Missing ilok key

[brinaddison]

....car insurance analogy is not the same, the manufacturer still needs to produce a new car at high cost as a replacement. With software, it's just a license. There is not even paper involved. The plaintiff still needs to purchase a new iLok at $40 but the authorization is not tangible, it's code that has been paid for already. The Vendor doesn't need to produce another version, just say OK download it again. If they think they deserve payment a second time for this, it's unethical!
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Cliffy_Boy, If you took the time to read all the information you'd see that some people disagree with the iLok insurance option. It's not up to our insurance to cover legitimacy. Maybe that's why we have the current iLok issues. The "fat cats" are getting fatter with every mistake we make.

Also maybe Canada is a little different to the USA? I don't know for sure, I've never even looked into insuring my iLok, and I don't think I should have to either. All thr regestrations are in the hands of the software vendors and PACE has all the current licenses on the ilok.com website in our individual accounts. What can't they just cross-reference this information and replace the authorizations?

It's only fair.

[Cliffy_Boy]

What can't they just cross-reference this information and replace the authorizations?

because iLok cannot as of now remove authorisations from stolen iLoks.

I didn't read all the posts because this thread is rhetorical. I did post my suggestions as to a solution earlier in an iLok post. Keep in mind that if you bought software that did not require an authorisation and you had a fire that burned your computer and the CD where you had the software, you would be in the same sad boat with no software. That is why you insure your software. The same is true if someone went into your studio and stole the computer and your hard copies of the software. You would have nothing but insurance to save you.

Bottom line - we buy insurance because it is not up to the vendors of anything to protect your assets. It is up to you. And if disaster strikes, you'll be glad you were insured.

[Chris Shaeffer]

Who insures iLoks and software?

Anyone actually HAVE insurance on their plugs and/or iLok?

-Chris

[tele_player]

Cliffy, there's a difference between hardware assets and software assets, and software vendors know it. Anyway, the real asset you buy when you buy software is intangible, it's the RIGHT to legitimately use the software. It's not the software itself, or the authorizations on the iLok, or disk authorizations. The authorizations represent the license, but they are not the license. If your hard disk goes down fails completely, do you lose the authorizations it holds? No, not even with Waves.

Think of the purpose of the iLok. It's sole purpose is to ensure the software vendors don't get ripped off. In exchange for this copy protection, legitimate users put up with varying degrees of inconvenience, but it's not technically necessary for users to accept the risk of a big loss if the iLok is lost or stolen. A properly designed system would satisfy the needs for the SW vendors, and minimize inconvenience and risk to legit users.

[CHRIS AIKEN]

Software is like a book.. if the book is stolen the publisher won't replace the book for free... even if it's stolen by someone who's illiterate or can't read the language the book is written in.

Rail

Sorry there's no way it's the book,the plugins are the book.The ilok is like a lock you would put on the book to keep others from reading it.
As you know having that lock misplaced or taken would not make the book unreadable.
If you can explain this another way go for it.

Chris

[JCBigler]

If you can explain this another way go for it.

Here, I'll try explaining it another way:

if you lose your iLok, or it gets stolen, then you have to buy your plug-ins again. The developers get paid twice by the same person to use the same piece of software. That means the developers get more money.

As with most things in this world, that's what it all boils down to; who can get the biggest pile of dollars by the end?

[brinaddison]

Ok everybody, we've beaten this one to death. So what's the consensus?

-Is the Idea of a new and improved iLok (self powered) with time expiration the way to go?

-Can anyone come up with a scenario where the Super-iLok would not work for everyone? (I've thrown out one and that was in the case of remote recording when no internet was present for a long period of time. However the workaround is to re-synch when you go to the village to get food. Find a computer!! or make sure you're up to date when you leave town)

To summarize:

The Super-iLok would be:
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-Portable (like the current iLok)
-Non transferable due to it's expiration time and obligatory re-synch. (sorry your buddy would only get 1 month max. out of it)
-Not reliant on the computer's clock (to avoid HD tampering/fraud)
-Re-synch-able from any online computer.
-Secure for both User and Developer.
-Replaceable when lost or stolen by logging onto your account and synching up your new Super-iLok. Your old ilok would at that point expire at the end of countdown. Only one iLok per account can function at a time. (idea: After 3 times your iLok account gets "flagged" and on the 4th time, it would be like losing your regular iLok once!) That way it curbs abuse of the system.
-The Super-iLok would give fair warning of reached countdown expiration....a few days before scheduled expiration the user would get repeated warnings when launching PT.
-Super-iLok would not abandon the user mid session, After quitting PT(or other DAW), the plugins would return to Demo mode for a short period of time until the User could find a moment to re-synch online.
-Re-synch would only be a couple of clicks. Logon to your iLok.com account and hit the Update button. Et Voila, Done!
-It would be easy to upgrade from the regular iLok to the Super-iLok by inserting both into the computer to transfer licenses from one to the other. At the same time the old one would be canceled.
-It would be backwards compatible, meaning anyone who still had a regular iLok and wanted to keep it regular, could! The point is there would be "choice" for anyone willing to pay $100 for the Super or $40 for the regular.

The only difference is that if the Regular iLok is lost or stolen.......... The "User" is outta luck. If the Super is lost or stolen, The "User" simply purchases a new Super-iLok for $100 and re-synchs it, possibly saving thousands of $$$ for plugin authorizations lost.

Anything else?

[Mt.Everest]

Who insures iLoks and software?

Anyone actually HAVE insurance on their plugs and/or iLok?

-Chris

Anyone? This is what Id love to know. This would all be easily solved if there was an insurance company that would cover an ilok. Id gladly pay a hefty sum for this, vs. paying $5000+ to replace my plugins if my iLok gets stolen.

So again, is ANYONE out there using insurance to truly cover their iLok?
MT

[Cliffy_Boy]

I'm insured with Chubb and the basic insurance covers my iLok as it is deemed to be indistinguishable from the software that it authorises.

I think Chubb is in the US too.

[brinaddison]

And while you're filing your stolen property report and waiting for the insurance company to pay for the claim and replace the software that you already own and have to purchase yet again from the stone-cold-we-want-to-be-paid-a-second-time-for-this-software companies, I'll be re-synching my Super-iLok, and in a matter of mouse clicks I'll be up and running again.

For you it might be weeks! Sorry.

This is the vision of what the super-iLok could do for us. Think about it. Like I said before I think insurance for the iLok is unethical 'cause those companies do not deserve to be paid a second time for software that is registered, installed and licensed to you already. They do not have to produce anything of value to replace the stolen or lost iLok. I'd pay for a new Super-iLok in a heartbeat (hardware) if I knew that the software I own would function again without hassle. All the vendor needs to do is ok the new license in a secure way. What's hard to grasp about that?

All this talk about the hassle of re-synching once a month for a minute or two is nothing compared to the hassle of replacing a lost or stolen, even insured iLok. It's not rocket science, it's common sense!

This is what this discussion is all about!