Vlog It! Might Be Good Software If Users Could Install It
Vlog It! looks like a nice piece of software if you're interested in video blogging. Now sold by Adobe, it makes putting video blog entries together about as easy as, well, iMovie.
At least that's what the description says. Eager vloggers don't actually know how it works, since for many of them, the program won't run in demo mode without a serial number...and Adobe is having serious difficulty generating serial numbers for paying customers.
As described on Adobe's forums, it took one customer hours of phone time and several escalations before even getting the serial number he or she had paid for. An excerpt of their customer service nightmare:
Back to Customer Service. I called and asked for re-serialization. The support rep insisted first that I try what the last 2 support reps have suggested.
CS Rep: Run the installer. Get to the Installation Key page. Click Get Your Installation Key. When you do this, a dialog box should ask you for your e-mail address.
Me: It doesn't.
CS Rep: It has to.
Me: Well, it doesn't. It takes me to http://www.adobe.com/products/vlogit/
CS:Rep: Is there a dialogue box that asks you for your e-mail?
Me: No. I am on the Adobe website at the Vlog It! product page.
CS Rep: Can you log in?
Me: Yes. But when I login and look at my purchase, it says call Customer Service for my serial number. Can I please get a new serial number?
CS Rep: We cannot give you a new serial number unless you lost the original serial number.
Me: But I never got an original serial number.
CS Rep: Then your only option is to get your installation key through the installer.
Me: This is not an option since it doesn't work. Could you issue me a new serial number?
CS Rep: We need you to redownload the software and try again.
Me: That's what I did yesterday and it doesn't work. Could you put me through to someone who can help me?
CS Rep: I could let you talk to my supervisor but he will say the same thing. All I can do is open a case and someone will get back to you in 24 hours.
Me: I have a case open and it's been 24 hours. No one has contacted me.
CS Rep: It takes 24-48 hours, but someone will contact you.
Me: So now it's 48 hours?
CS Rep: Someone will contact you.
Me: There is no way you can put me through to this person now?
CS Rep: All I can do is open up a case.
Adobe blames a problem with serial generation. According to forum posts and reader Tim, up until this week, customers who have purchased or want to demo the software are experiencing these same problems. Maybe they should vlog about it.
Can't get serial number for Vlog it! [Adobe forums]
Vlog It! [Official Site]
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Comments:
I don't know, maybe I'm some old fogie, but the appeal of vlogging totally escapes me.
@katstermonster: I have a blog so I can communicate with the world WITHOUT combing my hair and putting on lip gloss.
And what happens if she "lost" the key, is a new one free? Cuz I'm not seeing a downside to that if so...
Return the software. If they won't take it back, do a chargeback. If that doesn't work, small claims court against the retailer.
If retailers find Adobe products make them appear in front on a judge, then they will discontinue selling Adobe products. Adobe will then either fix their software, or sell it online, in which case they'll experience chargebacks.
Or so the theory goes.
This is a case of a known bad vendor. Adobe, at this point, produces software that's more buggy than Microsoft's offerings, and the major bugs stay unpatched longer (see: security vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat that've left people exposed for years). Basically, just stay as far away as possible.
@Tian (www.tian.cc): I suppose this is an option ... however, it's very chancy. A lot of these are distributed as executables, and those can carry viruses and assorted other malware.
Generally, it's best to avoid downloading anything from those sites. Even if one has purchased the software legally and is trying to get it to work, and is therefore not guilty of "piracy."
@pmcpa4: That's not stealing it - that's taking the initiative to get what they paid for to work. Adobe can't or won't do it apparently, so paying users turn to less well-lit means.
Personally, I think the better solution is to return it and let Adobe have a non-selling app on their hands. They'll figure out why eventually.
"We cannot give you a new serial number unless you lost the original serial number."
Yes, at this point I would have said okay, I lost the original serial number. Now give me a new one!
Once again, someone that pirates the application gets a better experience than someone that buys it.
Why won't they learn?
@pmcpa4: Technically Adobe stole from them since they paid for a product and cannot use it.
Give the people their damn key, Adobe!
I actually know exactly what's happening here as I worked for Adobe support when this first came up. Adobe bought the company Serious Magic that originally created the software. It's supposed to go to the Serious Magic website to go through a serialization process... but in the process of the Serious Magic acquisition they made all the seriousmagic.com pages point to adobe.com which completely broke the serialization process. When I left to go work for a much nicer company they were supposedly in the process of resolving the problem. That was almost two years ago. Pretty amazing to me that they are still selling it when I know for a fact there's no way you could ever get it installed.
