Owners Community Forum is Down

[rdj357]

Probably could Robert. I do think their licensing queries the hard drive serial number so a replacement drive would require calling to get the license reset.

The number of people who have issues is a tiny fraction of user so there's not a lot of 'putting up with' going on.

[robertspark]

AHH... learn something else (just always / regularly seems to be someone moaning about licencing or more rather forced updates which have to be paid for)

[Joe Jones]

I do not hack software. I haven't hacked software since the mid' 80s, and I only did that as a learning exercise with no intention of redistribution or profit. I have written some simple software way back then. I do not believe cloning would work, and I have not tried it anyway. The license agreement states that I am not allowed to decompile the software, so as much as I would LOVE to do that, if only to add features and functions that PlasmaCam has not added or will not add, I keep the software intact, as it is distributed.

I prefer to allow PlasmaCam to remain professional, and see to it that the legitimate software and nine additional seats I purchased from them continue to function as expected. So far, with little effort, this has been the case. PlasmaCam DOES activate my seats, and they DO acknowledge that I have ten functional seats. They just get nervous when those seats pop up at various IP addresses around the country, as I am doing training sessions

Where a problem MAY arise at some future date, is if/when I decide to sell this Samson 510 table with the Full Monty of software and the nine additional seats to a local high school or some other entity that can use them in a classroom setting, and PlasmaCam tells me that those seats are NOT transferrable retroactively. That would certainly cause a problem, since the license agreement I signed at the time of purchase of that license and those nine additional seats made no mention of any clause about those seats not being transferrable to a new owner of this table, should I sell it at some future date.

Moving forward, if they want to sell an additional seat(s), and they put IN WRITING that the additional seat(s) you buy for your DesignEdge license TODAY are NOT transferrable, I will comply with that stipulation on THOSE seats, since that would be part of the license agreement at the time of purchase. Such a non-transfer clause may affect my decision to BUY any additional seats moving forward. Additional seats add value to a table, but only if those seats can be sold WITH the table.

[Joe Jones]

The number of people who have issues is a tiny fraction of user so there's not a lot of 'putting up with' going on.

We must travel in different circles. I hear from many people who "put up with" the sudden dysfunction of their software until an update or reset occurs. That pesky "Corrupt Setting File" error that is preceded by The Red Bar of Death. Some people believe that I have the ability to reset their software. I really wish I did, just because I answer the phone late at night and on weekends when the PlasmaCam crew is asleep in their beds. Unfortunately, I almost always have to tell them to call the friendly folks at PlasmaCam for resets.

Joe

[djreiswig]

Can the settings file be backed up and the backup file be used to replace the corrupted file?
I would think PlasmaCam would want to figure out what is causing this file to become corrupted for so many people. There must be some sort of bug in their software.
What is the settings file used for? I know Mach 3 has an xml file that contains the settings for my system, but if it gets messed up, I just use my backup file and I'm right back where I started. No need to call anyone.

[Joe Jones]

Cue
The Beach Boys ...

Wouldn't That Be Nice!"

I do not believe DesignEdge settings can be backed up for that purpose. Also I do not believe it can be backed up to a previous RESTORE point either.

[djreiswig]

Well if it says "Corrupt Settings File" that would lead me to believe it's a file. And if it's a file, why can't it be saved somewhere before it gets corrupted and the corrupted file be replaced with the uncorrupted file. Unless, like you say, that isn't really the problem and it's actually an attempt to get you to spend some more dough.

[Joe Jones]

I would try it, but it may mean one of my seats goes down until I kiss the ring of the PlasmaCam gods to get it up and running again. People have reported to me that backing up the settings file does not restore it in the event of a program crash.