The Letterville BullBoard: Broke My Gerber Omega Dongle.And got the program to run ANYWAY! This is topic Broke My Gerber Omega Dongle.And got the program to run ANYWAY! In forum Letterhead/Pinstriper Talk at The Letterville BullBoard. To visit this topic, use this URL: Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on August 22, 2007 10:16 AM: Stupid mistake! Broke my rainbow sentinel dongle! We are running Omega 1.56.until the dongle broke Upgrade to Omega 2.6 requires sending in the dongle and eventually paying $595.00 when billed.

So I sent off the dongle and Omega CD back to the sign supplier.THEN WE FOUND THIS LINK: Link removed cuz these Russians never paid The Mayor to adverise. It seems to be IF YOU HAVE A LEGAL OMEGA PROGRAM you can disable the dongle control and run the program without the dongle. I don't need to spend out the $600 bucks right now. Our Omega is working without the dongle just fine so far. Just a 'heads' up. [ August 27, 2007, 01:29 AM: Message edited by: Steve Shortreed ] Posted by Jon Jantz (Member # 6137) on August 22, 2007 10:38 AM: I'm not flaming or trying to be a killjoy but just a word of caution.

Those sites are great for getting cracks for software, and you can find them for Artcam, Dreamweaver or any other program, BUT: 1. Those sites and cracks are FULL of viruses. (A lot of the hackers that write them think it's fun to throw a little surprise in with it.) 2.

Cracks are still illegal to use, no matter what your situation. They violate the User Agreement that I'm sure you had to agree to when you installed the program. I don't know if I'd announce publicly on a forum that I'm running software illegally. Thanks for the link, maybe I'll hop over and download Omega and try it out.oooops! Posted by Tony McDonald (Member # 1158) on August 22, 2007 11:48 AM: A while back I had heard that it's legal to crack a program 'only' if it's not supported by the maker any more. Might just be one of those myths.

Posted by Bob Rochon (Member # 30) on August 22, 2007 12:09 PM: I broke my dongle a while back and Gereber wanted only 200 bucks for a replacement dongle. Dave, I'm not even sure why you are still using Omega anyway, but if you are using it for designing, then upgrade and take advantage of all the great improvements since 1.56 In my opinion whatever you payed to 'crack' it was a pure waste of money. Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 22, 2007 01:19 PM: quote: Originally posted by Tony McDonald: A while back I had heard that it's legal to crack a program 'only' if it's not supported by the maker any more. Might just be one of those myths. Not a myth Tony.

Possibly a 'grey area' as all laws are, subject to intrepretation and along the lines of 'all the justice you can afford'.but you can read the copyright law & it pretty clearly offers some exceptions to laws against circumventing copyright protection devices in instances where the licensed property has become otherwise inaccessible (my words, not theirs. But I read it & posted about it years ago, so my memory is probably generally correct).I think one grey area is the fact that some unsupported software (like casmate in my case) still works if you want to hang back in the W98 world. But I considered that to be sufficiently 'innaccessible' to justify my intrepretation of the law.

Gerber on the other hand is not fair game in my opinion & although it is expensive software, they are one of the first I know of to become Vista compatible & the money to keep people looking out for our interests justifies most of the expense we all have to bear. Doing what Dave did happens to be the cause for the rest of that expense we all have to bear, or most of us. Not trying to bash you dave, but for a guy who writes (wrote?) for national sign industry mags. I am also surprised you would publically take that stand regarding cracked software just because you broke something & don't want to pay to fix it.

Posted by Bruce Bowers (Member # 892) on August 22, 2007 01:31 PM: The 'myth' really exists. The Digital Millennium Act allows the use of softkeys to circumvent the use of a hardware dongle or hasp ONLY if. A.)The program is orphaned and tech support of any kind is no longer offered.

