The Anchorage, Part 3

[Satira Capriccio]

This was announced as a bridge release, which I believe means the primary change to Poser itself was to change what server Poser checked for whether the license is valid. Other than that, I believe the content included with Poser (both in the PoserSupport exe and the Content zips) was probably the main focus. I think there were some minor fixes too, but finding that information is rather like looking through a haystack for a needle.

Removing the "phone home" functionality could well be a major code change, so it was probably the right call to keep the "phone home" requirement at this time. The Poser development team was completely changed (how many times?) between the functionality being added and Bondware acquiring Poser. While I believe Bondware was able to bring back some of the old Poser team, that doesn't mean those who actually worked on that code are on the Bondware developer team now.

If the current dev team didn't know exactly how that functionality was embedded in the code, or knew how to remove it cleanly, they'd need time to be able to pick the code apart. Since Bondware had a very short amount of time to prevent all copies of Game Dev and Poser 11 from being shut down once Smith Micro shut down their end, I'd rather they take their time in picking apart the code to remove that functionality.

Just about my least favorite thing to do is to pick apart code written by someone else. Which is what I have planned for next week. So much fun!
Especially, when there are no comments in the code, and it's doubtful the code could be more complex or more confusing.

 

[Mythocentric]

So basically we've just had a name of ownership change on SM's backdoor licensing, the only other difference is that we are now being told that we have to be online to renew our lease rather than SM's reactivate the software? All speculation aside that sounds like a retrogressive step. Shades of SM's aborted attempt to make it subscription-only! In that case Rendo should be pestering the hell out of SM to identify the person or persons who wrote the code. Surely they should have some idea no matter how many personnel changes they've had in programming. What they should NOT be doing is making an announcement on a forum, official or not, about putting in a ticket to have your serial number 'made permanent'! which at best will reach only a comparatively small number of the affected people. The number of complaints being made about the matter on the forum proves that! Fact: Poser has been stabbed in the back so many times its been in danger of going under for quite a while and the last thing it needs is another largely self-inflicted stab wound. Nor is it useful to speculate about Poser 12 while ignoring the serious problem Poser 11 still faces. Yes! For all those people who have paid out their money for the upgrade to P11 Pro only to discover that they are in danger of being locked out of the program they have paid for it is a very serious problem. Remember that those are the very same people you are hoping will still be around to buy Poser 12. Do you honestly think that going to happen unless this latest little episode is dealt with very rapidly? More likely that P12 will never see the light of day given the knocks the prospective customers are being asked to absorb with the current version. Poser users have longer memories than that as they have proved time after time. For myself, I've stepped back from the enthusiasm of the last few weeks to a default position of 'I'll believe it when it happens!', because despite any amount of super-content Rendo offer (and yes there are some excellent products in those content packages) it counts for nothing when the program they are intended for is flawed by a detail which should have, but hasn't been given priority! I really do hope that Rendo put this little debacle behind them as quickly as possible and to everyone's satisfaction because patience, however much you'd like it to be, is not infinate!

 

[Terre]

I know several people who will be waiting to see what happens next. Hopefully this gets solved rapidly.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

Since I always keep my computers online, this isn't an issue I've run into. So, I'm not sure I understand the problem. Is it that those who haven't downloaded and installed the Poser 11.2 update are now no longer able to use Poser 11 / Poser 11 Pro? Or are people who have downloaded and installed the Poser 11.2 update now experiencing their Poser license being deactivated?

I installed the Sept 19th update and haven't had any problems. Of course, it's only been nine days since I updated, and I've no idea how often Poser needs to check in with the licensing server, sooo ... I could have just jinxed myself.

 

[Mythocentric]

