CorePlayer regularly phones home or will deactive itself

Alexander Turcic · 10-17-2006, 05:46 AM

CorePlayer, one of the most anticipated software releases for mobile devices, is now officially available for purchase. While I am sure that it's abundance of features will appeal to the geek in you, there is one aspect of CorePlayer that you should not miss before you spend your money. There's been a discussion in the CorePlayer forums about how the software will take care of legitimate registrations. Excerpts:

Quote:

Q: Does CorePlayer need to be connected to register/download the player?
A: Yes, as each compiled installer is specific for each user is will work ONLY against the hardware it is to be installed with the specific Core Account.

Q: Will you offer an 'offline' way to register CorePlayer?
A: Yes, we will provide details later

Q: What happens if my device online I register it and then I take it offline?
A: After xx days that it has not 'touched' our server and received a custom 'byte' made for you. it will revert back to CorePlayer FREE till you come online.

.
.
A: After a random period of time the player will prompt you to login to your Core Accout and download a 'seed' to keep the player active. This can be loaded via SD/MMC or the installer for the PC, etc. It will give you plenty of time to do this... so dont think a few days... but I will not elaborate on specifics. Otherwise once you are connected.... the player does a 'touch' update automatically and the seed is generated/updated without any interaction by the user.

So, not only do they lock CorePlayer to a single device (something that is not mentioned on the purchase page), but also will they temporarily deactivate features of your purchased copy should you not keep "in touch" with their server (something else that is not mentioned on the purchase page). I am sure the guys of CorePlayer deserve every credit for their efforts to create the world's best mobile media player. But I don't care whether it's a small start-up company or Bill Gates himself - forcing me to regularly stay in contact with someone's online server and, should I do not, disabling features of a software that I legitimately purchased, is just plain wrong. And most certainly not legal in the country I live in.

Related: CorePlayer (the new TCMP) to be available Oct 16, 2006

TadW · 10-17-2006, 06:11 AM

You say "for mobile devices", but right now it seems they are only supporting Windows Mobile.

https://services.corecodec.com/products

Products
CorePlayer for PalmOS (Coming Soon)
CorePlayer for Windows Mobile

rlauzon · 10-17-2006, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

CorePlayer for PalmOS (Coming Soon)

Since TCMP already runs on PalmOS, CorePlayer should be there soon.

But I can't believe that they would do something stupid.

1. It limits the number of devices that it runs on. You can't use a PalmOS device that doesn't have some sort of connectivity (and the customer has the ability to use that connectivity).
2. It opens what is a relatively good security platform (PalmOS) to more security risk.
3. It significantly reduces the usefulness of their product.

Why would anyone move to CorePlayer with all its drawbacks when TCMP is free?

Bob Russell · 10-17-2006, 06:27 AM

Is it available only through Mobihand? Seems they dumped Handango.

That license management is really a disappointing turn of events. From the free TCPMP to this kind of model seems like such an abrupt 180 turn. And for someone that prefers to change devices as often as possible, that sort of tie to the particular device is very annoying. They are going to have a free CorePlayer also. I wonder if that's going to be a useful fallback plan, or completely crippled.

I wonder about a few things:
* Is there a free trial? I don't see one.
* If we buy and install (and then maybe remove) the new CorePlayer, will that process interfere with an existing TCPMP installation?
* If we change devices, will they transfer the license at no cost and without a hassle?
* What kind of communications will be done from my Treo? I prefer to have full control over when my device uses EVDO, and have the option of shutting if off completely for a media player. Yes, I know they probably want to support sharing and streaming, but I may not want that anyway.

To top it all off, it doesn't appear to be available for any platform but Win Mobile right now.

So with all the questions, unfortunately, and because my TCPMP keeps crashing my Treo, this leaves me with another unexpected new question: What are the other good options for media players (on PalmOS) that can play DivX and other common formats?

But hopefully this is all a big misunderstanding and CorePlayer will turn out to be a logical choice like so many of us had hoped.

