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PMDG News

PMDG 747-400 News - Tuesday, August 2

PMDG 747-400 Queen of the Skies Released

The moment all Jumbo Jet enthusiasts have been waiting for has finally arrived - the PMDG 747-400 Queen of the Skies airliner simulation is now available for purchase and download!

YES!  That's one payware aircraft that I want.   Otherwise I tend toward payware scenery more.

best,

..................john

I think I'll pass....about the biggest I'll get is the new Flight1 PC-12 I just bought.... 8) 8)

Yes, finally 

$54.99, Hey man, it's probably worth it though. If you've seen their preview sections, the work they did on the plane is probably more than what Microsoft did on FS2004. (just my opinion). I'm sure there will be screenshots and personal reviews soon. I'll even post here if(server's down due to too busy!) I get it.

Its still only 1 plane. you can have 1000 liveries. $30 is about the top a one plane product should cost. No way can they justify that sort of cost.

Well considering they have pushed the bar even higher than I would guess any other freeware or payware out there with details and system integrations, etc, and the fact that a fairly dedicated team worked more hours than I would even care to guess...and all the animations and interior/exterior details PMDG puts into their work, I think $54.99 is quite a decent price for this aircraft. And soon enough it too will be in my hanger.

Its a bargain in my opinion and considering when I do get it I will spend countless hours flying it, compared to some video or computer games I get that Im done with or bored with after 8 to 10 hours that I pay $50 for, again....$54.99 is a bargain

F'ing bullsh!t!...I have been very unhappy with PMDG so far (halfa'ed products that cost a fortune...captainsim makes 2x as good products for half the price!)...and now that I decide to give them a 2nd...er...acutally 4th chance...they tell me their bullsh!t server is offline...

...m'f'kers...

Sorry Kevin...but its things like these that upsets me the most...

...I'm half-willingly giving them money, and yet, they make me stand in line to pay them...

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Ahhh...I got Admins on my six! Can't shake 'em!


Sry guys...I was quite upset at the moment...but I'll control myself now...

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*MY* kids are 27 and 25  .....  I doubt you're even two-score years!

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27. . .wow

i guess jeff can try to act my age. . .i wish i could

like i said, i cant justify it. I still dont see how they can, but clearly there are those who can. Waste of money in my opinion for that price. But i dont fly any one plane long enough for it to be worth it. Those who have bought it, i really do hope you enjoy it.

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Absolutely. I do love FS, i wouldn't be here if i didn't:) but i cant argue with your logic at all. And thats why i am being honest when i say i hope people who buy it enjoy it. No sarcasm meant what so ever

Here is my beef with PMDG.

Let me start out by saying I am a big fan of their 737 simulation, have been anxiously awaiting the 747 and did purchase it last night and have been duly impressed by the consistant quality in their products.

However....

I hate the new activation they have introduced into their 747. It's part of the continuing trend of treat their customers like criminals and consider them guilty of copyright infringment until proven innocent. What happens when I go and reinstall? I know the website says....

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But, what constitutes "occasionally" reinstalling? How does it determine what is "occasional"? I am preparing to build a new 64-bit desktop and of course would hope to be able to migrate my flight simming to that system. If I reinstall in a month when I build my new system, would that be too frequent and I get denied? Will that then flag me and say "this guy installs to many times and blacklist him", simply because I frequently change my configurations, reinstall, etc.?

What happens if it's 9:00 PM at night, and I need to reinstall and it says I have to call, will customer service be available 24 hours? What if that's the only time I can call?

What happens if PMDG decides to close it's doors for whatever reason? I better not have to ever reinstall again because if they're not around they can no longer authorize the reinstallation I'm out of luck if I ever need to reinstall. While I'm sure no one here would like to think of such a thing, with a company as small as PMDG, even though they have products of an extremely high quality, it's very possible.

What if the main system I want to run this on is NOT on the network. I know it may be hard for some people to grasp, but many people intentionally have systems that are not connected to the Internet for security reasons.

