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Topic: «[ANN] Beta 5 is delayed until next Monday » on forum: Beta Testing   Views: 47567
 
Susan
Registered user
 
 Posts: 22
Joined: 10/21/2013
Posted: 08/20/2014 23:33:52
 
 
 I suspect that part of the reason that a 'changed-date' version of the last AMM beta has not been released is that it would make it easier to crack the program in the future as a release comparison would highlight where the time-limiting code is embedded.
That would not be good for business ;)

Susi xx
 
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Zardoz2293
Advanced user
 
 Posts: 302
Joined: 07/27/2010
Posted: 08/20/2014 23:37:27
 
 
 I'm curious. I hold a registered and within the license support agreement period of time for upgrades/updates. The only problem I'm encountering with the beta is an occasional dialog stating the beta copy of the software has expired, everything else works as expected. Does everyone else who is being "required" to use a previous copy of AWM or where the AWM beta stops functioning completely fit: "I hold a current support agreement?"

:?:

Sincerely,
Lars
 
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Zardoz2293
Advanced user
 
 Posts: 302
Joined: 07/27/2010
Posted: 08/20/2014 23:40:52
 
 
Quote
I suspect that part of the reason that a 'changed-date' version of the last AMM beta has not been released is that it would make it easier to crack the program in the future as a release comparison would highlight where the time-limiting code is embedded.
That would not be good for business smile;)

Susi xx

BINGO!

Sincerely,
Lars
 
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Susan
Registered user
 
 Posts: 22
Joined: 10/21/2013
Posted: 08/21/2014 00:44:48
 
 
Quote
BINGO!

Someone had to say it  :D
 
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Chris Miller
Advanced user
 
 Posts: 249
Joined: 08/02/2011
Posted: 08/21/2014 01:13:45
 
 
 Susan.

If the protection scheme hadn't been keygen'd/cracked long ago, I would tend to agree.  There are multiple sites out there that have patches available to bypass this "protection".  I believe in the product and have bought a legit license, but I can't help but be tempted to use one of those in order to continue using beta 4 and the newer conveniences that it has added/fixed.
 
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Susan
Registered user
 
 Posts: 22
Joined: 10/21/2013
Posted: 08/21/2014 04:42:49
 
 
Quote
If the protection scheme hadn't been keygen'd/cracked long ago, I would tend to agree. There are multiple sites out there that have patches available to bypass this "protection".
I haven't the faintest idea of what you speak  ;) <cough>  , but I see where you are coming from. :)

(And for anyone who thinks ill of me for replying the way I have: I in no way endorse.... blah, blah, blah. Seriously - if it does what you want - Have the decency to pay the developers for their hard work (not implying anyone on here is dodgy either))

Hugs,
Susi xx
 
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Xahi4475
Registered user
 
 Posts: 59
Joined: 09/12/2006
Posted: 08/21/2014 18:35:30
 
 
 Thanks for new beta. :)

-----
Actual Window Manager, ShellToys, Macro Express, AdMuncher,
gMote, DMEXBar, AutoHotkey...
 
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Michael Buchholz
Registered user

 
 Posts: 5
Joined: 08/19/2014
Posted: 08/21/2014 19:02:28
 
 
 YEPP YEPP YEPP  :{}
... ty a lot!

DLzG
Micha

... Motorcyclists do not eat honey; the chew bees ...
 
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Alex Fadeyev
Administrator

Moderator
 
 Posts: 1427
Joined: 09/30/2005
Posted: 08/21/2014 21:34:07
 
 
 Greetings, everyone!

First of all, I'd like to deeply apologize for all that mess created by the delay of the beta 5 release. Also, I'm glad to sincerely thank all of you who advocated our position and believed in our team (Lars, Susan, Greg, Pim - my personal respect, you are our precious gold!).

If I remember correct, this "beta expiration issue" was 3rd or 4th in more than 9 years of development (we began to release public beta versions in 2005, while developing Actual Window Manager 4.0 - somebody of you even might remember that :) ). In my humble opinion, this is good enough statistics but, of course, each such case is a personal shame for me as a project head and an impact on the company's reputation in whole. On the other hand, beta testers are competent, trusted and understanding users (and the current issue showed it's true indeed!) so that we believe they are ready to face possible difficulties while participating in beta test.

Unfortunately, this time the issue appeared worse than usual because, due to the "beta auto-installation" bug, it was impossible, without some special actions, to roll back to a stable release. The bug has been fixed in the beta 3 only so it's obviously present in previous stable releases. (BTW, those who complained about the inability to roll back seem to not read the Beta What's New section - just whom do we write it for? ;) )

Some words about why we did not "re-release" the 4th beta with the expiration date shifted forth. The reason is simple: we've been trying to finish the beta 5 in full until this hope died and it became obvious that we couldn't complete it in time (the task we've been trying to accomplish turned out way much larger than we thought first - sometimes this happens in software development even with seasoned professionals :( ). Anyway, next time such thing happens (though I believe it won't, of course :) ), we'll surely follow your advices and release the old beta with the prolonged testing period BEFORE it expires. :oops: Also, it's very likely that we will revise the beta testing policy and change the way betas get expired (at least, for registered customers).

Finally, despite the overall negative impression the issue has produced, I still see many positive outcomes:
    1. We have received plenty of interesting and useful feedback from you.

    2. You've got a chance to communicate with each other and even probably know something new (e.g., about uninstaller utilities :) ).

    3. We've got one more confirmation that our beta testers are just awesome! :!:

    4. You've got a chance, though in a hard way I confess, to appreciate the value our products are bringing to your everyday workflow. :) There is a Russian joke that suits this case well: "How to make one happy? - Just make his life a nightmare and then restore it exactly as it was before." :) But I promise that we'll do our best to not allow such thing happen once more - it appears to be a hard way to win customers' loyalty. :)
Thanks again, everyone - we are glad and proud to have such a selected users community! (Here should be a "thumb up" smile - we'll surely add it in the future. :) )
 
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Gerard Booth
Advanced user
 
 Posts: 119
Joined: 08/04/2008
Posted: 08/22/2014 00:26:03
 
 
 I have been reading the various posts on this thread with interest over the past few days, without comment so far.

Anyway Alex, in my opinion you have no reason to apologise, This is a beta program, unexpected things happen. If anything us beta testers should apologise for some of the comments made over the past couple of days.

Anybody who purchased a licence for AWM can readily download the most recent stable non beta version, that is what they have paid for. And when they asked they were advised how to roll back to this stable version, which as stated earlier,is exactly what they had paid for.

There is no reason for shame and in my opinion there has been no impact at all on your company's well deserved professional image. I cannot recall many software projects which are still in development after 9 years, so you must be doing something right.

MGhell hit the nail right on the head at the beginning:
Quote
It's the beta version which expires. Go back to the latest stable version if you can't wait for 2 days....
and
Quote
Sure, I agree with you that it's a nuisance....but there are worse things in life, isn't it?

I also great respect for Pim, Jan-Christoph MGhell and all , they always produce sensible constructive posts.(if you remember Jan, I recommended AWM to you when I posted a link to it on the Winstep forum a good while ago).
 
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