Activation balls up

Can you get the old system up to deactivate PS? (Help/deactivate). You can then install on new system and reactivate.

Bob,
Thanks. I realise I can install it (unless I am misunderstanding you) but it must be keying off something presumably a hardware hash similar to Windows activation…?

Curt

Thanks

That is what I have decided to do. Just putting the old desktop back together and keeping fingers crossed that it will work long enough with no crashes to let me reinstall windows then CS2.

Why not call and find out? Nobody here can do anything to help, but Adobe is quite cooperative in situations like this…unless of course you have a harddrive crash on a daily basis for a few months.

One more thing…you can install it. It’s activation that’s the issue.

Bob

Activation is intended more towards annoying loyal customers since anyone can easily crack it.

Not "anyone": just the dishonest

Right…the engineers sit around all day trying to come up with ways to annoy customers.

Look, we all hate it, but it is what it is. Adobe has never said it was intended to stop all piracy. It’s intent is stop "casual piracy."

The "I borrowed my cousin’s Adobe" type. If anyone has any better ideas, I’m sure the folks at Adobe would be happy to listen.

Bob

If anyone has any better ideas, I’m sure the folks at Adobe would be happy to listen.

no. they wouldn’t.

Look, we all hate it, but it is what it is. Adobe has never said it was intended to stop all piracy. It’s intent is stop "casual piracy."

To what end?

They no doubt spent a lot of money developing the activation scheme and continue to spend more on the required customer support to deal with activation problems. These are added costs that Adobe didn’t have before. In addition, the casual piracy that existed before allowed people to become familiar with their product with the chance that they would eventually become paying customers. After activation, more and more people are made aware of free software like Gimp and find that it suits them just fine. As well, more and more legitimate users are adversely affected by stumbling blocks that didn’t exist before, sometimes costing them money.
If I was an Adobe shareholder I’d be pissed that they spent money on something like that. Like government spending, it’s a whole lot of money flying out the door for poorly justified, as well as poor or even negative results.
What was activation meant to achieve in real measurable terms? Anyone? Bueller?

government spending, it’s a whole lot of money flying out the door for poorly justified reasons, and for poor or even negative results.

bingo.

I’d like to see the numbers for piracy before and after activation. of course those numbers don’t exist because no one knows for sure.

so someone in a cubicle makes up some numbers and pops them into a spreadsheet and makes stylishly shaded pie charts out of them until it looks "good" to the dummies who spent all that time and money on the activation scheme, justifying all the stupid decisions that led them down that path, pat each other on the back and go have an imported beer.

oh, sorry. i meant to say "Activation is a hassle we all have to put up with because it deters piracy, and piracy is theft!"

i’m sure it’s stopped 5, no 10 no wait, that doesn’t cover the costs… hmm… a MILLION copies of photoshop from being pirated, so we made money from each of those MILLION people because all of those people who would have pirated photoshop went out and paid for photoshop elements.

i’m sure they didn’t just go on the interwebs and download the cracked copies.

Activation seems to me to be Adobe attempting to protect their investment, and who can blame them. I have come in contact with many people still using V6 because later versions "require activation"…or in other words, it is somewhat more difficult to steal. The only people who seem to be really angry about activation are those who can’t steal the software anymore, or those who have the occasional problem of running out of licenses/installation tries. I’ve had issues because of hardware upgrades, and it was incredibly easy to solve with a simple phone call to Adobe.

In the end, if users are going to ‘go to GIMP’, they were going to steal the software anyway. Adobe is not losing law-abiding citizens by requiring activation. Frankly, I find registering my software and activating to be a breeze, and a benefit. Adobe tracks all my SNs for me, and when I need to reinstall, I just check them out and copy/paste into the SN field…saves more time than arguing about how authentication is ‘bad’.

If you need the software, buy it. If you can’t afford it, Elements does more than most people think when it comes to image editing, at abut 1/10th the price.

Richard Lynch

Activation seems to me to be Adobe attempting to protect their investment,

does it, nope. anyone who wants it downloads it. all it does is hassle those of us who are honest enough to pay for it.

and who can blame them

I can. thanks for asking.

if users are going to ‘go to GIMP’, they were going to steal the software anyway.

I think it’s incredibly rude to in effect call gimp users thieves. i use gimp on 2 machines because 1 is my work machine and i don’t want to put my personal copy on it, and the other is a laptop that’s a little underpowered for cs3.

Adobe tracks all my SNs for me

ya, thanks. i’ve got version 6 registered and 2 or three copies of older apps as well – elements 1 and 2, LE and i think, and a couple copies of photodeluxe. that’s great, but has nothing to do with activation. they’ve been doing that decades before activation.

