Gizmo update [May 2017]

[Morten]

Important information on the latest Gizmo and it's new features in this video - MUST see!

 

Edited May 28, 2017 by Morten

[fffirefly]

Bravo. Much appreciated.

[XPlanePort]

Thank you!

[Litjan]

A few questions came up and I will try to clarify things a bit:

In the default setup, gizmo will pop a little screen every time you start it up. It will ask you to refresh your license, so it loads you up with a full two weeks of "possible offline use". We do this so no one can say that "gizmo phones home behind my back without me ok ´ing it".

If this bothers you, you can opt out of this "automatic refresh on startup" (go to the preferences box). Gizmo will then count down your two weeks silently, and ones it runs down, a window pops up and asks you to refresh your two weeks. This is exactly the same process that would happen every time you start up if you hadn´t opted out.

The third option is to bring up the refresh box yourself and trigger it manually (if you opted out but plan on going on a trip without internet access, for example).

Once your two week timer runs out, the box pops up - and you need to be online to refresh it. If you aren´t you can´t use the program until you are online and can validate again. This is exactly how X-Plane (digital version) does it, too.

If there is strong demand to do ALL of this without bothering you (i.e. phone home to refresh silently), it may be possible to add an option for that to the preferences menu. Just let us know.

Cheers, Jan

 

Edited May 28, 2017 by Litjan

[JoaoVBettu]

2 hours ago, Litjan said:

A few questions came up and I will try to clarify things a bit:

In the default setup, gizmo will pop a little screen every time you start it up. It will ask you to refresh your license, so it loads you up with a full two weeks of "possible offline use". We do this so no one can say that "gizmo phones home behind my back without me ok ´ing it".

If this bothers you, you can opt out of this "automatic refresh on startup" (go to the preferences box). Gizmo will then count down your two weeks silently, and ones it runs down, a window pops up and asks you to refresh your two weeks. This is exactly the same process that would happen every time you start up if you hadn´t opted out.

The third option is to bring up the refresh box yourself and trigger it manually (if you opted out but plan on going on a trip without internet access, for example).

Once your two week timer runs out, the box pops up - and you need to be online to refresh it. If you aren´t you can´t use the program until you are online and can validate again. This is exactly how X-Plane (digital version) does it, too.

If there is strong demand to do ALL of this without bothering you (i.e. phone home to refresh silently), it may be possible to add an option for that to the preferences menu. Just let us know.

Cheers, Jan

 

I'd like this option.

[Sloboda]

Hello Morten,

it is very painful, i must click on the popup (Licence was updated" each time i open X Plane.

Is it normal ?

Thanks for your help.

[Ben Russell]

25 minutes ago, Sloboda said:

Hello Morten,

it is very painful, i must click on the popup (Licence was updated" each time i open X Plane.

Is it normal ?

Thanks for your help.

I'm going to add an option so people can turn off the notification.

I hope to get it in the IXEG update release.

[Sloboda]

Ok thanks

[JetNoise]

@Ben Russell, I request a notification, that I deactivated notifications....

LOL

Gesendet von meinem SM-G925F mit Tapatalk

[Ben Russell]

43 minutes ago, Cebulon said:

@Ben Russell, I request a notification, that I deactivated notifications....

LOL

Gesendet von meinem SM-G925F mit Tapatalk

*twitches* 

 

[Vespa]

Can I ask if Gizmo is automatically updated when IXEG 1.1 will be avaialble or do I need to perform any specific update?.

I'm a bit confused about that

[Ben Russell]

1 minute ago, Vespa said:

Can I ask if Gizmo is automatically updated when IXEG 1.1 will be avaialble or do I need to perform any specific update?.

I'm a bit confused about that

Yes. The IXEG update will automatically contain a new version of Gizmo. You do not need to do anything except run the X-Aviation installer.

[culley35]

has the new version of the ixeg 737 been released yet? i don't want to keep downloading it until i get confirmation

[Tom Stian]

5 minutes ago, culley35 said:

has the new version of the ixeg 737 been released yet? i don't want to keep downloading it until i get confirmation

Not released yet.

[culley35]

thanks, i am assuming it will be tomorrow.

[SRSR333]

Why not do it like Microsoft/Steam/other software licenses, instead of the (rather more troublesome) X-Plane way? Phone home the first time only, activate the product, and that's it? Or would that be such a significant regression in piracy control that it is not done? I mean, the recent changes to how the X-Aviation store works are extremely welcome, but this still feels a little... dated, having to re-activate every time the license 'expires'.

