Thorny Little Issue of Software Registration Details

by Anita Campbell

December 1, 2008 at 12:20 am · Filed under Reviews, Tips + Pointers

Techcrunch has declared the death of packaged software, noting Microsoft’s opening of the Microsoft Store on the Web this past week.

Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say packaged software is “dead” and that suddenly all software will be purchased and downloaded from the Web.  However, it’s clear that packaged software has been in the throes of death for a long time. But it won’t be a quick and painless death.  It will be years before packaged software goes away, if it ever does completely.  (What about the software that comes loaded on your computer from the retailer?  Don’t see that going away anytime soon.)

The convenience of being able to purchase a software application on the Web and download it immediately can’t be beat.  But it also raises another thorny little issue:  what happens when you switch computers? 

Typically you’re given an activation key and required to register your copy of the software. But those activation codes are hard to keep track of.  What do you do if you get a new computer and need that activation key, but can’t locate the original version?  It’s not in the software provider’s interests to help you re-discover your key (I know — I’ve had to ask a couple of times and each time the answer was “we can’t help you”).  It’s especially an issue for small businesses of under 10 employees — typically they have no in-house tech support and usually are DIYers for computers issues.

Some small business owners I know have been using RoboForm to store the increasing number of passwords that you need for online applications.   It also has a RoboForm2Go license where you store all the information on a USB drive and carry the USB drive with you.  That way it stays independent of any particular computer.

Not only can a solution like RoboForm help you store passwords but it can keep track of all those software activation codes and other details you may need if one computer goes kaput or is inaccessible.  When you have to do it yourself in a small business, a solution like RoboForum is an important detail.

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3 Comments »

Alternatively, something like a Google Docs spreadsheet or Evernote would work great for this.

However, you should ALWAYS be able to work with a software vendor to retrieve activation keys. If you have to fight with them to get something you’ve already purchased from them, I’d hesitate to do business with that vendor again.

I love the convenience of buying software online for immediate download and use. Nothing beats the ease, all from the comfort of your own home. Some software downloads offer to mail a cd copy for an extra few bucks along with the instant download. Whenever possible, I choose to pay the few extra dollars.

Hi Brian,

One would think that you should be able to retrieve activation keys from software vendors. Silly me, that’s what I thought.

However, I’ve had to buy WinZip a couple of times for this very reason, until I got fed up and bought a competitor’s zip package the last time. Same thing happened with a low-end PDF converter package. And some others.

Anita

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