Privacy

I really don't think that it is appropriate for Macromedia to hand out my personal information to any third party no matter how close a partner they may be or how much they "directly reflect Macromedia". Michael Dinowitz Finding technical solutions to the problems you didn't know you had yet

On Tuesday, July 1, 2003, at 09:18 PM, Michael Dinowitz wrote: > I really don't think that it is appropriate for Macromedia to hand out > my > personal information to any third party no matter how close a partner > they may > be or how much they "directly reflect Macromedia". I'm not sure what this is in reference to, but if you want to send me some details off-list, I suspect I can help clear things up. Christian

Basically, Judith and I received mail (physical) from Sys-Com with a few things in it that really upset us. I'll give you two direct quotes: "As a valued registered user of Macromedia's ColdFusion server, ..." "The offer is being sent to registered ColdFusion customers as part of the partnership between Macromedia and Sys-Con Media. Macromedia does not allow the use of customer-provided contact information and data by any external party that does not directly reflect Macromedia, Macromedia holds your privacy in the highest regard...." So basically, Sys-Con knows that I'm a registered user of ColdFusion server. They also know my address and other contact information. Now I understand that a special relationship exists between Macromedia and Sys-Con. I understand that Allaire went to Sys-Con in the beginning and basically asked them to start up CFDJ. It is basically the only non-Macromedia resource that publishes 'official' Macromedia stories. This still does not give Macromedia the right to give my personal information out to Sys-Con. We once asked Macromedia for access to the DB of ColdFusion users to announce our free magazine. We were told that it was Macromedia policy not to give that information out. We then asked Macromedia if they could send out a mailing for us. Again, we were told that it was Macromedia policy not to do such a thing. If Macromedia has changed its policy and given out my information to one partner, which is the next partner which will receive the information? Which is the next company that Macromedia will be financially supporting with this information? I'm going to check out my Macromedia personal login page to see if there's anything about sharing my information to the public. (of course, Macromedia seems unable to send out a mailing to actual NY ColdFusion users when Ben Forta is coming to town but that's another story) ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

Please disregard that, it was supposed to be private. > Basically, Judith and I received mail (physical) from Sys-Com with a few things > in it that really upset us. I'll give you two direct quotes: > "As a valued registered user of Macromedia's ColdFusion server, ..." > "The offer is being sent to registered ColdFusion customers as part of the > partnership between Macromedia and Sys-Con Media. Macromedia does not allow the > use of customer-provided contact information and data by any external party that > does not directly reflect Macromedia, Macromedia holds your privacy in the > highest regard...." > > So basically, Sys-Con knows that I'm a registered user of ColdFusion server. > They also know my address and other contact information. Now I understand that a > special relationship exists between Macromedia and Sys-Con. I understand that > Allaire went to Sys-Con in the beginning and basically asked them to start up > CFDJ. It is basically the only non-Macromedia resource that publishes 'official' > Macromedia stories. > This still does not give Macromedia the right to give my personal information > out to Sys-Con. We once asked Macromedia for access to the DB of ColdFusion > users to announce our free magazine. We were told that it was Macromedia policy ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

Perhaps so, but I have received similar mail from sys-con. ====================================== Stop spam on your domain, use our gateway! For hosting solutions http://www.clickdoug.com ISP rated: http://www.forta.com/cf/isp/isp.cfm?isp_id=772 ====================================== If you are not satisfied with my service, my job isn't done! | Please disregard that, it was supposed to be private. | | | > Basically, Judith and I received mail (physical) from Sys-Com with a few | things | > in it that really upset us. I'll give you two direct quotes: | > "As a valued registered user of Macromedia's ColdFusion server, ..." | > "The offer is being sent to registered ColdFusion customers as part of the | > partnership between Macromedia and Sys-Con Media. Macromedia does not allow | the | > use of customer-provided contact information and data by any external party | that | > does not directly reflect Macromedia, Macromedia holds your privacy in the | > highest regard...." | > | > So basically, Sys-Con knows that I'm a registered user of ColdFusion server. | > They also know my address and other contact information. Now I understand that | a | > special relationship exists between Macromedia and Sys-Con. I understand that | > Allaire went to Sys-Con in the beginning and basically asked them to start up | > CFDJ. It is basically the only non-Macromedia resource that publishes | 'official' | > Macromedia stories. | > This still does not give Macromedia the right to give my personal information | > out to Sys-Con. We once asked Macromedia for access to the DB of ColdFusion | > users to announce our free magazine. We were told that it was Macromedia | policy | > not to give that information out. We then asked Macromedia if they could send | > out a mailing for us. Again, we were told that it was Macromedia policy not to | > do such a thing. If Macromedia has changed its policy and given out my | > information to one partner, which is the next partner which will receive the | > information? Which is the next company that Macromedia will be financially | > supporting with this information? | > I'm going to check out my Macromedia personal login page to see if there's | > anything about sharing my information to the public. | > | > (of course, Macromedia seems unable to send out a mailing to actual NY | > ColdFusion users when Ben Forta is coming to town but that's another story) | > | > | > > On Tuesday, July 1, 2003, at 09:18 PM, Michael Dinowitz wrote: | > > | > > > I really don't think that it is appropriate for Macromedia to hand out | > > > my | > > > personal information to any third party no matter how close a partner | > > > they may | > > > be or how much they "directly reflect Macromedia". | > > | > > I'm not sure what this is in reference to, but if you want to send me | > > some details off-list, I suspect I can help clear things up. | > > | > > Christian | > > | > > | > |