And B.) There is no dongle or hasp available for replacement. Many companies ran into the problem of software developers and sellers abandoning software programs and leaving their clients up the creek so to speak. Of all the 'major' sign software that was/is being sold, I believe CASmate is the only one that you could legally crack. Anagrapgh's Design program might be another. Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on August 22, 2007 05:15 PM: Let me clarify a point: (Because some of you really need to READ a post instead of skimming through it and jumping to conclusions) I didn't pay to crack the program.

Artist Shop News. Artist Shop Newsletter(The Artist Shop Newsletter comes out every couple of weeks. Or if you're a regular customer and want to use the info from.

We cracked our own program. The site mentioned gave INSTRUCTIONS how to crack the program. We tried it, it worked, end of story. This post is a heads up for others that break, or loose their dongel and then have to pay out the nose for something they already own.

There is another solution. We are switching over to Corel and Adobe. I do, however, still need the.plt files from Composer. When a repeat job comes in we open the file in composer and save as.ai and go from there.

Gerber doesn't support Omega 1.56 anymore. They would like us to be forced to upgrade to version 2.6 IS THAT IN MY AGREEMENT? I DON'T WANT TO UPGRADE.I JUST WANT TO USE MY FILES IN A LEGAL PROGRAM I PAID FOR WHICH IS NO LONGER SUPPORTED. So, I found a way!

End of free advice! Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on August 22, 2007 05:37 PM: Good for you Dave!!! Always hated the idea of those programs that required a dongle. If you buy and pay through the nose for a program that requires a dongle and for some reason it is damaged, I believe you should be able to ship it back to the manufacturer and get a free, or at least 'almost' free, replacement. The damn things do cost money to manufacture, after all, but probably about $2. 'Lost' dongles not being replaced free I can understand. The manufacturer can't verify that someone isn't trying to run multiple copies.

If the program is no longer supported by the manufacturer.crack the code!!! Corel and Adobe will be great for you!!!!! [ August 22, 2007, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ] Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on August 22, 2007 07:10 PM: i think INSPIRE is one of those programs you could use with a crack.and still be legal.

Signmate is another might be falling into that group. Posted by bruce ward (Member # 1289) on August 22, 2007 07:15 PM: I have to agree. Good for you. They should at least cut some slack on a mistake for a damn good customer.IMO. Its not like you were looking to steal a program you just wanted to keep your existing working Posted by Patrick Whatley (Member # 2008) on August 22, 2007 07:28 PM: Makes sense to me.guaranteed lifetime replacements. Next time the tires on my truck wear out I'm calling Goodyear and demanding a replacement. That seven year old hard drive I had crash last summer?

Yep, Western Digital should have been here replacing my data. Since neither of them are willing to do it for free I should just run on to the store and steal one.

Why would it possibly be okay to steal the program? Because the software company isn't out a 'physical' item it's okay? How can that be justified? Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 23, 2007 12:00 AM: quote: Originally posted by Dave Draper: [QB] Let me clarify a point: (Because some of you really need to READ a post instead of skimming through it and jumping to conclusions) ok, I like 'clarifying' too did you mean 'need to READ a post'?or READ some potentially virus infected russian software pirates website?because your post didn't mention how the site linked helped you violate the ELUA you agreed to. Not that it really matters, but READing a post won't tell you what isn't there.

The fact you didn't pay to crack the software is really of no consequence. The newer truck keys with the electronic security in them are about $50 and I'm sure they are turning a pretty high margin, but you should know that going in & treat it like an expensive device. If the illegal route was not considered an option for you, after 2 or 3 days of not running your machine, I'd think $200 or $250 would seem like a fair deal. Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on August 23, 2007 12:18 AM: dont you own a HUMMER H3 with that new tpye of ignition KEY & ONSTAR????? Hummmmm [ August 23, 2007, 12:19 AM: Message edited by: old paint ] Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on August 23, 2007 12:20 AM: As a somewhat unbiased observer, I find it rather curious to see the 'Google Ads' which seemingly 'popped up' that relate to this subject.

