LTL's; Poor Decisions...

I am an occasional user of AnyDVD, so when I went to use it recently and it prompted for updates, I was shocked (and disappointed) to find that SlySoft was no more. So disappointed!

I then had a search around and found to my pleasure that Red Fox had appeared and resurrected the product, so I installed the latest version, rebooted and double clicked on my key.anydvd file.

STOP - Not a valid AnyDVD key file...

Ah. So I browsed over here looking for a the 'redeem your old key file' button and alas, found nothing but ridiculous excuses as to why the 'new' company is different to the 'old' company and why giving some kind of free (or discounted - to the tune of MORE than 20%) is 'impossible'.

What. A. Load. Of. Rubbish.

Guys. If the company that you develop for is raided and closed down, that's one thing. I understand you are instantaneously up the creek without a paddle financially. I also understand the nostalgia you probably feel towards the product/project and admire the aim of keeping it alive...

But let's be honest.

You could have rewritten this software (copy+paste allowed), given it an entirely new, unrecognisable GUI and a new product name and floated it as a 'new alternative' to the much loved, now departed, AnyDVD.

We would probably have all bought it. But what you have actually done is take the old product, change the version number, add some new decryption types (granted) and then decided that you don't want to offer it to free to ex-Slysoft customers because they paid money to the OLD guy, who has now probably done a runner or gone to prison, and you can't (understandably) work for free.

I don't expect a product I bought 5 years ago to continually be updated for free forever, not many companies survive that long and I understand that resources into a company and resources out need balancing somehow.

But don't make up BS excuses about 'not all lifetime licenses being present and correct in the old database', because that's not our problem. It was incompetence on the part of Slysoft, and you all used to work there right? OK. So that's your problem then.

Many, many times I have reinstalled AnyDVD on my computer when the machine is completely offline, it has worked every time. The client never needed connectivity to a back end or an activation server because I don't believe there was one. The software merely ensures that the string contained in the registry is a valid license string, and that is it. So you could EASILY have asked people to upload their previous key file in exchange for a proper discount, stored them in a database so they're only used once, you just didn't WANT TO. Enough of the BS.

The price of your software now is, at best, prohibitive. Have you noticed that it's available on torrent sites? Of course you have. How infuriating for you.

But let me tell you a secret...

If you charge a reasonable amount of money for something (not what you think it's worth) far, FAR more people will purchase it from you. If the product was say $10, you would be inundated with orders that would probably pay your wages for longer than the lesser number of people willing to pay $109 for the same thing.

I have thought long and hard about buying a new license. I love the product, it's excellent because it allows me to 'back up my DVD collection', but frankly you've been greedy. We all know that public appeals like those that Wikipedia run don't attract many donations, I get that. People are totally unwilling to give money away for free, but had you made the charge fair and reasonable (like the cost of a DVD), and made it a yearly subscription, people would be biting your hand off.

Another mod pointed out that 'LTL are stupid' for any company. I agree, they don't leave the company with any long term options and that's probably why you've priced the license so high, so don't offer one, but also don't just sit there and turn two fingers towards all of your loyal customers (and they are still your customers because you named the product AnyDVD and used to work at Slysoft) and tell them that they need to rebuy something that they might've bought 12 months ago, thinking it had at least a reasonable shelf life. It just makes you seem like dick's.

Earn your living. Good look with the brand new product that you developed miraculously quickly, gave the same logo as the old product and then called it the same thing too, and my commiserations that you must've worked so long and so hard to make it work with our old license keys, what an 'impossible' task for you.

Anyway, all I really wanted to say is that I won't be buying expensive recycled software, even at a 20% discount.

*But, I would like to thank you all individually for your hard work. It was a great product.

 

You couldn't possibly be further from the truth.

No they didn't. The shutdown of Slysoft had multiple consequences. The main one being NO FUNDS to restart development on AnyDVD. You can't eat software code. Funds were needed one way or another to set up new server, pay staff & more. Nobody liked what happened, not the former staff, not the current one and definitely not the users. Though if you want ot blame someone call the MPAA/AACS-LA, they're ultimately responsible for the shutdown.

Then there's also the BIG RED WARNING on the download page that Slysoft keys only work up to version 7.6.9.5. Now, on to the price as you mention that too.

RedFox prices are CHEAPER than slysofts ever were after they swapped the USD into the EUR (on average 10€ cheaper per license type), You're also not forced to get an LTL. A 1 year (2 & 3 as well) license is available as well. They earn their living the hard way, cause "the powers that be" shut slysoft down.

Now as Ivan pointed out 7695 should work for the occasional user but it will eventually fail to decrypt new releases. There's also regular 20% discounts and a 10% permanent of if paid by bitcoin.

Perhaps you'll reconsider later. Been nice meeting you

 

Chevron you haven't disagreed with what I said, so we're not really even arguing about this, I know developers have to eat and it's super that they were able to monetise the previous product. I'm saying that the way it's been handled is very poor. People expect to support small, bullied projects (thanks btw MPAA - gimps) with small amounts of cash. $109 for a recycled piece of software isn't a small piece of cash.

If a dev called me and said 'I need to charge you $27,000 for the project because that's my mortgage this year' I would tell him he could have $10 but that he needed to convince another 2,700 people. The same theory should be applied here.