@katstermonster: Personally vlogging is about as retarded as personal blogging, but there is something to be said about the power of video for, say, a blog dedicated to teaching musical technique. There are times and places, but for personal use, yeah, I don't get it either.
@Alexander Saites: "about as retarded as personal blogging"
... says the Facebooker.
Sorry, I'm a sucker for irony.
@pmcpa4:
If that's stealing, then call me a theif! I use the bathroom at work all the time without asking first.
You have to be borderline stupid to buy something from Adobe? He's like the dumb jock who's a complete dick. It's right there; steal everything.
Too bad it got worse. I can imagine it was better times before the original company Serious Magic got bought out by greedy Adobe. I bought the original, non-watered down version called Visual Communicator and it was fun to play with.
Since then, I've switched over to Mac and I think Videocue is a viable equivalent.
I loved Serious Magic. They had great customer service. It was a small company and every person you got on the phone was knowledgable and probably sat between the developer team and the sales team. It is another instance of Adobe gobbling up a great product and making it hardly worth buying because of Adobe's draconian licensing and customer service. Macromedia products went kind of the same way...
Dear Adobe,
Copy Protection SUCKS, and it does not work. It only hurts the honest people who are willing to pay for your products. The people who are currently stealing your software never would have bought it anyway. Please drop the copy protection and you might actually pick up a few customers.
Sincerely,
Someone who paid for your $2000 Creative Suite CS3 (and will probably upgrade when CS5 comes out) and hates the hassle I need to go through when I need to reinstall.
I wouldn't be surprised if the customer told the CSR he "lost" his serial, he would have been helped immediately. Not getting a serial number at all is most likely not on the script.
Kind of like an old experience I had with ATT. I called to ask for the MMS settings for a Sony Ericsson P910a I used to have, but they said they only have the info for the P990 and the 800-something. Obviously, the MMS setting is the same regardless of phone (name, pass, server), so I called back, lied, and got the info. It was pretty sad.
@unit3: qft. no adobe products on my machines anymore. it wasn't the bugs that annoyed me so much as the incessant desire of any/all adobe offerings to connect to update servers & 60 second startup times for basic productivity software. i can understand cs2 taking a while to load, but reader? gah!
KILL THE BLOAT!
[www.foxitsoftware.com]
[sourceforge.net]
[www.gimp.org]
unfortunately, you're on your own when it comes to flash. :(
@henrygates: did you file a police report? no? then i'm sorry, we cannot help you. please contact us when you do.
oh, you did file a police report? did the police find it? no? then i'm sorry, we cannot help you. please contact us when they do.
@Alexander Saites: I think veg-o-matic is referring to the vast amounts of personal information posted on facebook, similar to personal blogging. Your favorite movies, books, quotes, etc., not to mention status updates. No different from having a personal blog that is "friends only."
@Tian (www.tian.cc): How's about instead of cracking it, you look for a free alternative that has the features that you need? [www.osalt.com] is a good place to start. [www.linuxalt.com] is more Linux focused, but many of the larger projects there have Windows versions also. [linuxappfinder.com] is another option.
I once had a similar issue where I had purchased the great strategy game "Age of Mythology." Unfortunately, the serial key was printed on the manual, and everyone who purchased the game got the same serial key. Bwuh? I ended up having to mail my proof of purchase to the game company. I then waited a week for the response to come in the mail, with my real serial key. I should've posted it to Consumerist, but I didn't know about this site back then :-P
@katstermonster: @Sneeje: You are correct that there is a fair amount of personal information people give out about themselves, but it's not fair to call that blogging. Facebook's original design and concept, and the reason most people use Facebook, is it's strength for social networking.
Facebook is useful because it allows people to easily keep in contact with old schoolmates, share links, and collaborate on ideas. Although I suppose people could (and some do) use facebook to inform the world that they had a ham sandwich for lunch, it's certainly not to the effect the blogging boom.
Instead of dealing with Adobe, why not just look for software cracks and key generators online?
Place like astalavista.box.sk is a good place to start.
When using these crack sites, be warned about their questionable advertisements & trojans.