Sort of makes one wonder if Google is 'supportive' of the practice of Dongle cracking, or if those are paid ads of sites that you can go to for just such a purpose? Posted by William Holohan (Member # 2514) on August 23, 2007 12:21 PM: The dongle question has always disturbed me. Not the need of the software company to protect it's product. That is thier right and necessity. What bothers me is the practice of some software venders to make it, the dongle, a major profit center. These dongles cost (back in 1999) about $8.00 to produce and program. Now here is my problem with the unbelievable cost of replacing one.

This device is solely for the protection of the software vendor. It adds absolutely no functionality to the software itself. Usually, if the software requires a dongle, it is very expensive to start with. If one should fail or become damaged, I agree that it should be returned to the vendor and replaced at a nominal cost. Most have a chip with no more than a very small amount of memory to protect the parent software. Remember you can buy a flash disc with a gig of rewritable memory for under $20.00. Why should a customer pay hundreds of dollars to protect what he only has a license to use.

Protect it with a dongle, fine. The customer paid for that protection once when he/she bought the original package. Why pay for it a second time at a ferocious mark up. This to me is an unconscionable rip off by the vendor.

They have protected it with a dongle upon purchase. Let me send you the non-functional/damaged dongle, and charge me an 'honest' cost of replacement. My anology to the problem would be an automobile computer board. Would any vehicle manufacturer get away with charging several thousand dollars for a replacement board (dongle) for your vehicle if it went bad??? Just my thoughts on the matter Posted by KARYN BUSH (Member # 1948) on August 23, 2007 12:43 PM: hey dave.i have no problem with it.

You paid for a program.its legal. You broke your key, goober wants to hose you for $600 for a $20 item.or strong arm you to upgrade.so you do what you have to do. You're not pirating their software, you are just finding an alternative way to use a program you paid for.besides it's obsolete so what do they care. Pat.your analogy is a tad skewed.but hey everyone is entitle to their opinion. Personally, i am sooo grateful that i don't need gerber.

Coreldraw and the versacamm kicks their goobery arse anyhoo! Posted by Jon Jantz (Member # 6137) on August 23, 2007 03:13 PM: Dave, I did not mis-read or mis-understand your post. I totally agree with William and Karyn that it is ridiculous what they charge for a new dongle, and I would most likely do what you did.

I wasn't getting on to you for that. I just wouldn't announce it on a public forum that the maker of the software very likely reads. If it's an obsolete program, they probably don't care, but I'm sure they don't want everyone that uses their software to know there's a way they can have it on multiple computers without purchasing licenses.

And the other thing is I was just warning about crack.ru, crack.ms, serials.ws and the host of other crack and serial sites out there. I've used those sites at times in the past, but I've also removed hundreds of viruses off other people's computers who have surfed those sites looking for cracks for games, etc.

No offense to you, power to you for getting your stuff going when pushed come to shove. Posted by William Holohan (Member # 2514) on August 23, 2007 03:32 PM: Pat, As I understand Daves original post, he had originally bought and paid for the software. He did not 'steal' the software.He wasn't wanting a replacement of the software program (tires), just the proprietary protection device that came with the software at time of purchase. Which has a maximum value ehen marked up 100% of possibly $19.98 when using 1999 figures.

Software may become obsolete, but it doesn't wear out like tires. Your saying 'steal a program' is out of line. Had he said he got a bootlegged program and a dongle patch to avoid paying the real price for the program, that would be different. I bought a used computer with installed software on it which Idid in fact use. I did not know at the time I purchased the puter that it had anything on at all, even an operating system.

Purchased at aution where the usual proceedure would have been to get a formatted hard drive and have to start from scratch. Did I 'steal' that operating system??? Did I steal that installed software??? Operating system license sticker was still on the puter. Had it been a sign shop puter with Flexi, with dongle, Corel Draw, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. Would I immediately erase it?

