| IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4279] |
Wed, 17 May 1995 00:00  |
kletzing
Messages: 5
Registered: September 1994
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Junior Member |
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I just got an e-mail from IDL on Monday which tells me that
IDL v. 4.0 for Windows will now require the use of a hardware
dongle which hangs off the printer port. No mention was made
of this when they solicited the renewal of my maintanance
contract. I run IDL on 486 notebook and am annoyed that I will
now have to lug an extra piece of hardware around so that I can
use IDL. Not to mention that as a travel a fair bit, this
increases the odds that I could lose this thing and then have
only demo-mode IDL to use. What do others think about this?
I realize that RSI is trying to protect its product, but surely
there must be a better way.
Craig Kletzing
craig.kletzing@unh.edu
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| Re: IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4303 is a reply to message #4279] |
Tue, 23 May 1995 00:00  |
thompson
Messages: 584
Registered: August 1991
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Senior Member |
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zawodny@arbd0.larc.nasa.gov (Joseph M Zawodny) writes:
> I am not too pleased with this either. What happens if I have a
> printer printer plugged into the parallel port already and the PC sits
> inaccessibly underneath my desk. Do I have to Run IDL, Unplug HASP,
> Plug in printer, Print plot, Unplug printer, Plug in HASP, Run IDL
> some more,... If so this may push us over the edge. All of this
> paranoid software security seems so unneccesary.
If it's like other dongles I've seen in the past, it sits between the computer
and the printer. You plug it into the computer, and the printer into it. As I
recall, it looked a lot like the sex changes we used to have to use with RS232
connections. It's been years since I last saw one, so my memory may be a
little hazy.
> There may be a better way. Lower the price of the initial software so
> that the primary source of corporate income shifts from initial
> purchases to a larger base (which arises from the lower initial price)
> of software maintanence fees and require that all new versions (except
> for major bug fixes) require a new license. This seems to work for
> the bulk of PC software companies - they make the majority of their
> bucks from upgrade fees.
Hear, hear!
Bill Thompson
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| Re: IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4319 is a reply to message #4279] |
Mon, 22 May 1995 00:00 |
zawodny
Messages: 121
Registered: August 1992
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Senior Member |
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In article <3pcq33$s77@mozz.unh.edu> kletzing@unhedi2.unh.edu writes:
>
> I just got an e-mail from IDL on Monday which tells me that
> IDL v. 4.0 for Windows will now require the use of a hardware
> dongle which hangs off the printer port. No mention was made
> of this when they solicited the renewal of my maintanance
> contract. I run IDL on 486 notebook and am annoyed that I will
> now have to lug an extra piece of hardware around so that I can
> use IDL. Not to mention that as a travel a fair bit, this
> increases the odds that I could lose this thing and then have
> only demo-mode IDL to use. What do others think about this?
> I realize that RSI is trying to protect its product, but surely
> there must be a better way.
>
> Craig Kletzing
> craig.kletzing@unh.edu
I am not too pleased with this either. What happens if I have a
printer printer plugged into the parallel port already and the PC sits
inaccessibly underneath my desk. Do I have to Run IDL, Unplug HASP,
Plug in printer, Print plot, Unplug printer, Plug in HASP, Run IDL
some more,... If so this may push us over the edge. All of this
paranoid software security seems so unneccesary.
There may be a better way. Lower the price of the initial software so
that the primary source of corporate income shifts from initial
purchases to a larger base (which arises from the lower initial price)
of software maintanence fees and require that all new versions (except
for major bug fixes) require a new license. This seems to work for
the bulk of PC software companies - they make the majority of their
bucks from upgrade fees.
--
Joseph M. Zawodny (KO4LW) NASA Langley Research Center
Internet: j.m.zawodny@larc.nasa.gov MS-475, Hampton VA, 23681-0001
TCP/IP: ko4lw@ko4lw.ampr.org Packet: ko4lw@n4hog.va.usa.na
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| Re: IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4328 is a reply to message #4279] |
Sun, 21 May 1995 00:00 |
Mark Hadfield
Messages: 783
Registered: May 1995
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Senior Member |
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thompson@orpheus.nascom.nasa.gov (William Thompson) wrote:
> kletzing@unhedi2.unh.edu (Craig Kletzing) writes:
>
>> I just got an e-mail from IDL on Monday which tells me that
>> IDL v. 4.0 for Windows will now require the use of a hardware
>> dongle which hangs off the printer port.
