DeeGee
Well-Known Member
Is there anyone else running Maxsea on a hw dongle? Please PM me.
Maxsea with a dongle
- Thread starter DeeGee
- Start date
Talbot
Well-Known Member
I hate dongles - adds an unnecessary point of failure.
steverow
Well-Known Member
A really wholly unnecessary point of failure. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Steve
Steve
DeeGee
Well-Known Member
I have Maxsea with a dongle so I can run the software at home for planning as well as on the boat for real. The software licensing does not allow for this. If you are not using Maxsea with a dongle, this thread is of no consequence for you.
snowleopard
Well-Known Member
OTOH I am fighting a constant battle against the sale of pirate CDs of software on ebay and would welcome anything that would put the copiers out of business.
If you sell a small-volume high-value software package it costs you a big chunk of your market and income when someone starts selling rip-offs. A dongle may be a pain but it does stop the copiers stone dead.
If you sell a small-volume high-value software package it costs you a big chunk of your market and income when someone starts selling rip-offs. A dongle may be a pain but it does stop the copiers stone dead.
DeeGee
Well-Known Member
I have no problem with that argument. I am a bit useless with these things and I get stopped stone-dead by the software protection on cd's and dvd's. I can't even back some stuff up!! I assumed that the sw licencing of Maxsea is pretty gold-plated, which is why I have a dongle in the first place. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
zzjfawce
Well-Known Member
at the risk of asking a dumb question, how do the dongles work and could somebody copy them as well?
snowleopard
Well-Known Member
A dongle is a plug that typically fits into the printer port of the computer (I haven't used one in a while, I guess they must use a USB port these days). It is programmed with unique codes which can be accessed by the program they work with. The program can take any action the author chooses if it fails to receive the correct response from the dongle - some just refuse to run, others run in a restricted demo mode. The dongles I have used had some common codes and some unique ones so you could make the program accept any matching dongle or only work with one specific dongle.
If your software is dongle protected the ripoff merchants can make all the copies they like but they won't work.
In the early days of DOS PCs and programs on floppy disk, suppliers tried all sorts of copy protection schemes to prevent the disk being copied but they could always be beaten. Of course these days any hack to get round the protection will appear on the internet so everyone can use it. Dongles may not be 100% immune to cloning but at least you can't download them from the web.
If your software is dongle protected the ripoff merchants can make all the copies they like but they won't work.
In the early days of DOS PCs and programs on floppy disk, suppliers tried all sorts of copy protection schemes to prevent the disk being copied but they could always be beaten. Of course these days any hack to get round the protection will appear on the internet so everyone can use it. Dongles may not be 100% immune to cloning but at least you can't download them from the web.
jhoseason
New Member
I've used ARCs with a parallel port dongle, and CMapNT with a USB dongle; I've never had any problem with them, and as I use the charts extensively at home for planning I would go for a version with a dongle.
How do people rate Maxsea? I've been using Raytech up to now, but I like the idea of being able to use a variety of chart formats, including ARCs.
How do people rate Maxsea? I've been using Raytech up to now, but I like the idea of being able to use a variety of chart formats, including ARCs.
DeeGee
Well-Known Member
Maxsea is very quirky. It doesnt obey the windows model, and can be, at first, most annoying. Once you have found out how to make it all work, it is very good. I have heard (not experienced) stories of how other sw can be a bit of a pig, but Maxsea is seamless. It is totally reliable. It has integrated weather support via email (GRIB files).
The only other sw I have had any real experience of was OziExplorer, which, if you have a restricted cruising area and can do a heap of scanning (pref A3 or A2), is possibly even better in some ways, esp since it is free and relies ultimately on paper charts.
The sparks will now fly as each person will say how what they use is clearly the best.
The only other sw I have had any real experience of was OziExplorer, which, if you have a restricted cruising area and can do a heap of scanning (pref A3 or A2), is possibly even better in some ways, esp since it is free and relies ultimately on paper charts.
The sparks will now fly as each person will say how what they use is clearly the best.
ChrisE
Well-Known Member
I don't know whether this will help you but I use Navmaster which has a USB dongle. I, too, have copies of the software on different PCs for planning and plotting.
When I recently lost my dongle the new one they sent me wouldn't work on one of the PCs. This was solved by Navmaster sending me a new driver for the dongle.
When I recently lost my dongle the new one they sent me wouldn't work on one of the PCs. This was solved by Navmaster sending me a new driver for the dongle.
DeeGee
Well-Known Member
I am a little reluctant to broadcast why I started this thread (re-read what I said), but let us say I no longer find leaving my dongle on the boat to be a problem. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
ChrisE
Well-Known Member
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Birdseye
Well-Known Member
If you search carefully enough there will be some Russian somewhere who has cracked the system. There always is.
Omatako
Well-Known Member
I don't know if it is a "dongle weakness" generally but I had a dongle submerged in an accident. The notebook was trashed which I expected but I figured the dongle would survive. I was wrong.
It never worked again. When I requested a replacement I was asked to pay some money towards the replacement because the dongle had been "abused". I argued that submersion should not be classified as abuse because it is after all, marine equipment.
I received a replacement FOC!
It never worked again. When I requested a replacement I was asked to pay some money towards the replacement because the dongle had been "abused". I argued that submersion should not be classified as abuse because it is after all, marine equipment.
I received a replacement FOC!