If you need the software, buy it. If you can’t afford it, Elements does more than most people think when it comes to image editing, at abut 1/10th the price.

again, implying that there’s some kind of correlation between activation and … what? i’m not sure what you’re saying exept "activation is good"… people who don’t like are crooks. or likely crooks, or something "Bad".

so barring these debunked arguments, you still haven’t said how activation does anything but hurt the customers.

as described above it even hurts adobe. in initial cost, cost to implement, to update and to support. all that cost and effort could have gone into making a better product and the piracy rate for photoshop would likely have been about the same.

I agree with most of Dave’s points. But I’ll add that it’s not so much the activation itself but the poor implementation of it.

I’ve never had Windows lose its activation and it’s taken a very large number of installs for Office to complain (there’s no deactivation) but a five minute phone call has gotten that fixed.

Bob

I’ve said it before and now I’m saying it again. I have no problem with activation. It’s the REactivation that I hate.
Q

I said: "Activation seems to me to be Adobe attempting to protect their

investment"

Dave said: "does it? nope. not by any unbiased studies I’ve ever read. anyone who wants it, downloads it…all activation does is hassle those of us who are honest enough to pay for it."

The only people that download it are dishonest, and can be prosecuted for using it. You are suggesting that Adobe should make it easier to steal because people steal it anyway? Pretty lame argument. Studies? Really? What studies…Please post a link. Saying does not make it so. Adobe can run their business as they see fit, and I am sure they have studies of their own. Activation was a breeze — I hardly noticed it. All the griping seems about nothing.

I said: "and who can blame them"

Dave said: "I can. thanks for asking."

Wow, intimidate me with that answer. They have a right to protect their investment as they see fit. That someone named "Dave" doesn’t like it is tough…go find something else to use if it is so annoying.

I said: "if users are going to ‘go to GIMP’, they were going to steal

the software anyway."

Dave said: "I think it’s incredibly rude to in effect call gimp users thieves."

Um, Dave, try again, and I’ll write it out more clearly for you: If a user is going to go get a free program because they don’t want to pay for Photoshop, they were only going to get Photoshop if they could steal it. There are likely many people who use GIMP by choice, and they have no part of this discussion.

I said: "If you need the software, buy it. If you can’t afford it, Elements

does more than most people think when it comes to image editing, at abut 1/10th the price."

Dave Said: "again, implying that there’s some kind of correlation between activation and free software and … what? i’m not sure what you’re saying except "activation is good"… people who don’t like are crooks. or likely crooks. or something "Bad".

Close, Dave. Or not at all. I’m not sure what correlation you are talking about. I also never said "activation is good", but you are spending hours putting down something it takes seconds to address. What I said was: If you can’t afford Photoshop, use Elements. I left off "If even Elements is too expensive, try a free program." There is no need to resort to criminal behavior as there are other options than stealing.

Dave said: "so barring these debunked arguments, you still haven’t said how activation does anything but hurt the customers. as described in a couple of posts above, it even hurts adobe. in initial cost, cost to implement, to update and to support. all that cost and effort could have gone into making a better product and the piracy rate for photoshop would likely hav been about the same."

Your claims and posts prove nothing, and claims are hardly ‘debunking’. If Adobe felt activation did not act as some type of deterrent, they’d probably stop doing it. Apparently they are not convinced, and I would guess they have more data on this than you. It is their choice…their company, their product. It happens to be an excellent product or people wouldn’t bother trying to steal it and putting themselves at risk of being caught.

Activation was easy enough that of the many products I currently have installed (multiple licenses, multiple versions, multiple platforms, multiple computers) I don’t remember activation being an issue, barely remember even addressing it, and only ONCE had to call for help because I didn’t properly uninstall a license from a computer whose drive I formatted. In other words, user error was the only issue, and a two-minute phone call fixed it. Activation is a real pain if you want to install illegally on 6 computers when you bought only one license. If you don’t want the issues and are just going to steal a license anyway by having Adobe activate more installs than they should, go to your place where you can ‘just download it’ and avoid the ‘annoying’ activation which was so bad that I don’t remember doing it. I don’t believe that most of the world is savvy to stealing and pirating.

As far as customers and getting students ‘hooked’ on the product, every college I teach in has a lab with the software installed using legal site licenses. Students get great discounts so the product will be expensive to own, sure, but not much more than books for other classes, and certainly nothing in comparison to tuition, the cost of laptops, cell phone licenses and iPods…And the difference between a cell phone license and a Photoshop license? Only that you can steal software services and the phone company can just shut you down…sort-a like activation, no? Why can you deal with it from a phone company and not a software company? Oh, yeah, it is because you don’t have a choice!

Now that we’ve both spent more time talking about activation in our life times than actually dealing with it, what was your point? That Adobe would make a better product without activation? Really the product works just fine if you have a proper computer with legal software that you didn’t hack/steal to run it with. Adobe has deadlines and marketing and other realities beyond developing an activation scheme that likely do far more to affect the end result. The scheme is paid for and in place, and likely but for a few adjustments, it won’t require more development. Perhaps they need more support people…and perhaps their data suggests the effort and expense is worth it.