TadW · 10-17-2006, 07:25 AM

* Is there a free trial? I don't see one.
Trial, or CorePlayer FREE is delayed.

* If we buy and install (and then maybe remove) the new CorePlayer, will that process interfere with an existing TCPMP installation?
No clue.

* If we change devices, will they transfer the license at no cost and without a hassle?
No clue.

* What kind of communications will be done from my Treo?
From the Q&A above it seems they are planning alternative methods such as download "via SD/MMC or the installer for the PC, etc".

jjesusfreak01 · 10-17-2006, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

* If we buy and install (and then maybe remove) the new CorePlayer, will that process interfere with an existing TCPMP installation?

Dont worry about that, even if you dont have a backup of your TCPMP installation, there is a new betaplayer being released in 6 weeks that should trump the current TCPMP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

* If we change devices, will they transfer the license at no cost and without a hassle?

Theoretically, this should be made easier by their system since you have to hit their servers every so often anyway. They simply stop giving you the security bit for one handheld, and give you the new one. (not to say I agree with the methods they are using, though since they plan on supporting Janus, they are necessary to a degree)

derekweb · 10-17-2006, 07:40 AM

I am personally disappointed with the strict licensing terms and requirements for CorePlayer. Considering it's roots in TCPMP, I would not have even guessed it would have gone to such draconian methods for "copyright".

Based on *this* information, I simply won't purchase The Core Player,... something that until now, I was eagerly anticpating. Disappointing.

Bob Russell · 10-17-2006, 08:34 AM

jjesusfreak01 makes a good point... maybe it's not their preference, but something that was required in order to get the rights they needed from other license holders. If so, then we might find that the free CorePlayer that comes out soon, will really be a great piece of software, minus the additional features which require the special licensing.

But, if that's the case, you would expect that to be something clearly communicated to avoid a PR backlash.

Another concern I have is that at about $30, and tied to one device, then the strict licensing approach makes you wonder if upgrades will also be expensive to keep up with. Generally, if you look at various software on the market, the ones with excess licensing protection and extensive licensing systems are the ones that usually have an expensive upgrade program to keep up with the latest version. To see a program like this for $30 and then have to pay another $20-$30 for an upgrade would be demoralizing. (No, I don't have any info, that's a made up price range representing a worst case scenario.)

But, it's still early, and maybe this all does make sense. We've seen great things from the people that are putting this out. They offered the wonderful TCPMP for free. They have discussed their project with words that indicate they are trying to do this in a way that keeps prices down and is a great deal for the customer. And they have a free version of their software coming, that might be pretty powerful in itself.

So, despite the frustrations of what we've been hearing so far, there's still a lot of reasons to think the best of what they are doing, and to hope that we just don't have the whole picture yet. There are a lot of questions now, but there's still some hope that things may be better than they seem.

rmeister0 · 10-17-2006, 09:21 AM

"After a random period of time the player will prompt you to login to your Core Accout and download a 'seed' to keep the player active."

Nagware!

It is bad enough that you have to go through product activation schemes to prove you aren't a thief...but then you have to continually prove you aren't a thief to continue to use the software *that you already paid for*.

I'm sorry Bob, but I can't think the best of this, and it is happening all the way up and down the value chain. I dumped $1,800 of my employer's money into a copy of Adobe Creative Suite/Macromedia Studio. Even though the license allows me to run the software on two computers as long as they are both my machines, the activation scheme is broken to the point where only one copy can work at a time, and I'm sick of calling Adobe and explaining the issue to their phone support people.

Microsoft has demonstrated a business model that is being picked up by a lot of other players - you license software to one machine, and that license is NOT transferable. This makes doing hardware upgrades a very expensive proposition, and there are already a number of software products I have simply stopped using because I didn't want to pay for them again. The problem is particularly acute for me as someone who works in IT, because I am frequently churning hardware in my department and even in my home in order to stay 'current'.

