My graphics computer is not connected to the internet partly because of “phoning home” and microsoft constantly making changes to my system with updates.
Although AI is better now than it was, a few years ago craigslist’s AI accused me of uploading pornography when I posted an ad to sell my MGB. Apparently, it did not like the words “soft-top”. I was blocked from their service for a few weeks.
Mixpanel is nothing new and can be blocked without drawbacks for the user.
Have a look here.
if they really require internet login checkout, then the word “perpetual license” should be removed.
DJI uses the method of mandatory entry in 1 month. I can say from my own experience that this does not make me a happy user. It is an illusion that you have this time! It could be much less! And it will happen when you are most uncomfortable (Murphy’s Law). A subscription model at this rate of PhotoLab development? I must be crazy! I’m not optimistic about the future of DXO. I don’t believe their servers will be up forever.
Oh dear. Looks like I stepped in just in time, and will be stuck on 7.6 forever.
Well folks, let us not get too excited.
I suppose that the new encrypted key helps DxO to prevent illegal copies a bit better than the current scheme, in which the license key could be read with a simple text editor.
Nevertheless, I hope that DxO will introduce user managed licensing, which means that the user can connect and disconnect a license to or from a computer, something that Adobe has been doing for quite some time. User managed licensing would prevent the mistrusting, uncomfortable discussions with support in such cases as having replaced two computers at one time…which would require a limit of at least four installations for a smoother transition to new hardware.
With Adobe, I can use e.g. Lightroom Classic on any two computers or user accounts and licenses are automatically shifted from one “installation” to the next. I occasionally check registered installations and delete the ones I don’t need any more in my Adobe account.
I hope that DxO will do smarter than the current 37 day period but I’ll certainly NOT hold my breath.
No, I use things called composition and lighting.
Sounds interesting, please elaborate.
I notice my licenses to filmpack7 and viewpoint4 were also changed with 7.7.1. So I expect any one having stand alone versions of them will have them locked after 37 days as well.
Yes as for PL it’s now indicated on releases notes.
I have the installers from Optics Pro 10.5.4 all the way up through PL7.7.1. So I love PL but am thoroughly p.o’d by DxO’s apparent future plan with the 37 day deactivation thing.
Raw Therapee, darktable, and Ansel are very good alternatives, have many capabilities not found in PL, and they’re all FREE. They’re currently not as easy to use as PL but they will keep getting better as time goes on since they all have dedicated developers actively working on improving them. And, who knows, Adobe Lightroom is pretty easy to use, too, and for me is already a better cost-effective option than DxO. Just sayin’.
DxO, please come to your senses. You aren’t earning any gold stars with this plan!
The 37 days limit is complete garbage. When the company suddenly goes bankrupt one day, all paid software will go with them, is that how they want it?
They aren’t stopping people from pirating their software this way, just go search for DxO Photolab on Piratebay and see what we have got there. This does nothing but trouble your remaining loyal supporters until Adobe makes DxO a history.
And the ridiculosity that they refuse to provide older version like 7.6 of their software, do you know where else are they available? Same place.
I wouldn’t worry about what happens if they go out of business. This has happened with companies before and they usually deactivate the license check so you are free to use the software sans servers. You would have more to worry about with OS upgrades after the demise of DXO. The next time there’s a new OS there wouldn’t be any updates for compatibility. Oh, and no new camera and lens support so don’t upgrade those either.
i always keep a copy of the prior version in case the latest update goes banana. i don’t update on release date because there’s others to test drive for crashes, because it’s a thing now a days.
I have read (most of) the postings to this topic. I too noticed that I had to re-enter all of my license codes (3 codes required for PL Elite Complete) and that the splash screen image had changed from a male “blowing smoke” to a female – presumably because the previous image was offensive to some photographers (clients do not see this). The 37 day requirement is highly suspect; I may not have an Internet connection on Day 37 if I am in the field and there is no service – I do NOT have a satellite connection nor am I interested in Musk’s starlink. Moreover, if the DxO servers either go down or are compromised, or if DxO ceases operation, the application would be worthless. A subscription model (a la Adobe) is one I fully reject, both because it makes the application licensor a “silent partner” always requiring a rental payment (essentially, a “tithe”) and that one can no longer work with data one already has. This will make DxO much less competitive with Adobe, and, as with ON1 that has adopted this model, probably loose both revenue and user base. I do not want to ever have to use GIMP, but I cannot in good conscience recommend a rental application to any of my student clients. I do recommend PL Elite Complete over Adobe. The suggestion not to use the latest supported version of an application also is not wise – software defects, new capabilities, and security fixes all are issues one must consider.
Nonetheless, I STRONGLY OBJECT TO THE PERIODIC LICENSE CHECK for an installed application. I may be in a region with no Internet service and still need to use PL to keep up with images that will be submitted to clients once I enter a region with service; I cannot stop processing images if DxO cannot be reached.
I completely agree with your concerns about PhotoLab requiring a connection every 37 days. Since it seems that most professionals use Lightroom and PhotoLab which require an internet connection every 30 days for monthly subscribers, I wonder how they handle this situation.
Mark
If i am not mistaken, Adobe requires revalidation every 90 days if you have paid for the whole year (and 30 days for the monthly subscriptions).
So 37 days is quite low to be fair and even if i’m not affected by this i can totally understand that it may not be fit to some professionals.
I could be wrong but since Adobe users seem to always talk about how much the plan costs per month I have always assumed they are mostly on the monthly plan. If so then they would have to contend with the 30 day limitation.
Mark
I know of two solutions to the Adobe 30 day “call home” issue for photographers who work in the field possibly away from standard Internet connectivity (no cellular reception – otherwise a mobile “hot spot” will suffice). One uses a satellite modem (a dish) to connect. Another licenses multiple copies so that the “call home” increases the interval in toto to 45 days or so (copy 1 becomes disabled, but copy 2 still is working). However, if DxO tries this nonsense (that caused all sorts of issues at ON1, including loss of total revenue and layoffs as ON1 had promised not to switch to a rental model), I will need to find a different solution. I am NOT enamored of GIMP and I really like the camera/lens specific optics modules (although these require consistency in manufacturing – “tight tolerances” between samples of the same body/lens). But I do NOT like DxO enough to make the firm my silent partner with a rental.
I suppose there’s always the sledgehammer solution of changing the system clock before starting DxO without an Internet connection?