copy-protecting the hand that feeds.
First, fun to be had: gse.hates-software.com. More to come, I'm sure.
I'm finally back to doing some mixing. Most of my analog gear is long gone; I'm working almost entirely "in the box". So I've been shopping for some new EQ and compression plugins. Everyone seems to love the URS plugins. They're pretty expensive (that's a separate blog post) but hey, why not try them.
What'd I have to do to get a 10-day demo of these many-hundred-dollar plugins?
- Drive to Guitar Center. Spend $40 on an iLok USB dongle. I never needed one before! I'm such an amateur.
- Download iLok drivers from ilok.com. No, from digidesign.com. No, from PACE's site.
- Plug in the iLok and let the drivers install.
- Register for an ilok.com account. Wait for my confirmation email. Click the URL to validate my account.
- Actually log in to ilok.com.
- Register my iLok with ilok.com. Oh wait, IE only. Log in again, using IE. Register my iLok.
Okay, now I can do iLok licensing. Now, on to getting the demo version of the plugins.
- URS requires that I create an account with them to demo. Create an account that includes my iLok ID. Wait for my confirmation email. Click the URL to validate my account.
- Actually log in to URS. Go to the "demo" page and fill out a request for demos, including my iLok ID (again).
- Wait for my demo assets to be transferred to ilok.com.
- Return to URS's welcome page. Go to the "downloads" page. See that their downloads don't work in Firefox(?!?). Copy and paste the enormous download URLs into IE, where they work fine without logging in (nice).
- Run 3 installers to install 3 different sets of demos.
- Return to ilok.com (in IE) to download my authorizations to the dongle. Mysteriously, it opens Firefox midway through but everything seems to work.
- Start Cubase. Click "try" 12 times, one per demo plugin.
Total time: 2.5 hours. These better be good plugins. Meanwhile, a warez guy downloads the crack, installs it, and gets to work.
At least everyone's not that retarded. Here's what it was like to demo the PSP Vintage Warmer:
- Go to product page. Follow link to download page.
- Download installer.
- Run simple installer.
- Launch Cubase. Try plugin.
Total time: 60 seconds.
Let's say the native URS plugins cost $75 each, instead of $300 each, and demos were right there to download in a single step... maybe with audio cutting out every 90 seconds or something. Do you think they'd make more or less money? Would there be more or less piracy of their products?