"New" digital charts on GoogleEarth

[prv]

That mechanism of software protection went out with the ark: the correct method is make the download freely available, but useless without a "key" that you issue upon purchase.

...and then gets shared around freely via the Web. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to exactly that.

Usually it's up to the software company where they want to place the security / convenience tradeoff for their product. In my employer's case the bar is fairly low because our software doesn't appeal to the Warez community or the sort of people who would happily steal it. Plenty of others accept some illegal sharing because they don't believe it loses them enough customers to be worth doing more. But in some industries with few potential customers and very high software prices (music editing, high-end CAD) physical dongles were still the norm last time I looked.

In this case it sounds like the UKHO insisted on the level of protection.

Pete

 

[Overner]

Locking Content

With the VHM dongles and DVDs the issue is that the software, Google Earth and SeaClear are freely available and not custom programs. Therefore the content (UKHO charts) and not the program needs to be protected from copying.

With custom programs it is easy enough to make an unusual format content, and lock it to the program, and then to the users computer. With open formats like .kmz and .png images, the only chance of securing them is locking to the medium involved.

The huge advantage of this is portability between machines, disadvantage is the DVD/USB needs to be present at all times.

Our licensors rightly insist on strong encryption, and we provide this in a cheap and simple to use package that is proving popular. In practice buyers seem to use the VisiCharts/Google Earth for research, and the SeaClear for navigation.

Steve at VMH

 

[Bru]

that only happens if you dont look and set the program options to stop it happening

Which is precisely why I said "By default ...."!

 

[VicMallows]

I am a long standing fan of SeaClear, and have used it for years using scanned and calibrated copies of my (very) old local charts. No one can pretend though that the process is anything but a pain.

VisitMyHarbour offer the entire 800 UKHO charts accurately calibrated for SeaClear at a great price. Sure, most of them I will never use, but so what. SeaClear offers all the usual chart-plotter functions, AIS, etc

I enjoy using the charts in VisiChart format to explore an area leisurely, but there are very few areas where I would choose to navigate in that mode. (the maximum overlay scale is often inadequate).

Vic
(just a happy customer).

 

[[2068]]

...and then gets shared around freely via the Web. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to exactly that.

Usually it's up to the software company where they want to place the security / convenience tradeoff for their product. In my employer's case the bar is fairly low because our software doesn't appeal to the Warez community or the sort of people who would happily steal it. Plenty of others accept some illegal sharing because they don't believe it loses them enough customers to be worth doing more. But in some industries with few potential customers and very high software prices (music editing, high-end CAD) physical dongles were still the norm last time I looked.

In this case it sounds like the UKHO insisted on the level of protection.

Pete

... A key, which can only be "activated" a limited number of times, tied to a hardware fingerprint. There are several ways of getting it right.

I repeat, apart from some very high-end specialist applications, hardware dongles or anything tied to the distribution media is the work of Abraham and Moses.

 

[BrendanS]

Got to agree, there are so many better ways of doing it now

 

[AntarcticPilot]

... A key, which can only be "activated" a limited number of times, tied to a hardware fingerprint. There are several ways of getting it right.

I repeat, apart from some very high-end specialist applications, hardware dongles or anything tied to the distribution media is the work of Abraham and Moses.

Indeed. I use high cost specialist software at work, and the security mechanism has moved from a hardware dongle to a license tied to a hardware fingerprint. Problem with dongles is that people lose them! What the hardware fingerprint is depends on just how secure the vendor wants to be, but generally the higher the level of security, the more likely it is that minor configuration changes will cause problems. The usual thing is the MAC address - OK, you can usually "spoof" MAC addresses, but it is good enough - especially if you're in a corporate environment where changing your MAC address may well result in you being locked out of the network!

 

[snowleopard]

I may be misreading this but on the DVD version it says:

Included on the VisiChart basic DVD, a trial version of the SeaClear windows chart plotter. This version contains some sample overview charts for you to try out.

So what else do you have to pay for?

 

[VicMallows]

I may be misreading this but on the DVD version it says:

Included on the VisiChart basic DVD, a trial version of the SeaClear windows chart plotter. This version contains some sample overview charts for you to try out.

So what else do you have to pay for?

You can buy the charts for SeaClear (you also get a demo of VisiCharts) ; Full VisiCharts with a limited set of charts for SeaClear; or the full versions of both on the same DVD/CD/Dongle.

Vic

 

[geoid96]

I fully understand the UKHO desire to copy protect their charts. However my navigation PC is a ruggedised laptop with a solid state hard drive. The DVD drive is external and only used for loading software etc. Having to connect it for continuous chart access would be a backwards step.

I am fairly sure that VisiChart sales would increase if a way could be found of allowing charts to be copied to the hard drive once and protected there. It may not be quite the same thing, but Zinio manage to protect downloaded digital copies of YM and PBO.

 

[electrosys]

I am a long standing fan of SeaClear, and have used it for years using scanned and calibrated copies of my (very) old local charts. No one can pretend though that the process is anything but a pain.

Quite agree - but there is a solution. If your needs are for just a couple of charts (wouldn't be doing this for a global folio !) one method is to take screen-grabs of either the VisitmyHarbour charts or, perish the thought, from pirated charts from a global folio - either raster or vector, depending on what your needs are - then simply stitch 'em together to give charts with perfect reproduction - ready for MapCal-ing.

Providing you hold an original paper chart of the area covered (or the VmH CD/DVD), then the end product is also 100% legal - or rather will be, when the present government brings copyright legislation into the 21st century, which should be within the present parliament I believe.

And of course, these charts can be updated from NTMs by editing the chart in your favourite graphics program - so the above malarky only has to be done once.

 

[SimbaDog]

I fully understand the UKHO desire to copy protect their charts. However my navigation PC is a ruggedised laptop with a solid state hard drive. The DVD drive is external and only used for loading software etc. Having to connect it for continuous chart access would be a backwards step.

I am fairly sure that VisiChart sales would increase if a way could be found of allowing charts to be copied to the hard drive once and protected there. It may not be quite the same thing, but Zinio manage to protect downloaded digital copies of YM and PBO.

They supplied them on a USB stick to me