What if I am going on a trip (as I am preparing to do within the next few weeks) and want to transfer it to my laptop for the duration of the trip so that I can learn the systems before moving back to my main simulation desktop when I return home?

And on top of it all, I am getting sick and tired of companies treating me like a criminal simply because I want to run their software and don't want to have to ask permission. At time of transaction, it is treated like a sale and then AFTER the fact, they stick an EULA in our face telling us it's really only a license. Why do I have to ask permission to use something I PAID for, and supposedly "purchased"? Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia, now PMDG all seem to be taking the stance that their customers are guilty (of violating copyright) until they are proven innocent. When in a court of law, it would be THEIR job to prove the customer is guilty instead of the customer proving their innocence.

Sorry for the rant but I am getting tired of companies always being suspicious of their customers.

That said, yes, I shelled out my $55 and enjoy the simulation from a technical standpoint, but if the activation/authorization/authentication foolishness continues, I will think twice about PMDG's next "must-have" roduct (such as if they decide to come out with a 787, A380, etc. which I otherwise would be interested in). I almost did not purchase the 747 because of it.

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Well, it's their product, their copyright and honestly they can do whatever they want to protect it, but that does not mean I have to agree with it, like it, or keep coming back for more. Some people turned from Microsoft when they introduced WPA. I know I've never been happy about it and I've had times I have had to call to reactivate Windows.

Now, that said, it might make MORE sense for a little company such as PMDG to want to protect their product. If Microsoft, a 400 Billion dollar company, spends 40 million (random guess figures) on the next version of Windows Longhorn, er, Vista (ten thousandth of the company assets), and PMDG a (more random figures) 1 Million dollar company spends 100 Thousand on 747 (one tenth the company assets). PMDG actually has MORE invested in 747 than Microsoft does Windows. Not because of Dollar value, but because a larger portion of the company and it's assets are put into this software.

747 really is an amazing product and lives up to my expectations in terms of detail and realism from flying their 737. It took a lot of work and quite an investment I am sure and I understand that they want to protect their investment. At the same time, watching their site over the past few days, I would guess that with or without protections, they will probably do a fairly good job of recouping their investment and making a decent profit on top.

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Why? It costs as much as most new games. Then again, most new games also don't have compulsory activation.

The 747 is a simulation in and of itself, and in some ways IS it's own game. As a friend and I were talking last night, the goal of the game is not to fly, the goal of the "game" is to learn the operation of a Boeing 747-400. It's really a "game" and simulation by itself that happens to leverage the Microsoft Flight Simulator engine in order to focus on the operation of the Aircraft.

It's more than I would typically pay for a single aircraft add-on, but there is so much more here than other single-aircraft add-ons.

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I don't condone "piracy" and I don't blame people who hijack ships on the high seas, stealing their cargo and killing the crew, for the situation we are in. I do however blame people who violate copyright law for the situation of draconian protections, activations, and DRM that we are now in. However, there are already copyright laws on the books. DRM/activation or no, it's illegal either way. Prosecute people who violate it but remember, in America we are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, it's not OUR job to prove our innocence by calling and asking permission every time we reinstall, it's yours to prove guilt.

That said, you are correct in that this will quickly be broken and bypassed. It's only a matter of time until it pops up all over the seedier side of the net. I would not be surprised if it's already floating around. That's what really upsets me, I spend my hard earned money for a great product, and they feel obliged to shove copy protections down my throught because these idiots start trading it all over the place. In the end, all these protections do, is annoy the customer, they never stop "piracy", or even copyright violation for that matter, only make it harder for the customer to use the product they purchased.

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Why would I want to do that? It's a great product, I'm just not too fond of the direction that many software companies are going in terms of the "our customers are guilty until they prove themselves innocent" attitude they show when they introduce measures such as activation.  You seem to be misunderstanding what I am writing here. I like PMDG, I am glad I purchased their 747, but I also am reconsidering if I would purchase more software from them if they keep it up. In the end, activation only hurts legitimate customers. PMDG has gotten their support back online by moving them to a temporary location and while it's not been back up for very long, there are already reports there of people having difficulty activating. As said before, this does nothing to stop real "software piracy" other than slow down the casual "hey, borrow my CD" copier. The hardcore "pirates" always find a way to bypass it in short order, often on the same day of release.