Not bloody likely. I would just make the assumption that it was bought and paid for by one owner and now in the possession of another owner. Would I try and get service or updates under the other owners name if it were there.Of course not. But I would not consider I was a thief for using it. I would consider it in the same vien (sp) as a used car. Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on August 23, 2007 11:37 PM: Charging huge amounts for replacement of dead security devices is what causes this black market in the first place.

What can a software vendor be thinking when they tell a bizz owner to pay a large amount of money to replace a dead device and at the same time know he is a legitimate owner/user? A bizz owner and finds themselves out of business over some security device,, then are told to pay up a huge fee is the first and single most motivation to go looking for a revenge fix. Especially when the fix is FREE and causes the onwer to never suffer another lost day to production. Is this person a true theef? Did this person steal the software? Or is this person just reacting in due course to an unrasonable demand? OR, is cloning a security device for backup purposes the same as stealing?

Accodding to US law each person has a right to make a single backup of his digital media. What is happening is that software authors are attempting to remove this right via other means. Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 24, 2007 04:47 AM: I just don't think $200 - $250 is that huge of a fee. I agree that the technology should bring it down around $50 or less.but if you break the thing yourself.

& you can lose hundreds a day in profits, what's the big deal with supporting the manufacturer? This funds further software development, like the Omega design station they finally came out with for a reasonable fee. Or the Vista compatibility that they beat everyone else to market with. Posted by Mark M. Kottwitz (Member # 1764) on August 24, 2007 07:42 AM: quote: Originally posted by Doug Allan: [QUOTE]Originally posted by Tony McDonald: [qb].I think one grey area is the fact that some unsupported software (like casmate in my case) still works if you want to hang back in the W98 world. I have CasMate, and I'm running XP. And I agree that if you pay for a legal copy of the software, and the dongle is damaged, it should be replaced.

Several years ago, I bought a second key for CasMate, and it cost $1200. Now at the time, it was no longer being supported, and was one of the last dongle's that this company had in stock. Since that time, one was damaged, so I had to get a second key, and came across the crack software, so I went for it. Now, if I put the crack up on a site, so that anyone could download it, that would be wrong, and I would not do that, but I have a copy in my disk collection just in case I ever need it again. [ August 24, 2007, 07:51 AM: Message edited by: Mark M.

Kottwitz ] Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 24, 2007 01:11 PM: for the record, I don't think Tony would care, but Mark overlooked keeping a reference to my quoting Tony in his post above, but the words that followed were all mine and not his. I would be way over on the side of agreeing that this was truely an unfair amount.

AND at a time when the software was already unsupported. Actually a quite different situation then Dave's in those 2 points.

I will back down a little and say to Dave that I don't really blame him for at least considering his course of action. Like Jon, I think it unwise to be as vocal about it because it does violate his user agreement & in his comments here, referring to his 'legal version' repeatedly makes the important distinction that it was in fact legal before violating his agreement. But appears to not acknowledge that it no longer is. I speed a lot, but the clueless drivers jamming up both lanes making me late are not to blame for my punching through at 85mph when one of them finally opens up half a car length to cut through sideways. I know when I'm breaking the law & try not to be in denial about it.

But I also try not to advertise it. I may have mentioned my dope grower daze before. But certainly not back then! I also question if gerber really refuses to replace a 1.56 dongle without requiring the upgrade to 2.6 Originally I assumed that Dave referenced the price of that scenario because it was the one he planned on choosing before learning of another option.but if it really is the ONLY dongle replacement offer available to him. Then I agree with Curtis, William & others that the price is unreasonable.

In fact if that is the case, I'd almost have to agree with dave in considering Omega 1.56 to be 'unsupported' as per the wording of The Digital Millennium Act. I'd really like to know if that is the only choice for an owner of 1.56 needing a replacement dongle. If so, shame on them.

Posted by William Holohan (Member # 2514) on August 24, 2007 04:25 PM: I agree Doug. Shame on them and all the other vendors who use the dongle as a sneaky profit center.

It is a protection device for the vendor only. It does not protect my files and adds no functionality to the software. It costs peanuts.