It's great that you are able stay online permanently Satira. Unfortunately, many people aren't because we can't afford the fees we get charged over here to enable us to do so and therein lies the problem. OK! It may sound like a minor problem because all I have to do when the nasty little notification pops up is go online, start Poser again and everything is hunky-dory and I can go offline again...until the next time! Unless of course it means Renderosity are going to actually cut off Poser once some arbitrary deadline is passed. That's the problem! When SM decided to go subscription-only they introduced that feature in a very underhanded way. To add to that insult, when they were forced to change their minds they did not remove it and as a result, it has become one of the most quoted irritants and detested features of Poser. Fast forward to Renderosity and their buy-out. Like many people, I for one was delighted and was happy to pay for the upgrade to Poser 11 Pro. Fast forward again and we are offered a bridging update to PP 11.2 and amongst the reasons for that update was for Renderosity to make changes to their Poser licensing system. That was manna to the ears of many beleaguered Poser users because the perception was that it meant an end to that dispised 'phone-home' system which has been the source of so much grief. The reality is that SM's nasty little backdoor 'phone-home' is now Bondwares nasty little backdoor phone-home'! Add to that the fact that response so far on the Official (or otherwise) forum from Renderosity is practically non-existant. Indeed I've spent the previous couple of hours trying to find Jenn Blakes post about putting in a ticket to make your serial number permanent with absolutely no joy at all so I would ask that if anyone has a link to that statement please provide one because as far as the Official forum goes she is noticeable only by her absence! There's a lot of speculation, yes. There's a lot of contradictory advice, yes. What there isn't is guidance from anyone actually in authority to explain what is actually going on. That's where the perception comes in. As I've already pointed out, Poser has taken one heck of a battering over the years and to my mind, it's users, on the whole, have shown a great deal of patience. Yes, it's great that Rendo have stepped up to the plate, but bear in mind that the program came with its own problems which Rendo also are now responsible for dealing with. So when they tell us that they have sorted out the licencing system which just as quickly transpires into 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss' that's not SM's problem it's Renderosity's and it's one that needs dealing with now. Neither is it useful to speculate that everything will be sorted out with Poser 12 because it doesn't exist and if it ever does turn up how many people do you honestly think are going to take the chance and invest in it given the continuing and contentious issues we are having with Poser 11?

 

[Terre]

@Satira Capriccio , many people in the UK have usage charges based on the time they are using the service. You remember making long distance calls with a landline phone. Well, many people over there get that kind of charge just for being online.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

I get you! I have a heck of a time finding information on the Renderosity forums. Mostly because I visit them soooo rarely.

Honestly, I don't recall if Jenn has said anything about removing the Licensing check. I seem to recall that is the intention, but again ... I'm ancient and my memory sometimes remembers things differently than what was actually said.

Twentyfiveish years ago, I lived on Nantucket Island for over nine months, back when FIOS didn't exist and it was all dial-up. Needless to say, it was a long distance charge to get online, so I limited myself to about 10 minutes a day. Long enough to retrieve emails and to send emails I'd written while offline.

It makes no sense that in this day and age, internet providers still nickle and dime their customers. So much is dependent now on internet access, that it's a disadvantage to those who have to limit their time online. But I guess while governments and companies claim their goal is to provide internet access to all, what they aren't admitting is that they will charge their customers an arm and a leg for that access

 

[Terre]

Sadly, yes. I do have some friends over in the UK who now have the same kind of access you and I do but that hasn't spread all over yet. I think in some cases it's a higher level of access with a higher monthly fee.

 

[Mythocentric]

You got that right Satira! At the moment we no longer have a landline phone for very simple economic reasons. I could actually install tv, phone and internet for a basic fee of about £25 per month from a number of companies which is about £3 less than I pay for mobile wifi. However when you add British Telecoms, who have a practical monopoly over all fixed telephonic equipment in the UK, line rental of £19.99 per month plus their installation fee (which for some reason becomes a line suitability check for the same price if you already have a line installed) it soon becomes a very expensive proposition. Bear in mind that you have to pay whether you use it or not! It's the same reason why there are very few public phone boxes (which British Telecom also own) in the UK anymore where the last time I checked a call cost 50 pence for the first minute plus 20 pence for each additional minute. When you compare that with the £10 every three months my cellphone costs me you can see the option most people will go for. As Terre said, you can have 24/7 access if you are willing to pay the price. Sadly, it's not a price the majority can afford to pay unless they are in a business which demands it!

 

[Satira Capriccio]

To be able to work from home two days a week, I'm required to have high speed internet. Verizon FIOS (100/100) is $90 a month if bundled. On the plus side, that allows me to be online 24/7, without incurring any additional fees. Downside is that I'm also charged an additional $40 for digital voice, which I never use. Plus side is that I get a $30 discount for the bundle, which almost wipes out the digital voice fee.

Of course, then there are the taxes, surcharges, and fees, which wipe out that $30 discount. So, I guess I'm still paying $40 a month for digital voice.

Now, if Verizon would just bundle my cell phone service with my internet service and skip the digital voice service, I'd be a happy camper. I'd be happier still if we weren't charged all those taxes, surcharges, and fees.

 

[Miss B]

I know, those fees make me sick every month, but what can you do? Not much, unfortunately.

