Well I can see some comments which have been posted in the last 24 hours.
Of course, it doesn’t meanthat’s ALL the comments that have been posted.
Maybe Autodesk have slipped CGSociety some cash so they are clamping down on anti-Autodesk opinions. :twisted: 
Really? What was in them? Were they inflamatory or degrading? How odd.
Anyway, I’ve heard from the New Zealand distributor of Autodesk, and basically it’s their way or the highway (- and I don’t blame the distributor, they have to do as they’re required). It’s either stump $3000 NZD up to upgrade to MB 7.5 Pro or take a running jump when they retire my license priviledges. So perhaps it’s time we start a petition or a poll here on CgSociety for MB standard users to voice their protest?
That okay with the moderator of this forum?
–EDIT–
Oh, I know what posts were deleted. It was the guy who took a picture of himself mooning the camera…well Autodesk. Actually, thought that was funny. Certainly reflected what I thought but didn’t want to say here for the very reason of being censored.
Although Pixelmonk says the BBB is useless, I filed a complaint in any event. Perhaps others here should do the same since it’s is supposed to be handled by the local BBB - which would be in San Rafael, CA. I don’t see how it could hurt since we ARE being victimized here and so far we have no lawyers to step up to the plate. Hopefully when/if you file with them, you make it sound MUCH better than I.
Here is the info I provided to the BBB:
Filed against :
Autodesk, Inc.
111 McInnis Parkway
San RafaelSan Rafael CA 94903Complaint Description:
This complaint concerns a piece of software owned by Autodesk entitled MotionBuilder Standard. Many users of this software received an e-mail from Autodesk stating: “As of July 13, 2006, it will no longer be possible to acquire new licenses for MotionBuilder Standard versions 5, 5.5, 6 in the event of a hardware failure, operating system reinstallation, or moving the software to a different computer. Customers of Autodesk® MotionBuilder™ Standard version 7 are unaffected by these changes.” Their own EULA (end user license agreement) states that the license we paid for is a permanent license. MotionBuilder was originally owned by Kaydara, which was then bought by Alias and subsequently Alias was purchased by Autodesk. What Autodesk is saying is: if we have a hardware crash we will not be able to use the software that we paid for EVEN THOUGH we own a permamnent license to do so. This can be compared to Microsoft telling its customers that they will no longer provide an activation code for its WinXP operating system and everyone is out of luck. We were told that we could get a special upgrade offer to MotionBuilderPro7.5 for ONLY $1995.00 - MotionBuilder Standard only cost many of us $200 and upgrade pricing was always $250. Prices definitely go up, but this seems to be a form of extortion. There are quite a few MotionBuilder users who believe that this is unfair and possibly illegal. Hopefully this can be resolved peacefully. We do not expect Autodesk to continue support for older pieces of software, but we do expect them to continue to allow us to use it as per their EULA.Your Desired Resolution:
We would either like continued activation support for the software we bought in good faith - should we have hardware crashes. OR A permament code that would essentially allow us to do the same thing - if our hardware crashes and/or we need to replace components, all we need to do is input our permament code and the software is up and running.
I’m not sure we have a similar organisationn here (to BBB) in NZ that’s able to fight a company in the USA. I could make some enquiries, but I’m not sure where to start… hmm, actually that’s not true. I know an intellectual property lawyer - I’ll ask if he can look at the EULA and how it applies to international customers.
I got an email today. The statement I received does’nt mention anything about not issuing new activation codes. It only says that the are stopping development of MB standard and you can upgrade to the pro version. I’ve emailed them back asking for a definite answer on the activation codes. so stay tuned.
I wouldn’t hold your breath. 
The only reason the emails are going out is they hope we on 5.5 are stupid enough to part with $2,000 to upgrade to the latest version hah!
The thing is only the first two posts mention that the email contained anything about activation code of MB not being issued. The fact that my email did not contain this information may mean the email was amended, which may mean that the decission about activation codes has changed. This may not be the case. I’m just doing a bit of detective work. Not issueing code does’nt make much sense to me it’s automated and already in place so theres next to no cost for Auto desk. I suppose I’ll have to wait for a reply.
Yep, my reseller couldn’t give me a straight answer on that either as she said she just didn’t know. Please let us know if you have any further luck. In the meantime, I’ve installed MB 6 on my newest Mac, and got hold of the the activation codes - I plan to simply clone my HD for that machine, so at a later date should I need it, I can reinstate the clone on that particular Mac. Thanks Fuzatron for posting the email - I definitely never had that one.
