In article <B7pYh.7042$13.6334@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
Clever Monkey <spamtrap@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Reinder Verlinde wrote:
> > In article <1177661623.539860.216780@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> > xkp <veidt1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi,
> >> i would like to know what is the most popular way in the Mac world to
> >> protect/licensing a commercial software
> >
> > I know this is not what you want to hear, but IMO the popular way to
> > protect software is to provide a good product with good sup****t and to
> > trust your customers.
> >
> > Require me to enter my name and a lengthy serial number at
installation
> > time is about as far as I would want to go. I should still be able to
> > copy that executable to a new machine without having to go through
that
> > process.
> >
> While I might agree in principle, there is little evidence to suggest
> that /other/ people feel, or act, the same way.
I do not deny that there is a difference between what I feel and what I
do (I may well use a program that has more stringent copy protection,
but I won't like it), but the OP asked about popular copy protection
mechanisms.
> A non-intrusive licensing model is often the only way to actually,
> you know, get paid for your work without pissing off the majority of
> your users.
That may be, but I have the impression that many companies do not
realise the cost of copy protection. If I can't run your software
because of a copy protection issue, I want that fixed within minutes =>
you need a 24h help desk that handles such issues. That costs real
money. Adding copy protection may increase revenue, but does it increase
profits, too?
I think it often would be better, from a profits standpoint, to do
positive reinforcement. Invite your paying customers for special events
(most of them won't come, but feel happy about being given the
op****tunity), offer them reductions on upgrades, send them some new
templates a few times a year, send them a 'happy birthday' card via
regular mail etc.
If your product is too cheap for that, adding copy protection might be
too costly, anyways (or, maybe, you should start selling it as music via
iTunes :-))
If the OP asked about mechanisms popular by software publishers, my
reply would be 'why would you care what is popular? You should select a
mechanism that suits your needs.
> For an alternative perspective (and one that might give the OP some
> ideas), see here:
> <http://www.ambrosiasw.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=34059>
I may be overlooking things, but I do not even see them answering the
question "did adding copy protection increase revenue?"
Reinder
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