 

[Mythocentric]

Well! There is one way Miss B. Do what a large number of people have done in the UK and tell them to stuff it! There are a fair number of companies in the UK who offer far cheaper alternatives to British Telecom who in the past held a complete monopoly on telecommunications. The downside is that when concerns like them were privatised, some shifty backdoor dealings in high places meant that BT kept control of the physical equipment which means that competitors are forced to rent line access from them unless they are willing to spend a few millions of £ installing their own systems. As you can imagine that's unrealistic for any start-up company. A similar situation exists with our rail network where train operating companies run services while paying rental fees for usage to Railtrack/Network Rail (the name has changed a number of times!) who actually own all the physical equipment those trains run on. That's why the UK has telecom and rail fares which are amongst the highest in the world. A good example of that is a couple of years back Emma, Lucy and myself travelled from Toronto to Vancouver by rail for a third less than it would for us to travel the roughly 350 miles from home to London. At least, in the US companies are fully private and are forced to respond to some degree to public pressure. Here the usual response, which still very much follows the Victorian era management style still prevalent in the UK, is to raise their charges as they lose customers which happens on a regular basis. All of which is getting somewhat political so at this point I'm going to shut up and go back to being the normal grumpy old codger I usually am!

 

[Miss B]

What you say about British Telecom reminds me of what we had decades ago, and which at the time we "lovingly" referred to as Ma Bell. The government eventually got after them for being a monopoly, and officially broke the company up into 6 (or 7) Baby Bells. Here in this area we wound up with Verizon. Oh joy!

Now-a-days many of the cable companies offer television, telephone service, as well as Internet service packaged together, which is what I eventually wound up with. I keep my cellphone service with a different company, which worked out well several months ago when the cable company had employees on strike, which employees were playing games by shutting down access points to get their points across as to why they were on strike which, of course, shut down the TV, Internet and home Phone services. Luckily, I still had my cellphone service for getting in touch with them to find out what the problem was, as well as checking in with other folks I'm friendly with living in this area.

I think the first time it happened, we were without service for close to 10 yours. The second time it happened, it only lasted a couple/three hours, because then the company knew exactly what the issue was, where it was, and they were able to get it rectified fairly quickly.

 

[DanaTA]

I have FIOS right now. Switched from Comcast/Xfinity when they were going to raise my rates by $30 or more. We have to play games with them to get a lower rate for the same thing we already have. Had to play that game again with Verizon because my three year contract was up. What fun.

Dana

 

[McGyver]

I was cleaning up the some remaining debris from a storm that happened a few weeks ago...
I had a weird feeling I was being watched...
Then I saw a little face poke out from behind some PVC pipes...

I’m trying to figure out if he is a Meowian... either he doesn’t speak Meow, or my ability to speak it has declined over the years... my guess is he is just an ordinary cute little earth cat who is exploring around the neighborhood.
He’s very friendly... I hope he isn’t a stray kitty... but he seems too clean to be.
The white parts of his fur are too clean and his paw pads are too pink... definitely hasn’t been doing much manual labor.

Then again... looking at the picture, he may have been trying to disguise himself by making a branch mustache... that would be something a Meowian kitten might do.

Very confusing.

 

[Terre]

I have a friend elsewhere who is asking if there is Corgi morph for the Poser dog. Is there any such critter for him?

 

[Terre]

Good afternoon. How is everyone doing? Today is going well here. alternating between getting errands run and relaxing.

 

[Janet]

What you say about British Telecom reminds me of what we had decades ago, and which at the time we "lovingly" referred to as Ma Bell. The government eventually got after them for being a monopoly, and officially broke the company up into 6 (or 7) Baby Bells. Here in this area we wound up with Verizon. Oh joy!

I remember Ma Bell! How times have changed!

I remember in 1979 or 80 going to the mall and there was a phone store with all kinds of cool phones! Before then it was a choice of about two, standard and princess.

 

[Terre]

Out here eventually two of the Baby Bells (Southwestern Bell and one other) ended up merging into Mountain Bell and then other things happened and now those properties belong to Century Link.

 

[Terre]

1.72 inches of rain om Tuesday. That is a lot for us and other places in the area got more. *boggle* There was still a bit of water in the streets this morning! That sort of thing happens in an area where the town is in a shallow depression on the caprock. All the water runs down here and has nowhere to go. At least it wasn't enough to cause serious flooding. There were just several streets where stretches of them were only navigable by boat or something with a VERY high clearance and a well sealed engine for some hours.