If I bought an automobile for $20.000 and lost my keys (dongle, the thing that makes it start.) and they said a new kew would be $1,200, someone would be in intensive care while I was eating jail food. Posted by Steve Draper (Member # 7122) on August 24, 2007 06:11 PM: This is the information I based my decision on when I went around the hardware lock.

If you have a law degree and disagree with my interpretation of this law then sue me. ____________________________________________ 3.

Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete. A dongle shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured or if a replacement or repair is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace ________________________________________________ We could not get a replacement for 1.56 so this seems reasonable to me. Dave actually didn't have anything to do with my decision to do this and the link he posted has nothing to do with what i did to get around the dongle. It was a website that I had left open on the computer and he assumed this is what I did. I have no idea why he posted that link, or this topic at all for that matter. I am the one that broke the key and would have paid for a replacement out of my own pocket because it was dumb thing i did that caused it to break.

Completely my fault and i would have purchased a new key if they felt like giving us the option to do so. I, however, will not purchase an a new version of Omega just to open and re-save.plt files just because they will not support the software i have any longer. This is exactly what this copyright law states. I find it to be 'obsolete' because repair or replacement is not offered to me. Any area of our license agreement that defines what can or cannot be done with the dongle is nulled by copyright law once they stop their support. And if Doug really cares that much he can call Gerber himself and help me pay for a key. Or he can keep lecturing, whatever floats it.

Patric, no one here was expecting to get a free replacement key, no one is expecting guaranteed lifetime replacements, the tire analogy is way out of context here, pointless really. If Gerber wants their lawyers to make me revert the software back to a non functional state I will in fact do so. Because I just found that their 2.6 demo version allows me to open and re-save.plt files to.ai anyway. So who really cares?

This is the most legal thing I've done all week anyway. Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on August 24, 2007 07:08 PM: Oh my, my! I'm getting e-mails left and right asking me how to disable their dongles. Sorry people. No replies in any form by me. (This includes:e-mail phone or cell phone or text messages, hand written letters or smoke signals or Morse code or otherwise) Don't go there.its not legal unless certain conditions apply and not worth it.

I guess Goober is now going to have bigger problems since the 2.6 Demo of Omega will save designs as.ai files. Why / How would they overlook that? Design in Omega 2.6 Demo Version. Save design as.ai Open in Corel Draw, save as.eps and Print cut on the VersaCamm. THIS JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER! The only thing I ever liked about Omega was the on screen digitizing.

That's the only reason I hung onto the program so long. My sons HATE it, and find it a total waste of their design time and abilities. Now the only reason for me to hang onto Omega is because we have an outdated 48' Odyssey Plotter and a billion files of customer jobs.

What is ironic is that we do our best to keep customer files as long as we can, yet the software makers are quick to make programs obsolete that we need to keep customer files available. I'm convinced that all customer files should be saved as.ai files as, in my opinion, this format will be supported for many years to come. We can debate that too, I guess. Carry on the debate.I'm out of this thread.

Someone needed to start this discussion, and I am truly sorry it was me the got it started. But it needs to be discussed. Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 25, 2007 02:42 AM: well well Dave. No offense, but you do seem to get yourself into some inflammatory discussions don't you.

Not saying I don't also. But it was a post you couldn't possibly have expected to go any other way but controversy. I have no axe to grind with you Dave, and enjoyed burying the hatchet last year in our phone call over the shirt swap.

I know you took issue with my bringing up old quotes but I can't help it if I remember things & know how to find them. By the way, you do remember you and I, among many others, having a the same discussion 4-1/2 years ago don't you? I mean it's not like you've uncovered some earth shattering new topic. And now this Steve character. Boy is he in a ****poor mood.

Sorry yer dongle ain't working for you bub. Hope you get over it. Quote: Originally posted by Dave Draper: I guess Goober is now going to have bigger problems since the 2.6 Demo of Omega will save designs as.ai files.