This kind of thing makes some commercial software more trouble than it is worth.

paulkbiba · 10-17-2006, 09:37 AM

I have to agree with the negative comments regarding licensing. I have a number of PPCs and I switch back and forth for a variety of reasons on a fairly regular basis. Given their licensing scheme I certainly won't buy the product.

This is also the main drawback of Mobipocket's licensing model which restricts the number of active machines. That's why if I'm forced to buy a DRMed ebook I stick to eReader.

betaboy · 10-17-2006, 09:38 AM

Here let me say this right off the bat...

COREPLAYER 1.0 DOES NOT PHONE HOME
COREPLAYER 1.0 DOES NOT DISABLE ITSELF

All thanx for the posts... and I want to clarify what are REALLY doing rather the having others state what they 'think' we are doing. But first I need to be define what our goals and objectives are first...

We have are creating much more then a media player... When I left DivX I had designed not only their website but their Community as well... and as catchy as it seems the social aspect of it is playing a larger goal of what CorePlayer is all about.

This directly relates to not only the player frontend but how we manage the backend accounts. With that being said... in later versions what we are doing it rolling out other services that tie directly into the player, your device and your account.

Some of which are

CoreSYNC - Is at the backbone of several of our core technology offerings that will allow you to sync metadata (or other things via out open API) to other 'linked' core account users.

This is also in line with other features we are adding like Seek and Share, which allows you to not only search for other CorePlayer users in a local LAN but WAN users you have either give permission to you or you to them.

CoreTunes - Is our integrate desktop media manager. It allows you to sync you metadata to your core account, web services, 'linked' core players.

So we have an obligation to provide a secure network for not only the services but the permissions within that service. But after all we belive in empowering our community, so after all of that.... if you do not want to use the 'other' aspect of the player and just want a GREAT multimedia experience then great...we give you the ability to do what you want and how you want to do it.

TadW · 10-17-2006, 09:46 AM

betaboy (picard?), so are you saying that contrary to what you posted in the CorePlayer forums, a legitimate user is not required to regularly contact your server in order to keep all the functionality he received upon the purchase of the player (and not be reduced to the FREE version) ?

betaboy · 10-17-2006, 09:56 AM

I also want to go into more details on intent... and what others are talking about.. and why we will later link to hardware.

In the world on mobile multimedia there are hundreds of combinations of hardware chipsets within the devices... from the beginning TCPMP was written in such a manner that it allows an almost infinite number of devices to be supported... and now under CorePlayer the same can be true but even to a further extent in that providing a means to the community to get a real time update for a specific issue and then notifying the effected users via our CoreAccout system is un-equaled.

A perfect example is the current issue with HTC/ATI chipset... if we know you have the device in our account... we can simply post the fix to our SVN and have a it notify those users of an update available to download and compile on the fly for the user and all the have to do is 'self serve' via their account.

betaboy · 10-17-2006, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

betaboy (picard?), so are you saying that contrary to what you posted in the CorePlayer forums, a legitimate user is not required to regularly contact your server in order to keep all the functionality he received upon the purchase of the player (and not be reduced to the FREE version) ?

For 1.0 that is correct...

betaboy · 10-17-2006, 10:01 AM

I should also state that we felt it would be best to state to the community of or roadmap going to 1.xx and how it would effect them.

In the end I think ppl will see the value added features like updates and the services tied to it will address the concerns.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
PRS-900 Check Store Newspapers regularly.....	DougFNJ	Sony Reader	6	01-29-2010 11:06 AM
Bebook crashes regularly	Rinde	BeBook	13	08-17-2009 10:53 AM
VoIP for N770, N800, Palm phones and Nokia phones	mogui	News	5	07-08-2007 04:42 AM
Project Gutenberg's regularly updated Top 100	Alexander Turcic	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	0	10-17-2006 08:59 AM

10-17-2006, 06:11 AM	#2
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	You say "for mobile devices", but right now it seems they are only supporting Windows Mobile. https://services.corecodec.com/products Products CorePlayer for PalmOS (Coming Soon) CorePlayer for Windows Mobile