>
> I've not heard of this, but we've had experience with programs that use
> this approach in the past. It was never satisfactory, and the upshot is
> that, if at all possible, people end up looking for other programs to fit > their needs.
A minor point of information: the dongle was first required on IDL 3.6.1
for Windows, which shipped last September, as I recall. (At least it was on
my copy.)
I, too, don't like dongles. I recall a Usenet posting last year complaining
that IDL couldn't find the dongle when Windows for Workgroups
networking was active. However I have been pleasantly surprised to find that
the same combination has given me no problems.
============================================================ ==
Mark Hadfield hadfield@storm.greta.cri.nz
NIWA (Taihoro Nukurangi) NIWA.GRETA:HADFIELD
Wellington, New Zealand
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| Re: IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4335 is a reply to message #4279] |
Sat, 20 May 1995 00:00 |
gurman
Messages: 82
Registered: August 1992
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Member |
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In article <3pirg8$667@hammer.msfc.nasa.gov>, mallozzi@ssl.msfc.nasa.gov wrote:
>> I just got an e-mail from IDL on Monday which tells me that
>> IDL v. 4.0 for Windows will now require the use of a hardware
>> dongle which hangs off the printer port. No mention was made
>> of this when they solicited the renewal of my maintanance
>> contract. I run IDL on 486 notebook and am annoyed that I will...
>
> Future IDL session:
>
> $ IDL
> IDL> Please deposit blood sample for DNA testing to initiate IDL session.
Does anyone know if this policy extends to the Mac as well? IDL betas
of versions 3 and 4 have required this (actually, the dongle hangs on the
Apple Desktop Bus, to which the keyboard[s] and pointing device[s] are
connected, and so is somewhat less burdensome/likely to be lost when a
printer or machine is changed out), but not the production versions of IDL
3.m.n.
The only Mac market I know of that relies heavily on dongles in MIDI,
and the folks in those Usene groups seem fairly solidly against the
practice, also because of the hassles with laptops.
In a way, this raises the whole issue of IDL license management, since
more and more machines are supposed to go wireless in the next few years.
This will make it less and less likely that a fixed IP address will work
as a security "collateral." I realize that RSI doesn't like to enter this
newsgroup (just lurk), but has anyone there thought about this issue?
I ask because we're seriously thinking about getting a PowerPC
PowerBook when they're released (purportedly) late this summer, and IDL
would be part of the reason for getting such a machine. The higher-end
models will come standard with a wireless network interface, which is
cretainly a lot more convenient when moving from place to place than an
AAUI-to-<your flavor of Ethernet here> trannsceiver plus patch cord plus
IDL dongle. (Even HP printers are supposed to be produced with wireless
interfaces in the near future, so this is not just Apple's idea of the
future of networking.)
Inquiring IDL addicts want to know....
Joe Gurman
--
Joseph B. Gurman / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/ Solar Data Analysis Center / Code 682 / Greenbelt MD 20771 USA / gurman@uvsp.gsfc.nasa.gov
| Federal employees are still prohibited from holding opinions while at work. Any opinions expressed herein must therefore be someone else's. |
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| Re: IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4338 is a reply to message #4279] |
Fri, 19 May 1995 00:00 |
wart
Messages: 8
Registered: March 1995
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Junior Member |
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> In article <3pirg8$667@hammer.msfc.nasa.gov>,
> <mallozzi@ssl.msfc.nasa.gov> wrote:
>
> [ hardware dongle required ]
>>
>> Future IDL session:
>> $ IDL
>> IDL> Please deposit blood sample for DNA testing to initiate IDL session.
PROCEDURE donate_blood
DEVICE, filename='/dev/needle'
sample = draw_blood(liters=1)
IF (n_elements(sample) ne 1) THEN BEGIN
print, 'Bad sample volume.'
device, _extra=0
ENDIF
sample = draw_blood(liters=1)
IF (analyze_blood(sample, /verify_user) ne 1) THEN BEGIN
print, 'BWAHAHAAHAHA!'
device, _extra=0
ENDIF
sample = draw_blood(liters=1)
END
Usage:
$ idl
% Please insert blood sample to continue.
