First round of DRM a success or failure?

[Theinfamousone]

Users of Intuit's TurboTax income tax preparation software are up in arms as a result of new DRM features which were added, with no warning, to this year's product.

According to media reports, the company has incorporated a "product activation" feature, similar to those used by Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows XP, which may prevent the program from being moved from one computer to another. The copy protection scheme, a Macrovision product called SAFECAST or C-Dilla, can also cause problems if hardware is upgraded. Should a user replace his or her hard drive or upgrade to a new computer, he or she may not be allowed to print a return or prepare an amended return.

Jim Lynch said, "Intuit just lost my business...as they lose sales they might wake up and reconsider their policy."

The restrictions have prompted hundreds of angry, negative reviews on consumer forums at FatWallet and Amazon.com. According to several of the reviews, Intuit representatives have refused to provide customers with a new "activation code" to allow them to shift the software to another PC. Users also report that the SAFECAST/C-Dilla copy protection software monitors activities on the system full-time, consuming more than a megabyte of memory and other resources even when TurboTax is not running. (The copy protection software remains even if one later uninstalls TurboTax.) Ironically, Intuit's FAQ regarding the new DRM cannot be read unless one's browser accepts "cookies" from Intuit's Web site.

Many loyal TurboTax customers (including this author) have kept each year's TurboTax files for a decade or more, moving them from machine to machine every two to three years. Such customers are likely to defect to H&R Block's TaxCut software, which does not include a "product activation" feature and will guarantee continued access to previous years' tax data.

You can get Intuit's side of the story here.

Oh yeah, here's where I got the info

[Theinfamousone]

It's bitter sweet new, it's too bad that other comanies are doing the DRM thing, but it's nice that a lot of people hate it and are switching.

[chipperrox]

you would think that these companies would care about making money more than implementing useless policies.....

[Theinfamousone]

Who would pirate a money manager software? Most people that need one of these are making enough money that they don't have to sit in their basement all night downloading some cam of Biker Boyz off dal net so that they save the $5.00 from seeing it in the theatre lol. That's a little exagerated but I seriously can't imagine them having too much of piracy problem.

Speaking of DRM, where is this week's (or last week's for that matter) Zeropaid News?

[Power Penguin]

My propasal is to have a DNA tester built into the PC. To verify the user, he must provide bodily fluid, before the program is started.

Because you all stink off wee wee and are thieves.