Why / How would they overlook that? Dave, before you go off spreading misinformation again. The Office Season 1 Uk Torrent. Is it possible that since you've already confessed to hacking into your program that maybe your not in the best position to ascertain how the legal versions of the program will work for the rest of us? (you can NOT save anything in the unhacked version of Omega 2.6 running in Demo mode).

Since it's become an unshakable reputation anyway. Why don't I throw a few quotes up for fun while I'm at it: Here's one from a different 4 yr old discussion about Omega with another prolific national trade magazine contributor, Mike Jackson: quote: Doug, I design 90% of our regular work in Omega.

I like it for vector manipulation. I like 'absolute size, asbolute location,% size, absolute slant, absolute move, and numberous user defined (engineer based) commands. I like all the prefs you can set in Omega and have ready on the next command and also on the next time you open Omega. I like the way it remembers settings on the Smart Edit commands, making it easy to slighly modify the previous attempt (instead of 'undoing' the first try, then having to try to remember the amount your outlined last time that you didn't like). Firedtv S2 Drivers. I think 'outline' is superior in Omega over Illustrator and I prefer GSP's contour and weld commands better.

Mike Jackson Golden Era Studios or: quote: Originally posted by Dave Draper: The only thing I ever liked about Omega was the on screen digitizing. That's the only reason I hung onto the program so long.

My sons HATE it, and find it a total waste of their design time and abilities. So, lets see Dave's 'SONS' hate Omega. & Mike Jackson uses it for 90% of his work hmmm. Well, before I take sides. Have we ever seen Steve's work? I'm sure his work is just fine, but I don't see how all the Gerber bashing is somehow a professional contribution to Letterville from a former industry sign mag writer.

Posted by Michael R. Bendel (Member # 5847) on August 25, 2007 04:07 AM: You paid for the program Dave & they should REPLACE (send old one in) your Donge for the cost of shipping.

End of friggin story!! FLEXI drew first blood in this greedy sign program world. Good for you Dave! I'm glad the program you PAID for is working now! FLEXI would have directed you to some foreign operator that would demand $1700.00 per Dongle!

FLEXI would inform you that they merged & they no longer support the 'old' software.' $1700.00 for FLEXI sir' is their support. This is software. Not a vehicle. When it breaks down.almost all non-dongle software will replace your software via serial #'s & original activation. If you send in an old, damaged dongle, which is proof that someone bought the program.

Give them a new one free!!! Plus shipping. FLEXI will shut all you down again when they merge or sell! It'll happen!

Don't get stuck with 3 FLEXI programs like I did! Beware of FLEXI products! Much better now. Posted by Steve Draper (Member # 7122) on August 25, 2007 04:23 AM: There definitely is some misinformation for sure. Uber mistake on my part, i feel just terrible. I vaguely stated ' their 2.6 demo allows me to.'

That would most definitely make any automatically assume I meant Composer would do the saving out of.ai files, but Composer is is just one part of Omega. Maybe if Doug would be so kind and install the software under demo mode and try using the Omega File Converter for us.

Then you could be in a much better position to ascertain how the software works then I could ever be. And don't you worry too much about my dongle ok Bub, you can kiss it and make it all better. Posted by Bob Gilliland (Member # 28) on August 25, 2007 07:45 AM: 16 and 32 bit versions of GSP File Converter are not part of the protected software and therefore do not require a security device to function. Bob Gilliland, Someone in a much better position to ascertain how the software works.

Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 25, 2007 02:54 PM: Steve, sure, file converter will work as stated. I hope Dave still gets as much satisfaction out of his freedom to use the files he has created as he did when he thought the big bad Gerber was trying to hold all his old work hostage. Sadly, they never prevented him from legal access to his old files & as you eventually discovered you never needed to hack your dongle. Quote: Originally posted by Dave Draper: I guess Goober is now going to have bigger problems. Design in Omega 2.6 Demo Version. Save design as.ai Open in Corel Draw, save as.eps and Print cut on the VersaCamm. THIS JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER!

