unlock nightmare

darthstephen · Post by **darthstephen** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 10:27 pm

i don't know why i'm writing this. i just need to blow off some steam. i can not believe i just spent $400 on software i can not use at the moment. i tried to set my computer up to dual boot with windows and linux. i messed up a few things and reinstalled both os a few times. now i am told that i can not unlock live without contacting ableton and maybe they will consider giving me another unluck. i haven't done anything illegal and i am made to pay the price of this ridiculous copy protection. this is the same computer for all three activations. why doesn't ableton know this when i request an unlock. shouldn't the server be able to tell when the same hardware is requesting an unlock. isn't this what makes the unlock unique.
every minute i get more pissed off. this just isn't right. why doesn't ableton announce on the front page of there website how their copy protection works. the answer is that no one would buy the software knowing this. it's sunday. no response from ableton. no music making. i'm sorry i bought this product.

ps --- it doesn't appear that this copy protectino does very much to stop the piracy. this software is available all over the net. so every pirate enjoy, while paying customers are screwed with by an unloyal corporation.

timothyallan · Post by **timothyallan** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 10:49 pm

As you've found out, it doesn't just take your hardware into consideration. As far as its concerned, you've just installed it on a bunch of different machines. So the software is working fine.

Also, if you'd do some more investigating you'll find that Live has some of the best copy protection of ANY audio software out there.

You can use if fine for a month or two, but it will die. There are hordes of copies out there, but -none- of them are rock solid after x amount of time. It's a brilliant concept actually.

Email the Ables, they usually respond within half a day or so, so you won't lose too much productivity.

darthstephen · Post by **darthstephen** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 11:08 pm

thank you for replying to my post. i am sorry to be o angry. i am losing valuable time and feel ripped off by ableton. i hope that they respond soon. at this point i feel i made a mistake purchasing live.

Peter Doubt · Post by **Peter Doubt** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 12:46 am

Hey Bro....just lettin ya know i feel for ya, and I know its the anger talking. But I can assure you that Ableton is AMAZING software and a great company. Im sure they will reply to you as soon as they get your email...theyre great people and very personable, but like the rest of the world they are off on Sunday.
Youll be rockin' in no time. If you have Reason or similar software, make and render some bad-ass loops so youll have some cool stuff to play with once you get rolling.
Peace out.

darthstephen · Post by **darthstephen** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:21 am

what makes me really mad about this situation is that in the faq on this issue they state that they will CONSIDER giving me a new unlock key. CONSIDER???? here i am with a reciept of purchase, a serial number and the physical box of software and they have the nerve to put it in my mind that there is even a small chance i will be left with nothing after a $400 purchase. excuse me for messing around with my own computer. i should be able to install or uninstall hardware and software as i please on my own property. ableton has no right to interfere. i don't care if it's sunday. i should not be left in limbo with $400 dollars of my hard earned money hanging in the balance, not to mention being a completely INCONVIENENCED PAYING COSTOMER.
by the way...it was nice of that Alex guy at "Ableton Headquarters" to reply to my post since he was in the forum just an hour ago. i guess my money doesn't pay his salary.
i guess i'll continue to wait for a response so i can use my software. i would suggest that anyone thinking of buying this software stay clear. the last thing you want is copy protection that stops you from using your own software. live might be special in some ways, but frankly, there are plenty of audio solutions for your computer in all price ranges. stay clear of ableton.

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:32 am

AFAIK thats just to cover themselves. Can you imagine if it said -
" you get 2 unlocks ... but you can contact us to recieve infinite further unlocks, no problem! "

they might as well say " you get infinite unlocks, so just feel free to scam us, hey we have left ourselves no legal way of stopping you!"

it's like those bars with a sign over the door saying: "the management reserve the right to refuse admission" .. the subtext being "if you look like drunken villain we reserve the right to tell you to get lost"

darthstephen · Post by **darthstephen** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:56 am

i hope you do not consider me to be a "drunk villian". i am an unsatisfied customer. $400 is alot of money. i expect to use the product i bought. i expect to be able to perform systm changes as i feel appropriate without allowing ableton to decide for me what can and can't be done without risk. this is the first major piece of software i have ever bought. it might be my last. i don't need this headache. i don't need to be considered some sort of security risk by default. i had respect for ableton and they have shown me none. they have not given me the benefit of the doubt. they took away my property because they assumed i was doing something illegal. imagine how things would play out in the real world if authorities operated under these conditions. guilty until proven innocent.
maybe i'm just a bunch of hot air. maybe i'll get a new key tomorrow morning. i'm disappointed i don't get to make music tonight. i'm disappointed because i realize that i bought the wrong software with too rigid a protection scheme. i like messing with my computer and operating system. now, even if i get a key, ableton has taken the fun out of experimenting with my computer. i'll have to be much more careful to protect my $400 investment. that's a shame.

you know, i'm sorry, i shouldn't waste this forum time with my little problems. i just want to pack up this software with the reciept, send it to ableton, and get my money back. i'll buy a few books and write my own software. i don't need to deal with capitalist paranoia. it's really simple. ableton protects itself without regard for it's costumers. i want out.

Winterpark · Post by **Winterpark** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:39 am

so... have they contacted you yet? usually they are fairly prompt.

darthstephen · Post by **darthstephen** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:44 pm

ableton has contacted me. i can unluck my software again.

yesterday was a bad day. right after my last post, my m-audio firewire 410 blew up. i have no interface now. i heard a pop when i shut my computer down and now no electric.
i wonder why the universe is out to get me.

thank you for listening.

wilxon · Post by **wilxon** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:42 am

darthstephen wrote:ableton has contacted me. i can unluck my software again.

yesterday was a bad day. right after my last post, my m-audio firewire 410 blew up. i have no interface now. i heard a pop when i shut my computer down and now no electric.
i wonder why the universe is out to get me.

thank you for listening.

man that was a bad day, i have asked abes the question of unlock keys, and i do believe that if they think that the keys are legit they will give you any number of keys.

also, i have never known a response team like ableton, some times they get back to you within minutes,

Everybody, Have Faith with the little Abletons, who are doing their upmost to take this still very new music production suite to new levels of excellence.

when people compare live to cubase and logic, they must remember 2 things,
1. these programs are not the same and i consider incomaprable.
2. logic and cubase have been around longer than the modern pc and colour screens. i remember using cubase on my atari 512 about 14 years ago.

ABLETON, KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DO
YOUR THE BEST