[QLab] iLok Key

[Christopher Ashworth]

On Oct 30, 2007, at 1:30 PM, Jim Carroll wrote:
>
> Question for Chris - is piracy an issue for you?


This is the point where a normal company would probably be tight- 
lipped.  For better or worse, Figure 53 is not a normal company.

Here's my take on this:

Yes, I am aware of some abuse of the current system.  Yes, I have seen  
server logs that show people Googling for "QLab serial crack".  Yes, I  
have received emails from people actually describing to me the  
specific ways they get around even buying a single license, while  
getting (most) of the features that a license provides.

Does that mean piracy is an issue for me?  At this time, my answer is  
no.  Do I worry about it sometimes?  Sure.  But look, here's my bottom  
line:

I have no interest in treating customers like criminals.

As indie developer Daniel Jalkut ( http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/ )  
recently put it:

   "Things I know sell software:

   - Better software (features, aesthetics, usability, reliability).
   - Word of mouth/buzz/publicity/press.
   - Good customer service.

   There's so much work laid out for me right there, why
   bother working in an area (piracy control) that I'm
   not sure about?  Yet many developers seem to make
   piracy-control their number one priority. It's because
   they're too fixated on the concept of a lost dollar.
   But a lost dollar from a pirate who uses your software
   is no more real than a lost dollar from a potential
   customer who hates that you never work on updates that
   matter to them, or who notices that your app requires
   activation, or who gets the impression from your sales
   rhetoric that you hate users."

Does that mean the current system will never change?  Nah.  It will be  
adjusted as circumstances dictate.  Figure 53's employees have to eat,  
after all.  But it is my sincere desire and current plan to stay  
focused on making better software, not making better constraints on my  
paying customers.

Hope that helps clarify my intent.

Best,
Christopher