Michael, I'll look into this and see if I can figure out what the deal is.  I'll   get back to you (off-list) as soon as I know something. Christian On Wednesday, July 2, 2003, at 03:50 AM, Michael Dinowitz wrote: ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-1026181.html?tag=fd_top Anyone see this?   If they are going to add activation to their products, I will find new products to use.   I installed turbo tax this past year, never again.  While it was in there, their stupid activation program kept conflicting with my CD Burner causing my computer to BSOD when burning a CD.  I will go to another tax program next year SPECIFICALLY because of their activation scheme which screws up my computer. I know MACR wants to make money off their products and I do not blame them.   But the activation schemes MS and Intuit use cause more problems to the individual users then they solve for MACR.   Also, even though MS has the activation, I know for a fact that they sell activationless copies of their software to corporations specifically because the activations have caused problems in corporate environments.

> I know MACR wants to make money off their products and I do not blame them.   But the activation schemes MS and Intuit use cause more problems to the individual users then they solve for MACR. We actually have spent considerable resource to ensure that it is as seamless as possible (and issues with Intuits and MSs activation do not occur).  In fact, I am not aware of any issues with CD burners with our activation code, but I am double checking on it. We have put up a ton of info on the process, here are some links: Activation Site http://www.macromedia.com/software/activation/ FAQ http://www.macromedia.com/software/activation/faq/ Activation Demo / tour http://www.macromedia.com/software/activation/tour/ Technical Whitepaper (says what activation is actually doing) http://www.macromedia.com/software/activation/whitepapers/ Seucrity and Privacy Audit http://www.macromedia.com/software/activation/audit/ Let me know if you have any more questions... mike chambers mesh@macromedia.com > http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-1026181.html?tag=fd_top > > Anyone see this? > > If they are going to add activation to their products, I will find new products to use. > > I installed turbo tax this past year, never again.  While it was in there, their stupid activation program kept conflicting with my CD Burner causing my computer to BSOD when burning a CD.  I will go to another tax program next year SPECIFICALLY because of their activation scheme which screws up my computer. > > I know MACR wants to make money off their products and I do not blame them.   But the activation schemes MS and Intuit use cause more problems to the individual users then they solve for MACR. > > Also, even though MS has the activation, I know for a fact that they sell activationless copies of their software to corporations specifically because the activations have caused problems in corporate environments.

FYI, to follow up on this. Our activation does not affect CD burners. In fact, that is one of the reasons for activation, so it doesn't matter if you burn the original CD. mike chambers mesh@macromedia.com > http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-1026181.html?tag=fd_top > > Anyone see this? > > If they are going to add activation to their products, I will find new products to use. > > I installed turbo tax this past year, never again.  While it was in there, their stupid activation program kept conflicting with my CD Burner causing my computer to BSOD when burning a CD.  I will go to another tax program next year SPECIFICALLY because of their activation scheme which screws up my computer. > > I know MACR wants to make money off their products and I do not blame them.   But the activation schemes MS and Intuit use cause more problems to the individual users then they solve for MACR. > > Also, even though MS has the activation, I know for a fact that they sell activationless copies of their software to corporations specifically because the activations have caused problems in corporate environments.

Actually that wasn't the problem.  The problem was that installing Turbo Tax and running the activation affected the fact that when I burnt ANY CD audio or data, it caused a BSOD even after uninstalling Turbo Tax. Intuit finally released a C-DILLA uninstaller (btw, its from Macrovision and from the sound of the Macromedia web site, it sounds like the same cp scheme). There was a lot of talk about people talking with their pockebooks regarding   Turbo Tax for next year if they kept this cp scheme in their software (from my reading Intuit decided NOT to include it in next year's software becuase of the backlash).  I urge Macromedia to think carefully about this. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,815693,00.asp http://radiofreeblogistan.com/2003/04/04.html#a1389 ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

Our activation scheme is a little different than that used by Intuit. For one, the license manager only runs while the product itself is running. Perhaps that is what the problem was with the CD Rom? Make sure to check out activation center: http://www.macromedia.com/software/activation/ There is a ton of info on there (some very technical). If there is some info that you feel is missing, let us know. mike chambers mesh@macromedia.com > Actually that wasn't the problem.  The problem was that installing Turbo Tax and running the activation affected the fact that when I burnt ANY CD audio or data, it caused a BSOD even after uninstalling Turbo Tax. Intuit finally released a C-DILLA uninstaller (btw, its from Macrovision and from the sound of the Macromedia web site, it sounds like the same cp scheme). > > There was a lot of talk about people talking with their pockebooks regarding  Turbo Tax for next year if they kept this cp scheme in their software (from my reading Intuit decided NOT to include it in next year's software becuase of the backlash).  I urge Macromedia to think carefully about this. ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- you ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- there, > >their stupid activation program kept conflicting with my CD Burner causing > >my computer to BSOD when burning a CD.  I will go to another tax program > >next year SPECIFICALLY because of their activation scheme which screws up my ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- to ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- sell > >activationless copies of their software to corporations specifically because ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