IDL> donate_blood
% Can not find device /dev/nurse.
$
So, not only will you have to donate blood, but it will be buggy as
well.
--Wart
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| Re: IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4340 is a reply to message #4279] |
Fri, 19 May 1995 00:00 |
rep2857
Messages: 28
Registered: December 1994
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Junior Member |
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In article <3pirg8$667@hammer.msfc.nasa.gov>,
<mallozzi@ssl.msfc.nasa.gov> wrote:
[ hardware dongle required ]
>
> Future IDL session:
> $ IDL
> IDL> Please deposit blood sample for DNA testing to initiate IDL session.
Do you suppose it would accept other "samples"? I have one I'd like to
submit if that policy is true for Macs, as well. I suspect it is since
the beta testing required it. Perhaps something a little less
obtrusive could be used instead of a dongle, say a flashing red warning
beacon? I'd be embarrassed to show something to a customer/client that
required the use of these.
RSI - these things are annoying. I've had the damn thing pull off the
keyboard while moving the phone, keyboard, coffee cup, etc. At home, I
can't close the keyboard drawer on my desk and have my keyboard at an
angle to keep it from being twisted off. I suspect it has sustained a
bit of physical damage due to crimping. I have about a 75% chance of
recovering the use of the system when it comes off. Usually, the
minimum effect is having to restart the 3-button mouse software I use
with MachTen. Please consider a real license manager for these problems
rather than the hardware approach. Of course the license managers are
not without their faults. It took us longer to install the license
manager than the software.
Mike Schienle Hughes Santa Barbara Research Center
Home: mgs@visdata.com Coromar Drive, M/S B28/87
Work: rep2857@sbsun0010.sbrc.hac.com Goleta, CA 93117
Contract Employee. Will visualize data for large amounts of money.
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| Re: IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4400 is a reply to message #4279] |
Tue, 23 May 1995 00:00 |
heard
Messages: 5
Registered: May 1995
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Junior Member |
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In Article <3po7rp$m8l@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>, kspencer@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Kevin
Spencer) wrote:
> I regret RSI's decision to require dongles with IDL for Windows.
> But, at least we have an alternative. If VNI doesn't take this
> route, they may lock up the market for IDL/PV-Wave on PCs.
>
I agree. We had one piece of software that required a dongle, when we
finally did lose it we didn't replace it, we just bought another piece of
software that didn't use them. Unfortunately for us, replacing IDL wouldn't
be so easy to do. Wave just doesn't seem to have the same capabilities that
IDL has. Mathematica and Maple are great for symbolic math, but forget data
analysis. MatLab is good, but better for theoreticians than analysts.
You can certainly understand RSI's wanting to protect their investment, but
there must be a way around using these dongles. I personally might not be
affected by this since I use a Mac and an SGI, but the mere thought of
having to plug in one of these things, particularly on a portable, was
horrifying enough to make me want to reply.
------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------
Any opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily those of my employer.
Garry J. Heard
heard@edrd.dnd.ca
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| Re: IDL 4.0 & HASP [message #4428 is a reply to message #4279] |
Wed, 31 May 1995 00:00 |
fskmjm
Messages: 25
Registered: November 1993
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Junior Member |
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In article <3q3rcpINNa9v@myall.awadi.com.au> lmudge@awadi.com.au (Leith Mudge) writes:
> In article e36@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu, patterso@astrosun.tn.cornell.edu (Tim Patterson) writes:
>> Andy Jones (jones@terra.cira.colostate.edu) wrote:
>> : It's true. We just got our upgrade to 4.0 in the mail this week.
>> : Hardware dongle included.i
>>
>> Hmmm...I think RSI's marketing bods need to do a complete re-think
>> on this idea. It seems the bigger RSI gets, the worse their
>> customer support becomes in areas like this. Can piracy of IDL
>> for Windows really be that bad?
>>
>> Tim
> David Stern (inventer of IDL) claims that in some countries they have only sold
> one copy of IDL for Windows and find it is being used extensively throughout the
> country!!!
> Leith Mudge
This proves that there are lots of people who would very much like to use
IDL, but can't afford it.
This could all be solved if the product was priced more reasonably.
Mike Mathews
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