MADRIX Forum

Hi,

I have been playing about with the Madrix Demo for a couple of weeks & I think its fantastic, something I really want to get into and purchase a madrix key, however I have a doubt which is putting me off:-

I understand the concept of what the Madrix Key does & its quite a good idea in theory, but is there absolutely no backup to the USB dongle (Madrix Key) without purchasing a second? I have worked in the events industry for over 15 years and practicality says to me 'always have a backup plan', in reality things DO go missing/moved/lost/stolen and everything I do is backed up, from my music/DJ software, lighting software on hardrives etc etc, I always have spare cables & ready access to any equipment that fails on me at any event.

Most of us have had a mobile phone or a credit card lost/stolen at some point in our lives however much we look after it, but at least my mobile phone company/bank send me a replacement within 24 hours if it happens.

Is there a backup plan with Madrix or is that it, its lost, game over?
Being a professional freelance (not a LX Op in a club installation) this says to me that Madrix will cost me 2x 1000 Euros, and that becomes quite expensive.

Hi,
.
thank you for telling us your point of view and sharing your experience.
This discussion already have a long walk.
There are two possibilities for us to protect our Software, either by Hardware as like as done with the MADRIX Key or the MADRIX NEO Interface for example or by a serial number.
Booth methods have advantages and disadvantages.
To get a serial number save it have to be created onto a hardware fingerprint, this binds your license to one pc, which we think is not a good idea, because also this could be broken.
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We decide to use the hardware dongle because it is free of the hardware you like to use and you can start right after you get it and it is defenitely more safe for us against copy.
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How to make a backup key without the possiblitie to secure only one is used?
You can get a new Key within 24 hours, but not for free.
In the past we made the experience the People told us the Key is lost.
Two years later we find out it was not lost or found little later but the customer did not inform us.
Regarding the financial issue we only can advise to make a insurance for that.
Regarding the backup situation you talk about i only can agree with you.
If you need a backup cable you have to buy one, if you need a backup hardware like a network switch or lighting desk you have to buy one. The same with the MADRIX Key
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I know this is not what you like to hear but currently we have no better solution for that.
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Some hints we have. If you use a pc Hardware dedicated for the use with MADRIX, install the MADRIX Key inside. In other cases use a active usb hub which is under the Hood or use the hole in the MADRIX Key to secure it with a cable.

Thanks for your answer, you have given a couple of good ideas which I like (the usb port inside the pc).

But I think you are missing one of my points as well:

For example, If I am working at an event for that evening, if a microphone or a Moving Head or a lighting desk breaks/gets lost/stolen/misplaced, I know that I could get/hire/borrow/buy a replacement within an hour, no problem...the job HAS to be done that evening.
If a small item like a Madrix Key (dongle) gets lost/stolen/moved, where would I get a replacement? 24 hours is no good, the event HAS to be done that evening.

I understand that its 'for your protection' but software is software, its the technological world we live in, I'm pretty sure that if anyone REALLY wanted to, they could get a Madrix Key Dongle cloned by a software/hardware engineer, I'm afraid there are people like that in the world, there would be a trade embargo placed on China for copyright infringement if the world really followed its own laws.

It would be nice if you had more a consumer based backup plan rather than focussing on your own protection.

But, still I am continuing to have fun playing about with the demo at the moment!!

hot swap is the key.
The Madrix Hw interfaces are the best dongles because are big, you can't lost them.
I worked in the broadcast market and when I installed Matrox computer based systems for playout of graphics our clients wanted two twin systems, because, you know, in live broadcast you can't stop the graphics when the computer crashes.
For professional use you need two twin systems pc+dongles.
In pro live shows there are always two consoles, one for the backup.

I would like to suggest a possible solution to needing a hardware key. At work I use software from Rockwell Automation (Allen-Bradley) and the way that they have found around this issue is they use an online server system that you can activate the software on your PC and Identify it via the MAC address of your Ethernet port. If you decide to move the software to a new computer you simply go online and deactivate it on that computer, install the software to the new computer, go online and activate it there and it is now associated with the MAC address of that computer. If a computer crashes or is stolen have the software go online periodically and check to make sure it is still activated or not. If it isn't, disable the software.

This is how Rockwell does it with the exception of having it shut down on it's own. If you have your PC stolen you are screwed. Other than that, it works great.

Also the online thing has some big disadvantages... Normally my PCs configured for a "live" task will never see an internet connection. They are set up and they run. There is absolutely no need for even connecting them to the WWW.

Or even more stupid: think of a festival somewhere in the wild where you're the guest LD and your software just decides to want an online reauthorization. No working wireless or wired network within the next kilometers and your show starts in 1 hour...

I've had USB dongles for professional audio software stolen before and yes it is a pity, I had to buy them again... If somebody steals a piece of hardware it is the same.