' Design in Omega 2.6 Demo Version. Save design as.ai ' THIS is the statement I was challenging, because it is simply NOT possible. If it is possible for Dave, it's not possible legally. If you 'Design in Omega 2.6 Demo Version' (& for those who have used file converter. It is obvious Dave is talking about Composer here. File converter is not a design program) an unhacked version of the program WILL NOT SAVE DESIGNS!

Glad your son could ascer. I mean figger out how to get to your files Dave, sorry it didn't get 'BETTER AND BETTER' though. Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on August 25, 2007 04:34 PM: [ August 25, 2007, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Dave Draper ] Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 25, 2007 05:16 PM: Dave, I don't mean to come off like a know it all, because I really come to this place to learn & that is what happens everytime I come here.

However, if I learn that what someone else posts appears not to be correct, I will usually say so, simply to help the thread evolve into an ongoing resource for the future to look back on for facts. The fact is in my Omega Composer 2.6, when I run it in 'Demo mode' several commands are no longer available. 'Save' or 'save as' or 'export' are some of those unavailable commands.

'Copy' and 'cut' are also unavailable in my version of Omega Composer 2.6, running in 'Demo mode' If you version worked differently before it was cracked or hacked or circumvented or justifiably modified or whatever you want to call it. Then that is very interesting, BUT if these experiments you are reporting on were done after modifying the software, then the results of those experiments are of less value to the majority of Omega users, & possibly misleading. Since you haven't abandoned this thread, I have a request for clarification, again for the ongoing benefit of all concerned to get facts straight. In the opening of this thread, you stated: quote: Originally posted by Dave Draper: We are running Omega 1.56.until the dongle broke Upgrade to Omega 2.6 requires sending in the dongle and eventually paying $595.00 when billed.

What was NOT said there was that you asked for a price to simply replace a 1.56 dongle. Although it was implied later that this option IS NOT available, I just wanted to ask you if that is a fact, because as I stated earlier, I would agree that they should be willing to provide a new dongle for the $249 price as shown on their website today, without forcing an upgrade. As a side note, I'm familiar with the cost for the upgrade, because that is what everyone pays for it. And I could go quote myself previously saying 'I have never, & would never pay that much for an 'upgrade' for any software'.but I actually spent a few hours sitting with Tony Teveris at last years Edgehead meet where he personally showed me several improvements he wrote into the development of that upgrade.

I think I'm justified in stating that GSP was never trying to render older versions or files obsolete, they was responding to requests from actual software users, like ourselves in an attempt to make us more money faster. With the ability to import current versions of illustrator, including support for importing and creating layers, and embedding rastor images. The long list of improvements could have stopped right here & already made the upgrade pay for itself in my shop. The promotion to reduce the cost of the Design station just made it an even better deal.

Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 25, 2007 05:50 PM: I guess Dave pulled his claims of being able to Copy and Paste from the demo version when he realized his hacked version has superhuman powers he shouldn't mislead other into expecting from their legal versions. I guess hiding from your words by erasing them is one way to make sure I can't quote you later on disseminating misinformation here. For what it's worth. Thinking before you speak is another. Posted by Dave Draper (Member # 102) on August 25, 2007 05:57 PM: [ August 25, 2007, 05:58 PM: Message edited by: Dave Draper ] Posted by Doug Allan (Member # 2247) on August 25, 2007 06:21 PM: I'm just talking with you bro. I ain't waving a stick at ya!

Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on August 25, 2007 06:54 PM: Doug.isn't it time to give it up? Why do you insist on bein such a pain in the ass? Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on August 25, 2007 06:55 PM: Just out of curiosity, has anyone actually bothered to read the EULA that they agree to when they install software onto their computer? I wonder how many of us here bitch and moan when someone disregards the copyright on our designs. Not trying to flame anyone. Just sayin'.. Posted by Steve Shortreed (Member # 436) on August 27, 2007 01:24 AM: Closed so Doug and Dave can get outside and have some fun.

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