expired, can be converted into a personal copy of MasterCAM Design without a time limit at no additional charge. It ain't free, but ain't much more than a few textbooks, either.