10-17-2006, 06:27 AM	#4
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Is it available only through Mobihand? Seems they dumped Handango. That license management is really a disappointing turn of events. From the free TCPMP to this kind of model seems like such an abrupt 180 turn. And for someone that prefers to change devices as often as possible, that sort of tie to the particular device is very annoying. They are going to have a free CorePlayer also. I wonder if that's going to be a useful fallback plan, or completely crippled. I wonder about a few things: * Is there a free trial? I don't see one. * If we buy and install (and then maybe remove) the new CorePlayer, will that process interfere with an existing TCPMP installation? * If we change devices, will they transfer the license at no cost and without a hassle? * What kind of communications will be done from my Treo? I prefer to have full control over when my device uses EVDO, and have the option of shutting if off completely for a media player. Yes, I know they probably want to support sharing and streaming, but I may not want that anyway. To top it all off, it doesn't appear to be available for any platform but Win Mobile right now. So with all the questions, unfortunately, and because my TCPMP keeps crashing my Treo, this leaves me with another unexpected new question: What are the other good options for media players (on PalmOS) that can play DivX and other common formats? But hopefully this is all a big misunderstanding and CorePlayer will turn out to be a logical choice like so many of us had hoped.

10-17-2006, 07:25 AM	#5
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	* Is there a free trial? I don't see one. Trial, or CorePlayer FREE is delayed. * If we buy and install (and then maybe remove) the new CorePlayer, will that process interfere with an existing TCPMP installation? No clue. * If we change devices, will they transfer the license at no cost and without a hassle? No clue. * What kind of communications will be done from my Treo? From the Q&A above it seems they are planning alternative methods such as download "via SD/MMC or the installer for the PC, etc".

10-17-2006, 07:40 AM	#7
derekweb Groupie Posts: 160 Karma: 3134 Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: United States Device: Palm Treo 700p & iPaq hx2755	I am personally disappointed with the strict licensing terms and requirements for CorePlayer. Considering it's roots in TCPMP, I would not have even guessed it would have gone to such draconian methods for "copyright". Based on this information, I simply won't purchase The Core Player,... something that until now, I was eagerly anticpating. Disappointing.

10-17-2006, 08:34 AM	#8
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	jjesusfreak01 makes a good point... maybe it's not their preference, but something that was required in order to get the rights they needed from other license holders. If so, then we might find that the free CorePlayer that comes out soon, will really be a great piece of software, minus the additional features which require the special licensing. But, if that's the case, you would expect that to be something clearly communicated to avoid a PR backlash. Another concern I have is that at about $30, and tied to one device, then the strict licensing approach makes you wonder if upgrades will also be expensive to keep up with. Generally, if you look at various software on the market, the ones with excess licensing protection and extensive licensing systems are the ones that usually have an expensive upgrade program to keep up with the latest version. To see a program like this for $30 and then have to pay another $20-$30 for an upgrade would be demoralizing. (No, I don't have any info, that's a made up price range representing a worst case scenario.) But, it's still early, and maybe this all does make sense. We've seen great things from the people that are putting this out. They offered the wonderful TCPMP for free. They have discussed their project with words that indicate they are trying to do this in a way that keeps prices down and is a great deal for the customer. And they have a free version of their software coming, that might be pretty powerful in itself. So, despite the frustrations of what we've been hearing so far, there's still a lot of reasons to think the best of what they are doing, and to hope that we just don't have the whole picture yet. There are a lot of questions now, but there's still some hope that things may be better than they seem.