In the end, Adobe wants activation. It doesn’t bother me. It shouldn’t bother most people who do what they are supposed to under the license agreement. If you buy the software, click and it is activated…

Suck it up, Dave.

Richard, The problem isn’t activation…it’s lousy implementation of it. There are far too many complaints about problems and it needs to be addressed.

Bob

Whaddy say?

When someone types that much, hardly anyone bothers to read it.

They have a right to protect their investment as they see fit.

Sure they do, and their solution is not as ironclad as it should be. With regards to stopping piracy, it accomplishes little. It’s cost who knows how much money, taking profit away from shareholders for no measurable gain in return. It causes legitimate customers problems.
I also don’t appreciate having to sit through an FBI warning every time I try to watch the movie that I PAID for, telling me that copying movies is bad. The irony is that the pirates who copy movies strip that out so that pirates don’t have to deal with it. In the same way, pirates deal with a Photoshop that is activation-free, while legitimate customers are forced to take time out of their day to make phone calls when activation fails.
Now while you go and encourage activation schemes and everyone and his uncle is incorporating it into their software, see how much fun it will be on the day your hard drive dies and you have to make several phone calls to different software vendors just to get yourself up to normal productivity, while your customers are calling you wondering where their jobs are.

Really the product works just fine if you have a proper computer with legal software that you didn’t hack/steal to run it with.

Except for the people for whom it doesn’t work. People have been stranded on photo shoots with laptops that decided not to run Photoshop for some reason.

You are suggesting that Adobe should make it easier to steal because people steal it anyway?

not at all rich. i’m saying it was a waste of money and effort. and those of us who support adobe by buying their products are paying for it.

Wow, intimidate me with that answer.

easy big guy. i guess i should’ve put a winkie there.

That someone named "Dave" doesn’t like it is tough…go find something else to use if it is so annoying.

sorry rich, it’s not "tough". i’m a customer and supporter. i have every right to tell adobe when i don’t like something they’re doing. ok? don’t like it? tough. 😉

There are likely many people who use GIMP by choice, and they have no part of this discussion.

<shrug> sorry you feel that way. like i said, i use it by choice on 2 machines. i AM a part of this discussion.

Close, Dave. Or not at all. I’m not sure what correlation you are talking about.

the one where you seem to equate free or lower cost software users as thieves.

There is no need to resort to criminal behavior as there are other options than stealing.

we totally agree rich. completely. where we disagree is in adobe’s response to pirating. i think activation now, is like closing the door after the horses are all gone. you think it’s fine. ok. good thing. do you read this forum? the only people with problems with activation are PAYING ADOBE CUSTOMERS!

If Adobe felt activation did not act as some type of deterrent, they’d probably stop doing it.

a joke right? do you work in a large corporation? that would mean someone, somewhere in an office in corp. adobe would have to admit that they made a mistake, spent a lot of money unwisely and failed in any effort to curb piracy of the product WHILE pissing off vast numbers of paying customers. ain’t gonna happen. especially in this economic climate. no one wants to say "i screwed up" in a big company!

every college I teach in

AHHH! a professor! ok. nevermind. i completely understand why you don’t understand. 😉

Activation is a real pain if you want to install illegally on 6 computers when you bought only one license.

or if you want to install it when the servers are down (or gone, someday?) or if you get an "activation stopped working" error in the field and there’s no way to get it working again. or any number of other scenarios.

Really the product works just fine if you have a proper computer with legal software that you didn’t hack/steal to run it with.

again, what’s with the accusations? dude, you need to get out of the classroom and get some air. take it easy man.

. It doesn’t bother me.

good for you. then why are you responding?

It shouldn’t bother most people who do what they are supposed to under the license agreement.

do you speak for "most" people? i don’t think so, and again, you insinuate if you don’t like activation – "calling home" you must be doing something that’s against the EULA.

Suck it up, Dave.

my post was not an attack on you rich, though you seem to have taken it that way. (or i’ve vastly misinterpreted your rapier wit and deft skill with sarcasm! very possible! :)) my post was an attack on a stupid (IMO) corporate policy.

i’ve got nothing to suck up. do you?

When someone types that much, hardly anyone bothers to read it.

no. i disagree. dissenting opinions on something both parties care about are valuable, and respectful discussion leads to better solutions. keep it coming.

OK, I just thought the same thing might have been less wordy. <shrug>

Except for the people for whom it doesn’t work. People have been stranded on photo shoots with laptops that decided not to run Photoshop for some reason.

exactly my point, also, exactly like the original poster in this thread. he didn’t start it as an exercise in theoretical intellectual property law, he started it because his "activation went balls up".

is he a thief? i doubt it. doesn’t sound like it… so here is an actual example of activation harming an actual paying customer.

OK, I just thought the same thing might have been less wordy. <shrug>

yesh. 🙂