[Ben Russell]

3 minutes ago, SRSR333 said:

Why not do it like Microsoft/Steam/other software licenses, instead of the (rather more troublesome) X-Plane way? Phone home the first time only, activate the product, and that's it? Or would that be such a significant regression in piracy control that it is not done? I mean, the recent changes to how the X-Aviation store works are extremely welcome, but this still feels a little... dated, having to re-activate every time the license 'expires'.

The two week re-activation policy is IDENTICAL to X-Plane 11 online.

[SRSR333]

3 minutes ago, Ben Russell said:

The two week re-activation policy is IDENTICAL to X-Plane 11 online.

My point exactly, that the X-Plane way, of having to 're-activate' an already-activated license is more troublesome than doing it the Microsoft way: activate once, then it's forever activated. No 'two week' timeouts whatsoever. I'm curious—is there a reason why the activations aren't done this way? Or does the Gizmo activation somehow tie in with the fact that the X-Plane copy it is running on is a valid license or not?

Edited May 30, 2017 by SRSR333

[Ben Russell]

Just now, SRSR333 said:

My point exactly, that the X-Plane way, of having to 're-activate' an already-activated license is more troublesome than doing it the Microsoft way: activate once, then it's forever activated. No 'two week' timeouts whatsoever. I'm curious—is there a reason why the activations aren't done this way?

Because we aren't multi billion dollar companies with massive margins and user bases?

[SRSR333]

28 minutes ago, Ben Russell said:

Because we aren't multi billion dollar companies with massive margins and user bases?

I don't see how that is relevant, but... OK, if you say so. 

 

[Ben Russell]

4 minutes ago, SRSR333 said:

I don't see how that is relevant, but... OK, if you say so. 

 

With large profits and user numbers comes large tolerance to piracy theft rates.

Flight sims are a niche market. Our entire user base on steam is a joke compared to most titles. Check out the steam charts stats for yourself.

It's a fragile market.

Without DRM most of the stand out products you enjoy today simply wouldn't exist. We would've moved on to other ways to pay the bills.

 

[Cameron]

34 minutes ago, SRSR333 said:

No 'two week' timeouts whatsoever. I'm curious—is there a reason why the activations aren't done this way?

There are very valid reasons it's done this way. The way you propose is insecure, defeats licensing control, easily cracked and pirated, and does us no good as a company who has invested much research in the statistics of DRM vs Non-DRM on our products in this market, but depend on sales in said small market to put food on the table for families.

Further, this is the proper direction. Some of the largest corporations in the world have moved to this method. It is not dated, but more futuristic. Autodesk, Adobe, Luxology, and so many others have now going the "cloud revolution". 

 

[SRSR333]

5 minutes ago, Cameron said:

There are very valid reasons it's done this way. The way you propose is insecure, defeats licensing control, easily cracked and pirated

Completely fair enough; that was my first question, if needing to renew a license was more effective at combating piracy than a one-time activation. 

6 minutes ago, Cameron said:

Some of the largest corporations in the world have moved to this method. It is not dated, but more futuristic. Autodesk, Adobe, Luxology, and so many others have now going the "cloud revolution". 

You mean SaaS, or software as a service? I have my doubts about the subscription model, given that I'd rather pay once, and use the software forever—it is mine to do as I see fit, instead of being tied down to a subscription that may stop any time I have less money than needed in the bank (quite a common case for university students). But then again, that is my opinion, and obviously, given the popularity of Adobe CC/Office 365 etc, my views don't exactly reflect those of the majority.

[Cameron]

15 minutes ago, SRSR333 said:

You mean SaaS, or software as a service?

Some of them are SaaS. We obviously are not, and neither are companies like Luxology, but using the same cloud model on the licensing front.

Just because you use the cloud for licensing does not imply it's subscription based. Keeping a database of valid users and their products is simple enough. Keeping the license alive so long as you're a legitimate customer is our service to you for the original purchase. Share the software, file a chargeback, etc and all bets are off. You can kiss it goodbye at that point.

[SRSR333]

14 minutes ago, Cameron said:

Keeping a database of valid users and their products is simple enough. Keeping the license alive so long as you're a legitimate customer is our service to you for the original purchase. Share the software, file a chargeback, etc and all bets are off. You can kiss it goodbye at that point.

Understood; that's only fair from the company's perspective. I look forward to the IXEG 737 v1.1; it's landing soon. Great job on the recent flurry of updates, to everyone here at X-Aviation.

Edited May 30, 2017 by SRSR333