10-17-2006, 09:21 AM	#9
rmeister0 Addict Posts: 270 Karma: 298 Join Date: Mar 2005	"After a random period of time the player will prompt you to login to your Core Accout and download a 'seed' to keep the player active." Nagware! It is bad enough that you have to go through product activation schemes to prove you aren't a thief...but then you have to continually prove you aren't a thief to continue to use the software that you already paid for. I'm sorry Bob, but I can't think the best of this, and it is happening all the way up and down the value chain. I dumped $1,800 of my employer's money into a copy of Adobe Creative Suite/Macromedia Studio. Even though the license allows me to run the software on two computers as long as they are both my machines, the activation scheme is broken to the point where only one copy can work at a time, and I'm sick of calling Adobe and explaining the issue to their phone support people. Microsoft has demonstrated a business model that is being picked up by a lot of other players - you license software to one machine, and that license is NOT transferable. This makes doing hardware upgrades a very expensive proposition, and there are already a number of software products I have simply stopped using because I didn't want to pay for them again. The problem is particularly acute for me as someone who works in IT, because I am frequently churning hardware in my department and even in my home in order to stay 'current'. This kind of thing makes some commercial software more trouble than it is worth.

10-17-2006, 09:37 AM	#10
paulkbiba Connoisseur Posts: 84 Karma: 45 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: United States Device: Nokia e61i, iPhone	I have to agree with the negative comments regarding licensing. I have a number of PPCs and I switch back and forth for a variety of reasons on a fairly regular basis. Given their licensing scheme I certainly won't buy the product. This is also the main drawback of Mobipocket's licensing model which restricts the number of active machines. That's why if I'm forced to buy a DRMed ebook I stick to eReader.

10-17-2006, 09:38 AM	#11
betaboy Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2005 Device: x50v	Here let me say this right off the bat... COREPLAYER 1.0 DOES NOT PHONE HOME COREPLAYER 1.0 DOES NOT DISABLE ITSELF All thanx for the posts... and I want to clarify what are REALLY doing rather the having others state what they 'think' we are doing. But first I need to be define what our goals and objectives are first... We have are creating much more then a media player... When I left DivX I had designed not only their website but their Community as well... and as catchy as it seems the social aspect of it is playing a larger goal of what CorePlayer is all about. This directly relates to not only the player frontend but how we manage the backend accounts. With that being said... in later versions what we are doing it rolling out other services that tie directly into the player, your device and your account. Some of which are CoreSYNC - Is at the backbone of several of our core technology offerings that will allow you to sync metadata (or other things via out open API) to other 'linked' core account users. This is also in line with other features we are adding like Seek and Share, which allows you to not only search for other CorePlayer users in a local LAN but WAN users you have either give permission to you or you to them. CoreTunes - Is our integrate desktop media manager. It allows you to sync you metadata to your core account, web services, 'linked' core players. So we have an obligation to provide a secure network for not only the services but the permissions within that service. But after all we belive in empowering our community, so after all of that.... if you do not want to use the 'other' aspect of the player and just want a GREAT multimedia experience then great...we give you the ability to do what you want and how you want to do it.

10-17-2006, 09:46 AM	#12
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	betaboy (picard?), so are you saying that contrary to what you posted in the CorePlayer forums, a legitimate user is not required to regularly contact your server in order to keep all the functionality he received upon the purchase of the player (and not be reduced to the FREE version) ?

10-17-2006, 09:56 AM	#13
betaboy Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2005 Device: x50v	I also want to go into more details on intent... and what others are talking about.. and why we will later link to hardware. In the world on mobile multimedia there are hundreds of combinations of hardware chipsets within the devices... from the beginning TCPMP was written in such a manner that it allows an almost infinite number of devices to be supported... and now under CorePlayer the same can be true but even to a further extent in that providing a means to the community to get a real time update for a specific issue and then notifying the effected users via our CoreAccout system is un-equaled. A perfect example is the current issue with HTC/ATI chipset... if we know you have the device in our account... we can simply post the fix to our SVN and have a it notify those users of an update available to download and compile on the fly for the user and all the have to do is 'self serve' via their account.

Advert

Advert

10-17-2006, 10:01 AM	#15
betaboy Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2005 Device: x50v	I should also state that we felt it would be best to state to the community of or roadmap going to 1.xx and how it would effect them. In the end I think ppl will see the value added features like updates and the services tied to it will address the concerns.