I've worked with computer security (for a fairly large government agency), there is no such thing as a truly secure system, only "secure enough" to make the casual attackers look somewhere else.

I WANTED to give PMDG my money, I have wanted this software for a long time, when I pruchased their 737 I wanted a 747 version and now it's here. I like their products as a company and want to continue to be their customer, but as their customer I believe I have a right to say, "I like you guys but I don't agree with what you are doing in regards to X, Y, and Z". If I did NOT purchase anything and have not given them any of my money, I would have even less of a right, not more, to say, " I don't agree with A, B, and C".

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It's just a piece of software, it's their "right" to include activation, but I don't have to like it.

Just because I was just stumbled back here the other day when I visited the Computer pilot forums and saw a post saying "things are pretty dead here anymore, check out avsim and simviation", had recently purchased 747 (knowing about their activation beforehand) but still less then happy about it, and thus the issue was fresh on my mind, does not mean I am some troll as you seem to be suggesting in not so many words.

I've been to simvation before, this is just the first time I have been in a while after a long hiatus and the first time I've posted in the forum.

You obviously don't know what is and is not a "violation" of "my sense" of what is "right in the world". Or if it gnawing on me or not.

IT'S JUST A STUPID PIECE OF SOFTWARE that happens to have a "feature" I really don't like. Would you have said the same to me if I was complaining that I don't like, say the fact that it lacks a GPS, or I think being able to push around the manuals and soda cans in the 3D cockpit is a stupid waste of resources?

All of that said, I really do like the product as a whole and will enjoy many hours of time as I learn and better understand the 747-400 systems. I don't want to get off on a bad foot here, it's just that that issue was fresh on my mind and this seemed like a place to let off steam.

Why is it that there is some much talk of piracy with the PMDG 747?

Compared to the 737 which wasn't really talked about with piracy.

I know PMDG now has you make an internet connection when you buy the aircraft, is this to stop thieves?

I am going to wait a few weeks or months and then go buy the 747 after they update that wind noise I keep hearing about also I just bought the LDS 767 a few weeks ago and it is a blast to fly.  The 747 looks fantastic.

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By download on a secondary, network connected computer before burning to CD for transfer to non-networked (air-gap security) Flight Sim PC.

The activation requires that an internet connection be present at the time of INSTALLATION, meaning that it cannot be installed on a computer that is permanently (perhaps for security reasons, perhaps for logistical, etc.) not connected to the Internet.

This can be a problem on a stand-alone, non-networked, dedicated flight sim system.

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Yes it is, as always with PMDG, the level of detail is amazing.

I am very keen to purchase this product but this whole validation mess is stopping me. The fact that some people are still not able to use something they bought 3 days ago because of this process isn't really acceptable.

Also, the limited re-install issue is a headache. Seems that you only get a few attempts before they lock you out and require you get a new manually approved authentication, which again seems to be taking far to long to action.

I understand the need to prevent piracy but inconveniencing those who pay hard earned money for it is not the way forward.

Allright I got an interesting tale for ya.
I bought the plane 2 days ago.
Today I got infected with multiple viruses (that's what a disabled firewall can do for ya!)

So I had to format my windows drive, install windows again and FS9+PMDG744. For the 744 I just went to PMDGS site, logged on their Ecommerce system and downloaded the file again.

No hassle at all 

I was wondering something along similar lines to that.. is any validation required other than when the installation is made (on startup for instance).

Fifty-five dollars for that level of realism and attention to detail in just what I saw in the link is a double dirt cheap bargain and a half! Can you imagine the millions of dollars that software cost to develop and bring to us-- and for just fifty-five bucks?? I am an FS2002 no-talent clod; I'll probably never amass any talent for that game, let alone FS2004 and PMDG's 747. But if I did, I'd buy it just for the enjoyment of trying to learn it while grooving on the graphics. Awesome! How far we have come from FS1.0 just 20 years ago...