 

It's not recycled, and you don't have to get a license. What users to with small or large amount of cash is their business and of no concern to redfox. Big or small projects, they're irrelevant. The only thing they care about is the survival of redfox. As to your theory, no it shouldn't. YOU think/say it should be applied here, you don't represent redfox. Please unless you have factual numerical proof, please stop making up numbers to and equations to "back up" your claim.

Get a license or don't, it's your choice but please stop guessing and making up facts.

 

RedFox wants cash (even though it's supposedly not a company ), I'm merely pointing out a better way of getting cash based on my observations of similar situations.

Changing the license key encryption keys and then charging >$100 for a 'new' lifetime license isn't something I've seen before. I wonder why.

 

I also find it UTTERLY MIRACULOUS that even though Slysoft is gone, dead, nada, non-existent, passed, murdered, expired and absolutely NOTHING to do with RedFox that the forums go all the way back to 2007.

Amazing coincidence! Really adds something to the conspiracy theory that the new company just didn't want to honour those old LTL's despite all other operations seemingly having moved so successfully to the new company.

Glad I'm not a conspiracy theorist though....

 

Yet more making up stuff. RedFox didn't change encryption keys to anything. Several improvements were made to AnyDVD, the OPD and more. This came with a new mechanic that links several things together simultaneously. That's besides the pricing "issue". You havent seen it before, cause slysoft didn't shut down before.

Please stop making up things.

As to the forums, there's a simple explanation. There was no logical reason as to why a completely new forum needed to be setup and loose the thousands of topics, posts & users. All that was needed was an updated loco, moving the forum database to the new servers and done.

 

I'm using the term encryption keys very loosely. All of those improvements sound impressive and worthy of perhaps, an 'upgrade charge' for the new version. But the AnyDVD keyfile is merely a registry string insertion.

Surely you're not claiming that it is technically impossible for the new software (which looks exactly like the old software) to be able to query the registry for a hash? That would be...well silly, let's be honest.

 

Bad things happened. A question was posed the community as to whether we wanted those who had been part of SlySoft to continue the fight. The community responded with a yes. RedFox was formed. Money was required for infrastructure as well as "trivial" things like paying employees, staff, developers, etc. A business cannot merely run on happy thoughts, sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns. New licenses were sold. The End.

What happened to SlySoft sucks. But it happened and it was nearly a year ago. It doesn't matter how many times people rehash the story or people rehash their opinions on new licenses.

 

I totally agree. What happened to SlySoft does suck. And as I said originally I value/appreciate the work that the team have done thus far because it's an excellent product.

I think the OPD is an excellent way forward, and recognise that RedFox would never sustainably be able to run something like the OPD without a new revenue stream.

That said, what I (IMO with my limited knowledge of the company) think the problem is here is the messaging. Effectively you've converted people with an LTL to a trial/free subscription using that last v7 release which is good, because we can use our old license for a while.

But to then sell another LTL for $109 is a bit of a kick to those people who've just seen (from their POV) the software model change from software updates to cloud connected software, lost their LTL but are now being offered a new LTL which they then presume RedFox might not be able to offer for very long.

From our POV, you guys may be shutdown again and closed down for good. You now rely on a hosted server somewhere, without that server infrastructure, the newer versions of the software are practically useless, so if I pay the $109 and you guys get closed down or the server is taken permanently offline, I'm more screwed out of the $109 than before, it shouldn't even be there. Somebody must be able to acknowledge that concern surely, as a newly formed company made up of former employees that was forcibly closed down?

 

The OPD is nothing new, Slysoft had one too which was shut down. The RedFox one is merely a better version. "Our POV"? Who's "Our", you don't represent anyone but yourself. And yes, redfox could get shut down. That's the nature of decryption tool developers, it's a constant cat & mouse game.

 

If I must explain "our" then fine, I shall;

"Our" is your disgruntled customers, likely those who previously purchased an LTL. Like all of those people who purchased VW cars that were faking their emissions, 'we're' the purchasers of licenses that were then declared null and void by 'you', that is, RedFox. Looking at your forums, I really don't feel alone in my concerns.

The fact that you fail to even recognise that there is a 'we' or an 'our' says a lot about how much you care about your customers. If your attitude were an advert (and it sort of is thankfully) it would say at the end;

"Don't buy an LTL from RedFox."

 

you can't speak for any disgruntled customers but yourself. I was a LTL holder under slysoft and i'm one under RedFox too. I'm not failing to recognise anything. All i'm saying is you cannot speak for anyone but yourself. No more, no less. You also can't say what my "advert" would say if i even had one. You're not me.

End of discussion.

Slysoft got shut down and so were the funds servers and development. RedFox restarted and needed funds to continue development, infrastructure, wages so new licenses were needed. End of story.

 

Like I said, I didn't really want to argue. Just point out how wrong RedFox got this. They should've resigned the software, launched it as a different name and let people purchase it as an alternative and made their money that way.

What they actually did was....lazy.

End of story. Happy you agree.

 

It wasn't lazy, and again unless you work for redfox you have no idea why they made the decisions they did. I havent agreed with anything you said. Enough is enough.