I’ve had a similar email sent to me awhile back. I did contact a reseller and a couple of other organizations, which told me we were pretty much on the _____ end of the stick, if you know what I mean. Very comforting, I know, but that is the reality of it unless something is done. Just wondering how much as users can actually do? Could we possibly bring the media into it to voice our opinions or do you think that may be a bit too far fetched? Just an idea…
On another note, I checked out XSI and its animation tools. Seems kinda similar to the story portion of MB, uses tracks and stuff. Personally I think Autodesks’ plan is going to backfire and instead of having Maya/MB users cross over to 3DSMax, they’re going to XSI. At least all the people I know are becoming familiar with it and making the switch.
I just got reply stating basically what Fuzatron had in his email. Licenses are being cancelled.
"Current MotionBuilder Standard customers will continue to be able to use
their existing license without disruption. However, as of July 13, 2006,
it will no longer be possible to acquire new licenses for MotionBuilder
Standard versions 5, 5.5, 6 in the event of a hardware failure,
operating
system reinstallation, or moving the software to a different computer.
Customers of Autodesk® MotionBuilder™ Standard version 7 are
unaffected by these changes.
Autodesk has an amazing offer for MotionBuilder Standard customers:
Upgrade now to Autodesk® MotionBuilder™ 7.5* software for only
$1995** - including a year of Platinum Membership. This represents a
saving of $2,105 off the regular price!"
Okay, so shall we (me? 
post a poll in the general forum for Standard License users to stand up and be counted?
– EDIT –
and we want to know what? How many of us there are? or is it more useful to get every 3D users consenus on Autodesks new policy of retiring licenses and giving existing users a horribly expensive upgrade path when they’re happy where they are?
I think trying to count heads is useless as Autodesk knows how many standard licensed users it has… of course how many of those users it’s told is probably a different matter! Plus we don’t have the means here to contact all of them to get them to vote.
So, I guess I’m asking is general input from the wider community useful? desirable? helpful? Suggestions please.
Hahaha… it’s not AD’s plan for users of Maya and MB to “crossover” to Max. CS isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. You can still animate in Maya. MB, by design, was meant to be a standalone program with exports for other apps to use the data (including Max) Animators from big and small companies and even hobbyists use Maya’s tools for character animation. Autodesk is trimming the fat from it’s product line. Many companies have reduced lifecycle support for products they no longer support. That’s nothing new.
How are you being “victimized”? Such a strong and misused term what what is going on which is simply a company stopping support for a product no longer under development. They allow you to still use your current version and offer an upgrade to a pro version, but you can no longer ask them for support nor a new license. Archive your license in a couple places if you are worried about losing it through a system crash.
this includes hardware changes as well…
not just system crashes…says so in the email
so obviously the activation code is tied to certain devices such as HD, ethernet MAC address, ect ect
so changing any of these will result in the loss of function in the program we have bought and paid for and upragraded twice…
archiving the activation code would prove useless, for anything other then a system crash.
we were issued a permanent liscence for this product.
thats like saying…you paid for satelite tv, but we won’t support your old reciever anymore, and as soon as you turn it off you will lose it.
so thanks for the suggestions, and archiving will help in some circumstances, but i think you would think twice if someone told you, your favorite app you spent thousands on would dissapear as soon as your HD crashed…
Yes Pixelmonk - VICTIMIZED. I don’t use the word lightly. Support for the product is ONE thing - I am not asking for support. We all bought the Standard version and were told it was a PERMANENT license. Not for one year, not for five years, but PERMANENT. Now Autodesk says that it will last only as long as your computer does. I don’t want OR need a NEW license - I just want to be able to use the license I PURCHASED for as long as they told me I could - PERMANENTLY.
Have you tried to take your ghosted/copied/archived HD to another machine and use MB. I doubt it since it isn’t possible. Unless you’ve got many machines where you can install (and get the activation code for) them and store them, then you are SOL.
Plainly and simply, Autodesk does not care about its acquired customer base. Sorry Pixelmonk, but IMO we ARE being vicitimized. I don’t believe that the term is being misused at all. All they would have to do is provide each of us with a service release and/or personal activation code so that we may use the Standard version for as long as we want to - not as long as we can.
ah, yea, so… ahem, is it a good idea to post a poll and what would MB users like it try and establish?
how to lose your license in 1 second, the networkcard crash guide to autodesk…
vote with your fingers, make that pole and make sure people from the community know about it.
does it say anywhere on the eula/contract that the license is for a single network/hd/computer ?
