Re: [now OT] Licensing/Implementing in Cocoa/Obj-C - Interest in product?
Re: [now OT] Licensing/Implementing in Cocoa/Obj-C - Interest in product?
- Subject: Re: [now OT] Licensing/Implementing in Cocoa/Obj-C - Interest in product?
- From: Christoffer Lerno <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 12:18:17 +0800
On Apr 7, 2004, at 15:33, M. Uli Kusterer wrote:
At 1:20 Uhr +0200 07.04.2004, Stefan Pantke wrote:
- All stuff is C/ObjC
This is what has me worried. It'll be really easy to just turn the
relevant check into a NO-OP. No matter how advanced the actual license
checking is, as long as this is an option, crackers won't be hindered
much. Moreover, this is Objective C we're talking about. With all the
dynamic runtime dispatch stuff it has, and its introspection
abilities, I gather it'd be ridiculously easy to locate the actual
version-checking code.
So, if I'd do this at all, I'd probably settle for a proprietary
solution, not open source (even if it's BSD), because in this case,
security through obscurity at least means that the crackers will have
to crack applications one-by-one. If there is a standardized library,
they'd just have to crack that one library, and from then on every
ijit could crack other apps using it.
As long as my hand-grown code is good enough to thwart casual piracy,
it really doesn't matter if the passwords are generated using an
encryption that isn't state-of-the-art. If they want to crack my app,
they'll find a way. IMHO it's not worth the hassle trying to
discourage use by people who wouldn't have bought my app anyway,
especially since it may be an annoyance to those users who *have*
actually paid.
If I may jump into the discussion at this point...
I agree with the above... There is yet to be produced a product that
"can't be cracked". As for serials, it is trivial to get hold of
serials to most products produced for the mac. A simple activation code
is pretty much as useful as a more complex ones, unless you keep
releasing new versions of your products to invalidate compromised
codes.
If one really wants to stop piracy, I think the way to go is to ADD
VALUE when you register, instead of releasing a product where you have
removed value, and then ask for payment to deliver the full-value
product.
Adding value for registered products could be as simple as providing
support and help only for registered products. Sending manuals and
freebies to people registering are examples.
And as for current shareware schemes... In my view, many ways of
crippling shareware is actually encouraging cracking/using serials:
* Time limited shareware.
I want to try out product A, and maybe compare it with product B. But
if I use product A, and then find product B more useful and buy product
B instead, product A's time limited functionality might make it
impossible to retrieve the information I initially stored in it. This
makes me more wary of trying out product A, and it makes it more
attractive to look for a crack/serial for A.
* Feature-crippled shareware
This basically says: "Here, we have a product that is really good, but
if you want to see what that product is, you have to pay us money. Here
is a sampler to show the not-so-interesting stuff we think is ok to
give away for free."
But since you want to know if the non-free stuff is worth paying for,
you get a crack/serial to enable those functions.
The above methods are very popular but aren't really encouraging sales.
Personally, I like the "x free uses" shareware more, you know where you
play the game or start the app a limited number of times. That way,
running out of "free uses" is a really good signal to yourself that you
are using the app enough for it to be worth paying for.
I don't think it's possible to make piracy go away by "forcing people
to pay for things" through different anti-piracy schemes. I mean, it's
been over 20 years of selling games, and piracy is stronger than ever.
In fact, I only know ONE really good way of reducing piracy: Make it
more valuable for the customers to buy your product than to copy it.
In the "good old days" when you got a manual with your software
(remember those days?), getting a manual with your software was a
really good incentive for buying the product. The "good old days" also
had software that was considerably much cheaper than that of today. Of
course, the products today are more elaborate and has more work put
down into them, but it doesn't invalidate the fact that the price was
better back then.
Basically the prices have escalated, and with them the levels of
piracy. And then prices keep rising because people see profits going
down because of the piracy and want to compensate by raising prices.
All of this just creates a vicious circle only ending up making the
customers who actually BUYS the products, pay for everything.
And even better, producers then STRIP value additions, like manuals,
from their software to increase profit margins - not understanding that
this is indirectly making piracy even more attractive, buy giving less
to those who pay for what they do.
Oh well I guess that's they way it's supposed to be these days...
/Christoffer
_______________________________________________
cocoa-dev mailing list | email@hidden
Help/Unsubscribe/Archives:
http://www.lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/cocoa-dev
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.