So it will only cause a BSOD if I am writing to a CD while using Contribute??? Your activation scheme is the same one that Intuit is using for 2003, (if I am reading both sites correctly), with one exception. Intuit is not going to include this scheme on any prepaid for software, only on trials. Intuit experienced a HUGE backlash on this, one which will probably affect them for a number of years.  Can MACR afford this?  Learn from other's mistakes. http://www2.turbotaxsupport.com/default.asp?platform=1&formName=&pd=&fs=&ver=&sku=&id=&oi=&DocID=815 "urrently, all federal TurboTax for Windows CD-ROM products for tax year 2002 contain product activation technology. However, for tax year 2003, Intuit will discontinue product activation and digital rights management technology in all pre-paid TurboTax software products. (Pre-paid products are purchased prior to download or installation and constitute the majority of TurboTax products sold at retail stores or directly from Intuit.) Marketing and Trial versions of TurboTax 2003 software will contain technology from Macrovision to unlock the product. This enables prospective customers to conveniently purchase and unlock the full-featured product without limiting use to a single computer. Next year's technology will also address current misperceptions about Macrovision Safecast® technology:     * No C-Dilla folder will be installed;     * The technology will not write to the first track (Track 0);     * The Macrovision application will only run when TurboTax is running; and     * The Macrovision components will be removed when TurboTax is uninstalled." ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

I would not expect it to cause any issues. We have had an extensive beta test on this (one of our largest ever) and have not had any reports of this issue. Our activation scheme is different than Intuit's. For one, we have had 6 - 12 extra months to fix issues with activation (since we released so much later). We also worked to make changes with the way activation works in order to better suit our users. We are well aware of Intuit's experience with Activation. This is why are being so up front about everything (see the activation website). Btw, it is also why we changed our EULA to allow a user to install on two machines (although the programs cannot be used concurrently). http://www.macromedia.com/software/activation/ mike chambers mesh@macromedia.com > So it will only cause a BSOD if I am writing to a CD while using Contribute??? > > Your activation scheme is the same one that Intuit is using for 2003, (if I am reading both sites correctly), with one exception. Intuit is not going to include this scheme on any prepaid for software, only on trials. > > Intuit experienced a HUGE backlash on this, one which will probably affect them for a number of years.  Can MACR afford this?  Learn from other's mistakes. > > http://www2.turbotaxsupport.com/default.asp?platform=1&formName=&pd=&fs=&ver=&sku=&id=&oi=&DocID=815 > "urrently, all federal TurboTax for Windows CD-ROM products for tax year 2002 contain product activation technology. However, for tax year 2003, Intuit will discontinue product activation and digital rights management technology in all pre-paid TurboTax software products. (Pre-paid products are purchased prior to download or installation and constitute the majority of TurboTax products sold at retail stores or directly from Intuit.) > > Marketing and Trial versions of TurboTax 2003 software will contain technology from Macrovision to unlock the product. This enables prospective customers to conveniently purchase and unlock the full-featured product without limiting use to a single computer. Next year's technology will also address current misperceptions about Macrovision Safecast® technology: > >     * No C-Dilla folder will be installed; >     * The technology will not write to the first track (Track 0); >     * The Macrovision application will only run when TurboTax is running; and >     * The Macrovision components will be removed when TurboTax is uninstalled." ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- info ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- Turbo > >Tax and running the activation affected the fact that when I burnt ANY CD > >audio or data, it caused a BSOD even after uninstalling Turbo Tax. Intuit > >finally released a C-DILLA uninstaller (btw, its from Macrovision and from ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- In > >> >fact, that is one of the reasons for activation, so it doesn't matter if ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- new ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- program > >> >next year SPECIFICALLY because of their activation scheme which screws up ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- blame > >> >them.   But the activation schemes MS and Intuit use cause more problems ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

Actually that wasn't the problem.  The problem was that installing Turbo Tax and running the activation affected the fact that when I burnt ANY CD audio or data, it caused a BSOD even after uninstalling Turbo Tax. Intuit finally released a C-DILLA uninstaller (btw, its from Macrovision and from the sound of the Macromedia web site, it sounds like the same cp scheme). There was a lot of talk about people talking with their pockebooks regarding   Turbo Tax for next year if they kept this cp scheme in their software (from my reading Intuit decided NOT to include it in next year's retail software becuase of the backlash).  I urge Macromedia to think carefully about this. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,815693,00.asp http://radiofreeblogistan.com/2003/04/04.html#a1389 http://www2.turbotaxsupport.com/default.asp?platform=1&formName=&pd=&fs=&ver=&sku=&id=&oi=&DocID=815 ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----