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(url="http://"http://www.ariossoftware.com/upcoming/")EV-ONE(/url), the plugin editor for EV/EVO/EVN has progressed well since its development was announced. A short list of major changes follows:
The search engine is now complete. This allows the user to search by name, resource id, or resource type either within the current view or recursively through the entire plugin.
The spin editor has been entirely revamped and is now functional.
The Preferences dialog has been implemented
File saving is now semi-functional, a description follows.
Many more major and minor changes and improvements were also made.
On File Saving Basically, whenever a change is made to the plugin, that change is saved to a temporary file that EV-ONE creates. Only when Save is chosen from the file menu is the temp file copied to the destination. EV-ONE stores the folder hierarchy and other assorted information in the data fork, while the plugin data is stored, obviously, in the resource fork. When the plugin is complete, the user will be able to export a final copy of the plugin that does not include EV-ONE's private information (to help decrease file size). If a file is opened that does not include any of EV-ONE's special data, the default settings will be used.
On OS 9 Support Due to popular demand, EV-ONE will run in Mac OS 9. My current plan is to complete all of EV-ONE's features and a number of plugins before concentrating on making it work reliably in OS 9. This way, though EV-ONE may not run correctly in OS 9 until it is into beta testing, it will allow me to get EV-ONE working more quickly and release beta versions sooner.
On the Future My current plan is to complete the program itself before working on the majority of the editors. When the program is complete, it will enter beta testing and I will be looking for beta testors. NOTE: I am NOT yet taking applications. In order to get EV-ONE into the hands of developers more quickly, I am also planning on releasing a Public Beta. At that point, EV-ONE's registration system will be fully implemented and users will have the option of registering. Registered users will, of course, get free upgrades for the forseeable future (perhaps indefinetly). The selected beta testors will not only get early access to beta versions, but will also get free registration codes. In return they will actually have to test the program ang build complete graphics. Once the betas are released, new editors will be released as they are completed until they are all finished. At that point, the final version 1.0.0 will be released.
I am in need of suggestions on a suitable way of limiting the unregistered version of EV-ONE. My idea right now is allowing the user to create plugins for EV and EVO for free and requiring registration in order to build Nova plugins.
As always, constructive comments/criticisms are welcome.
Jeffrey - Arios SoftWare
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.ariossoftware.com/upcoming")EVONE 1.0.0 - the plugin editor for EV/EVO/EVN(/url)
Very Spiffy! How much are you going to charge for EVONE? $10 or so?
As for limiting the unregistered version, I think you should be able to use all the features, including creating EVN plugins, for 30 days. After that, a nag screen would appear when you launch EVONE, and you can't save.
------------------ (url="http://"http://darkstorm.knkonline.net")Darkstorm Productions: (/url). Home of Ferazel's Wand: Orthographic Universe, MacBrickout: Pandemonium, and StarCraft-Battlefield: Sol | (url="http://"http://www.PetitionOnline.com/staredit/petition.html")Help Bring StarEdit, StarCraft's editor, to Mac OS X!(/url) "The box said Windows 95 or better, so I bought a mac."
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Originally posted by cat99: **Very Spiffy!:D How much are you going to charge for EVONE? $10 or so?
**
It will be $10.
Your suggestion sounds reasonable. I will have to look into how to get an accurate date (I have not done a time limited demo before). Though I know how to read the system time etc., it would be cool to pull the actual date off of Apple's time servers to prevent people from setting their clock back : )
No, don't do anything that uses extra-system information. There are ways to accomplish the same level of protection without using network activity, just take a cue from Ambrosia. Plus cracking such protection would be easy with a small amount of effort (it is easy to fake a network response). Instead, try droping a discreet file somewhere on the computer's drive on instalation/first run with a built in date stamp (and update it every run). Use this to judge wether the computer's time has been fiddeled with (and if it has, disable the program). Of course, you can get much more sophisticated than this, you could add some info (a resource) to a system file. But network activity is bad, it is alwayse bad to access the network without the user's knolidge. You can be just as (or more) sucessful without such a check. Joe
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Yes, I could do that instead, I just thought people would rather have it check a server rather than place yet another file on their drive. It is interesting that you mentioned that, as I had been developing a system quite similar to that for another program.
I think that rather than having it disable save, you should have it take longer and longer to startup (after the 30 days), and have it save files into a format that can't be read by anthing else (or at least EV/O/N). This would (at least me anyway) annoy the user every time that you go to work on something and you want it to work, but it can't save it in a format that you can use, so you would have to have some knolage of res-edit or something, wich would make life complicated for the user.
You could also just put in a rather lagre number of time activated 'bugs' or things of taht nature that would drive any user to the edge of insanity. Like say you have it not always save in the right place, or refuse to open files made on certian days of the week, or have it disable the apple commands (such as apple-Q to quit).
Now, I am not a programmer, I do not even use editiors that much (altough I do have exstensive knolage of both feilds in same ways, so if what I suggested is not possible, its not my fault, or if you can't do them that's fine, and if you do by some strange chance use my crazy Ideas, I do not care (though I would appreciate to be at least noted somewere).
-TS
------------------ Have you ever heard of a saftey on that GUN?!
Originally posted by The Sentinel: **I think that rather than having it disable save, you should have it take longer and longer to startup (after the 30 days), and have it save files into a format that can't be read by anthing else (or at least EV/O/N). This would (at least me anyway) annoy the user every time that you go to work on something and you want it to work, but it can't save it in a format that you can use, so you would have to have some knolage of res-edit or something, wich would make life complicated for the user.
Now, it appears to me that the end result of implementing all of this would be the inability to save files. Correct?
Also, the simpler something is, the less chance of there being bugs, and the registration system is one location where there can't be bugs.
It is an interesting suggestion, but somewhat unrealistic. : )
Originally posted by jdh545: you could add some info (a resource) to a system file.
That would be a very bad idea, bordering on misappropriation of the user's computer, as would secretly accessing the network.
For that matter, I don't think accessing the network at all is a very good idea; besides the obvious privacy concerns, many people don't have an always-on connection and would not bother trying a utility that required them to maintain a connection in order to use it.
------------------ David Arthur (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/")davidarthur.evula.net(/url): MissionComputer and the Talon plug-in (url="http://"http://www.ev-nova.net/")EV-Nova.net(/url): Forums / Classifieds / Upcoming Plug-ins / More (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/")EVula's Lair(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/survival_guide/")EV Nova Survival Guide(/url)
Originally posted by David Arthur: **That would be a very bad idea, bordering on misappropriation of the user's computer, as would secretly accessing the network.
Don't worry, EVONE will not do anything that could be considered inappropriate by anyone. I was simply asking for suggestions on what to limit, not how to do it. If we were to discuss exactly how/what to do to disable features, everyone would know how to hack it.
No matter what a shareware program does to protect itself from piracy, there will always be ways to hack it, as seen from Ambrosia's server registration logs. One thing a shareware program can do to make itself more difficult to hack is to make it difficult for a would-be hacker to figure out exactly what the program is doing to protect itself. I will not go into how programs can accomplish this.
Appologies if this is getting off-topic.